If I fall, If I die, by Michael Christie

You'll be surprised just how addictive this book is and how much you'd enjoy exploring the little confined world of the main character. It's definitely a book like no other, and it's beautifully written.

The story of Will and his mum intrigued me from the beginning. It is beautifully written but slow in pace. A wonderful debut but perhaps tries to incorporate too much. One to read with no distractions out in the summer garden.

It took a while for me to get into this book but once you got to know the main characters I felt that the book had real potential. The relationship between Will and his mother was intriguing and I found myself wanting to find out more about her and her life. The storyline began to build throughout the book but unfortunately the ending was very disappointing. It felt rushed and lacked depth in the writing. It was confusing to read and left me feeling disappointed.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to friends and family.
It tells the story of a mother with acrophobia and her son, Will. Will is made to think that the world outside the front door is harmful and dangerous so stays inside with his mother living in a world of make believe. The beginning is excellent and got me hooked but when Will decides to go to school I lost a little belief in the book. The transition just seemed to easy and not true to life. However if you can gloss over that small section the storyline is good and the characters interesting.
I liked the ending as it ties up the loose ends in the book leaving the story neatly complete.
Recommended for a interesting but not too tough read.
Thank you for my copy.

IF I FALL, IF I DIE by Michael Christie

An incredible and insightful read with some of the most beautiful use of the English language I have seen. The prose in this novel is breathtaking, and for this alone it stands as a work of fiction which can only be stood back and admired. Despite approaching this novel with some hesitation as it is not my typical read of choice, I admit I was blown away and found this to be a truly magical and uplifting read.

The story is based around a mother and son who have for much of the boys lifetime been living out their existence without leaving their house situated in a washed up and tired industrial backwater in a remote part of Canada. The location seems to be apt, appropriately reflecting how this mother and son's lives have floundered. On fleeing from New York with Will as a toddler, Diane Cardiel has based their life around the rooms of her old family home. Decorating each room with Will's artistic endeavours and naming each room after a worldwide location, such as San Francisco, Paris and Cairo. In the early stages of Will's life, Diane was overpowered by the onset of agoraphobia and this is the reason why she never ventures outside the household confines. Along with being plagued by the dark clouds of depression, termed as 'Black Lagoons', life in the Cardiel household is anything but run of the mill.

The novel alternates between two chapters told by Will, and a chapter by Diane, which she calls her 'Relaxation Time'. This affords the reader a take on the story from the perspective of the child dealing with the impact of Diane's problem and the internal battles the mother finds so hard to conquer. Seeing the situation described through both perspectives is incredibly emotional and I really can't say who I felt most pity for. Diane's gut-wrenching panic attack on the New York subway is described with such clarity that for this few paragraphs alone, I found it a truly wondrous read. Having suffered with my own mental demons I was truly gripped.

Needless to say the status quo does not continue: Will ventures outside and is enrolled into a local school. The authenticity and smoothness of this transition is something I found hard to believe and Diane's acceptance of this didn't seem plausible, or at least with the ease portrayed. I found myself questioning this and at that point it felt like the book might become a story of a young boy tackling the world on his own, leaving Diane as a secondary figure. I know that some readers had issues with the turn that the story takes from this point. What develops is a beautiful coming of age story, akin to a YA novel, and it does become slightly more of a tale about Will. However, Diane is never marginalised and her story continues to be told throughout the book, detailing her gradual decent over recent years. For the beautiful climax and some incredibly evocative prose, I urge ever reader to give this book a go! A thoroughly worthwhile and charming read. This book will remain with me for quite some time.

'If I Fall, If I Die' is a coming of age tale like no other. Will and his mother live a strange, isolated existance and the book uses both of their perpsective as narration. As Will begins to discover a world he's been sheltered from he stumbles into danger, mystery and a voyage of discovery. He's incredibly likable and even the most hard hearted reader will sympathise with his damaged mother.
Well written enough to be a page turner, the book is bold and original and I found myself completely drawn into it's weird little world.
If you liked 'The Rosie Project' and 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' this may well be right up your street.

If I Fall, If I Die follows a boy’s first steps into the outside world. But the outside isn’t as innocent as Will thinks. There are bad, complex and dangerous people but Will is determined to find Marcus - a boy who falls into the wrong crowd. With Will’s mother’s anxiety and agoraphobia at its highest, Will is determined to prove to her that the outside is just as safe as being inside.

I have to say from the offset I just didn’t like this book. The writing from beginning to end just irritated me if I’m honest. Everything was overly-described and I felt like the writer was trying too hard to hook the reader but it just didn’t do it for me. I felt like a drag to read. I felt really bad for not liking this book, to be honest, because the premise of it sounded promising especially as I was really looking forward to reading a book that would understand just how it feels to be anxious and a recluse and the writing style just ruined it for me. I can imagine many people enjoying this book, but the over-use of explaining one minuscule detail in a dozen different ways or words just to describe something so simple was just tedious page after page. It felt too draining to read and I couldn’t wait to finish reading it because it just simply frustrated me to read.

The one positive from the book I found was that I enjoyed the relaxation time chapters. I managed to read through those like a breeze as it gave me a gateway into why Diane (Will’s mother) shut herself off from the world. The book started off with one idea and then half way through it, it lost momentum and switched direction like it suddenly decided it didn’t want to stick with it and turned itself into some mysterious thriller about what happened to Marcus.

