All Fall Down by Ally Carter is a YA, contemporary mystery.
The plot is the only thing I have some good things to say about. The plot was interesting. I really wanted to know where the story was going. But for some reason, the ending left me unsatisfied. It was like the whole story was slowly building up to this final moment but then the twist was so dragged out. Instead of being punched by the plot twist, it was like being slowly pushed… does that make sense?
Another thing that bugged me was the setting. Or the lack of setting. There is almost no world building or I missed a whole chapter and a half. It was as if all the scenes were half complete. I was trying to imagine things through a haze and honestly, I got confused half the time. That really put a sour taste in my mouth.
I have to admit that I was definitely pointing fingers at all the characters. I doubted each and every one of them throughout the entire story. The only problem I have with this, is the fact that I had no characters to trust or root for… there wasn’t any character keeping me in the story. Which brings me to the next point: The main character.
Omg…the main character! She got on my nerves sooooo many times and annoyed the heck out of me. I can understand her situation and what she was going through but still. It was annoying with a capital A. I just wanted her to shut up and hurry up!
Speaking of hurry up, I noticed that the pacing is slow. Not abnormally slow but just… uncomfortably slow. I thought it was a way to create more suspense before the ending and I’m sure that was the intention, but it took too long to get to a plot twist that was not executed well. I needed that one line where the twist hit me and instead I got a full two pages as the character slowly realized the truth… not appealing.
Overall I gave this book 3/5 stars. Between you and me, it’s on the lower side of a 3… like 2.8. I think I’ve listed enough reasons for why I didn’t like it. I somewhat enjoyed the funny, creepy and suspenseful parts. But I felt like it wasn’t executed properly and that’s what left me bitter.
Official Synopsis:
Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:
1. She is not crazy.
2. Her mother was murdered.
3. Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.
As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her — so there’s no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.
Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can’t control Grace — no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to haunt her . . . and if she doesn’t stop it, Grace isn’t the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.
Book details:
310 pages (Paperback, Hardcover)
Genres: YA, Mystery, Contemporary
Main character(s): Grace Blakely, Alexei, Noah Estaban, Jamie Blakely, Rosie, Megan Chancellor
Setting: Adria (Italy)
Purchases made through links in this post make me a small commission. Thank you for your support!