The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane- Review

Synopsis via NetGalley:

For Clementine Haas, finding herself is more than a nice idea. Ever since she woke up in an Irish hospital with complete amnesia, self-discovery has become her mission.

They tell her she’s the lone survivor of a plane crash. They tell her she’s lucky to be alive. But she doesn’t feel lucky. She feels…lost.

With the relentless Irish press bearing down on her, and a father she may not even recognize on his way from America to take her home, Clementine assumes a new identity and enlists a blue-eyed Irish stranger, Kieran O’Connell, to help her escape her forgotten life…and start a new one.

Hiding out in the sleepy town of Waterville, Ireland, Clementine discovers there’s an upside to a life that’s fallen apart. But as her lies grow, so does her affection for Kieran, and the truth about her identity becomes harder and harder to reveal, forcing Clementine to decide: Can she leave her past behind for a new love she’ll never forget?

I was incredibly excited to read this book; the cover, the title and most importantly, the whole premise of the story, seemed really interesting to me.

After reading and liking (but not loving) The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr, in which a girl has amnesia that makes her forget everything every few hours, I was intrigued to see how the Clementine’s amnesia would be written into the story. Fortunately, the narration was no where near as confusing as I originally feared, in fact, the writing style was incredibly fresh and creative. Filled with flashbacks to the last moments before the plane crash, along with half formed memories from her life before the accident, the story remained engaging throughout some of the slower sections.

I loved the characters in this story; sure, Clementine was a good narrater, but the real stars of the show for me were Siobhan, a young to-be-mother with pink hair and plenty of attitude, and Clive, a secretly Jane Austen obsessed punk and the owner of a local music shop. I loved the individuality of these two characters and looked forward to the snippets of the novel that they were featured in.

Altogether The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane was a great read. Its sweet and and relatable narration, along with a somewhat surprising ending, made it an easy read and one that I would certainly recommend. 4 stars :).

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.