Tumble & Fall

July 8, 2013
As the world faces a catastrophic collision with a giant asteroid, three teenagers spending the summer on Martha’s Vineyard discover that their last week on Earth may be life-changing in good ways as well. Sixteen-year-old Sienna, struggling with her mother’s death and her own mental fragility, tries to relearn how to trust and love with help from a childhood friend; Zan wonders whether the dead boyfriend she has grieved for was faithful to her, even as she grows closer to his best friend; and Caden has to decide whether he can forgive two parents who have abandoned him, though in entirely different ways. Coutts’s characters offer a great deal of depth and appeal, and her writing is both purposeful and rich. As the asteroid collision approaches, Coutts (the author of Wish and Wishful Thinking as Alexandra Bullen) subtly creates urgency without letting it overshadow the natural tension that builds as her three main characters contend with their various strained relationships. The three teenagers’ stories intersect neatly, just in time for a well-considered ending. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sara Shandler, Alloy Entertainment.