Book Raves Pt. 8: Fallen by Lauren Kate

I think it was around Year 8 or Year 9 when I first read this book. I was full of curiosity when it came to myths, legends, etc - all of these things piqued my interest and I would obsess over a website I found on Google that told tales of the supernatural, even though I couldn't stand horror movies under this specific category. I even remember buying a small book all about Greek myths...

As a Christian, fallen angels, and angels in general, are a fascination of mine. Like, imagine the idea that fallen angels existed (I'm speaking about the general public here, so I'm assuming that most are Atheists or Agnostics), and they roamed around the globe looking like us human beings, only to unfurl their wings out of sight from our mortal eyes.

Imagine meeting one by accident while they decide to air out their hidden wings, or falling in love with one. I'm not going to lie, I did kind of fantasise about it... I'm sorry, but as a child my imagination did not know any limits, and I'm not talking about anything dirty, for all of you dirty-minded people out there.

It was just a simple thought. Then this book came into my hands from a friend who was recommended the book by another friend in a series of dominoes or Chinese whispers, the book version.

Fantasy is my favourite genre of all time, whether it's in book form or in film form. Throw in romance and I'm knocked out on the ground in a puddle of ecstatic squeals.

So, Fallen. You've probably already guessed what this book centred around - maybe from the introduction of this post, or from the totally-not-so-obvious title. It's about fallen angels.

A young adult, fantasy, paranormal and romance novel all rolled into one.

Lucinda Price, aka Luce, is sent to Sword & Cross, a reform school for young offenders - an alternative to a prison, basically, where she meets a variety of eccentric characters. And where she meets Daniel, a boy who she feels a weird connection with. A connection that arises a feeling in her gut that she's felt this way before, and that she's met him before. Her sudden intrigued curiosity over Daniel leads to her investigating him and his past to an infatuation-level that almost seems stalker-ish (it will all make sense in the end, trust me), resulting in her finding out things mind-boggling to the human mind.

I decided to re-read this book due to an assessment in my course module, Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror. We had to choose out of a list of possible essay questions on any of the three genres, and the last one on the list made me jump with excitement:

"Compare a novel in your chosen genre with its film counterpart, paying close attention to detail, style and narrative."

I was sold the moment I saw the words 'novel' and 'film' in one sentence, and I thought it was also fate since I'll be taking the Screenwriting module this term.

This book instantly popped in my mind the moment I read the last title on the list, and there were so many significant moments in the film that differed from the novel that I wanted to talk about. One word: wings. Wings! I didn't think the film would interpret the wings that way - I was both pleasantly shocked and annoyingly bothered.

(You'd have to watch it, if you want to know what I'm talking about - which means you'd also have to read the book *wink wink*).

One aspect I adored in the novel is its Gothic vibe. The setting consists of Sword & Cross and a cemetery in a very sunny Georgia, and I was in awe of how Kate managed to implement this Gothic vibe within her writing - mainly because of the fact that I always imagined a cold, dark and dreary place with looming clouds. So, every time she described the setting as humid, I would go back a few pages to check if I've read something totally different.

This Gothic vibe suited her choice of setting since the idea of a reform school already brings a sheet of darkness to cloud my mind, and with the topic of fallen angels, this Gothic vibe enhanced the complexity of their story, especially since there are both good and bad fallen angels.

SPOILER ALERT.

Speaking of complexity, the plot itself is teeming with this lexis, and since I slightly forgot what happened in the novel, I found myself mesmerised by Kate's story that I decided to research about the Watchers, reincarnation and the idea of past lives.

She created a world of fantasy that fantasy-lovers would love to break down and investigate; it's rich with intriguing Biblical history that makes me want to skip a few pages into my own Bible to the Book of Daniel, so I can just read all about the Fall of the fallen.

The ending, however, leaves more unanswered questions than a satisfying resolution. We don't know what this so-called battle is about, or how it began in the first place; we don't know how Luce and Daniel first met (and I mean first met) for them to be stuck with such a sad fate. Lucky for us book nerds, this book is Book 1 out of the Fallen series.

(PS - Turns out, I still gush over Cam).

{#books #novels #rave #Fallen #FallenSeries #LaurenKate}