I know every book isn’t for everyone and I genuinely feel bad and guilty for not liking this but it’s better to be completely honest than to pave over the cracks - and that’s what my honest reviews are for: to say when I did or didn’t enjoy a book and unfortunately I just couldn’t enjoy this book at all. Don’t get me wrong, the author is talented and I respect him for trying to write about such a sensitive and complex subject matter - and this is coming from someone who personally has anxiety and doesn’t go out of the house for months on end unless my fiance is visiting from The Netherlands - and as it’s the guy’s first novel, I feel really mean for saying I just didn’t like it.

I gave it a one star because for me, I just couldn’t connect with the book or the characters. I’m sure many others will enjoy reading the book, and I salute them for sticking to what they like and don’t like. I don’t know who I’d recommend this to - as my sister also read this and she found it frustrating to read as it kept going off in different directions and the plot just didn’t know where it wanted to go. I stuck it out with the book because once I start a book, I’m determined to finish it - even if I don’t like it as at one point - I hope that the book would help change my mind of if I like it or not but this just didn’t change my mind. Sorry.

Although the characters are really well built and you could (at times) strongly relate to both of them, it looked to me more as if a psychologist suggested to a patient that keeping a diary would be a good method to work out anxiety issues. Then someone else found the diary, added a beginning and an end and voila, it's a book! I know I sound harsh, but it seemed to me as written by two different persons. One responsible for the robust characters, their feelings that really move you to the bone and the main storyline and one for the structural elements, namely the beginning and the end. It didn't quite add up. Rewriting those two parts could make an excellent book.

I won't go that far as to say that is not worth reading, because it really is, but I wouldn't rate it with more than 2/5.

It took me a few chapters to get into the story but I'm glad I stuck with it. The story ambles along with a few twists and turns but the relationship between Will and his mum is what really makes the book interesting. I really felt for them both - Will's mum so paralysed by her past and Will, torn between caring for his mum and living his own life.

The only let down was the book's ending which seemed rushed and somewhat far fetched - such a shame.

The first few chapters are a bit hard to follow as you learn about the confusing and anxiety-filled world that Will & his mum live in. You do get a very powerful sense of anxiety just reading about the various things that Diane (Will's mum) worries about and the lengths that she goes to avoid things. But once you get used to this, the various plotlines between Will & Diane, Will's search for Marcus and the Diane's past are enthralling.

Unfortunately, the beautifully constructed characters are let down by the ending which seems in such a hurry to wrap up that it leaves a few of the characters in some unbelievable situations. This is a real shame considering how much detail had gone into bringing these characters to life and developing their stories.

Will is eleven years old and lives his life 'Inside' his home, imprisoned my his mother Diane's psychological problems. This book is the story of what happens when Will ventures 'Outside'.

The author writes beautifully and with incredible insight. It is testament to his skill that the reader can't help but love Will - think August in 'Wonder' or Milo in 'What Milo Saw'- and yet sympathise with Diane, his mother, who has in effect excluded him from the 'Outside' world due to her paralysing fears: "How was it that to give a child life was to, on that the very same day...have already given them their death?"

There is so much going on in this book - the story of Will and Diane, son and mother, is very poignant; the story of Diane's past which explains why she has shut herself and Will away from the 'Outside' is heartbreaking; and the story of Will's growing friendship with Jonah and their shared love of skateboarding is heartwarming.

As Will and Jonah attempt to solve the mystery of the disappearance of their friend Marcus, they become involved in a dangerous adventure and that, along with the gradual uncovering of Diane's past keeps the reader turning the pages until the very end.

Brilliant novel - highly recommended

I can see how this book might be appealing to others, it's well written and has a decent storyline, However.... I just couldn't get into it and I had to force myself to pick it up and actually finish it. The mind set of some of the characters are rather dark and made me feel a bit depressed at times :O

I think that if you are maybe someone that suffers from anxiety yourself, you may not like this book so much.

I was intrigued by the prologue of this book.

The story itself is told from two points of view, Will's and his mum Diane's. I think this is cleverly done. It allows you to see the same events from different perspectives. Will sees himself almost as the protector of his mum, generally he thinks about how his actions will affect his mum and her condition, how she would react if he were to do certain things. While you get to learn just why his mums acts why she does and you are shown that sometimes the roles between parent and child can get blurry, overlap.

This book is heartfelt and filled with sensitivity. The narration has you really feeling for the characters. You see from the beginning that the bond between mother and son is a tight one. There is no negativity in their household, only love and understanding.

My only negative thought comes from the conclusion. I was left wanting more, what that more was I'm not sure, I just don't feel like the story was complete.

If I Fall, If I Die is a story that will stay with you. It's uplifting in a very honest way and although there is no "big drama", there is a slow build up with twists and turns along the way that are completely unexpected. Well worth reading.

I really enjoyed this book. The way it was written was really engaging. I loved the relationship between the main character Will and his mother and also his friend Jonah.

I first was attracted to this book after reading 'Room' and thought this had similarities. However this book is about a Mum keeping her son inside their house as she is full of fear that something will happen to them if they go out. She makes Will wear a helmet incase he falls and the book really describes well how the mother feels and why these fears began in the first place.

As Will gets older his longing to explore outside grows and finally he starts to venture out and finds new friendships and shows instead of being scared of everything he can be brave.

I love the character of Will he's funny, clever, brave and caring and the book describes this so well.It also portrays how torn he is by not wanting to upset his mother but wanting his life outside too.

There was another story line running alongside the main story about a missing boy and a criminal gang but I must admit I wasn't as interested in this part of the story (even though it was well written) when i was reading these parts i wanted to get back to the story of Will and his Mum. Overall though a really great book and was so glad to recieve my free copy.