Review: The Art of Falling – Kathryn Craft

One wrong step could send her over the edge.

All Penny has ever wanted to do is dance—and when that chance is taken from her, it pushes her to the brink of despair, from which she might never return. When she wakes up after a traumatic fall, bruised and battered but miraculously alive, Penny must confront the memories that have haunted her for years, using her love of movement to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.

Kathryn Craft’s lyrical debut novel is a masterful portrayal of a young woman trying to come to terms with her body and the artistic world that has repeatedly rejected her. The Art of Falling expresses the beauty of movement, the stasis of despair, and the unlimited possibilities that come with a new beginning.

Series:
Release Date: January 28th 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Source: Provided by Publisher
Reviewer: Joelle
Rating:

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Reviewer’s Thoughts

3.5 Cocktails

Wow, where to start with this book…there was so much to it! The story starts out in a pretty dark place with Penny waking up in a hospital room. She doesn’t remember how she got there, nor the fourteen-story fall that caused her injuries. She does remember many of the reasons she was unhappy in the first place, however. Penny had body-image issues. She doesn’t have a typical dancer’s body and she has felt self-conscious about it for a long time. She also has relationship issues with her mom. And, finally, she has recently had her heart broken by the man she loved, Dimitri didn’t just break her heart by leaving her, he also made her doubt her talent and passion for dance. That’s the real tragedy in the story.

Penny has things pretty rough with all of her troubles weighing on her, but in the hospital while recuperating from her fall she meets Angela. Angela suffers from cystic fibrosis. She is no stranger to hospital stays. To me, the relationship between these two characters was Craft’s way of teaching the readers to put their lives into perspective. Getting to know Angela certainly helps Penny put things into perspective.

I looked at the rest of the book as a survival story. Each character is fighting their own battle and it’s interesting to watch the story unfold and how the characters help each other in their fight. Penny learns a lot about herself on her journey back to her lifelong passion-dance.

I enjoyed all of the dance references in the book. I am by no means a dancer, but I really appreciate others’ talents in that area so Iiked reading about it. I could also identfy with Penny and her mom and some of the issues they had in their relationship. Overall, this was a bit of a downer–but it wasn’t all sad and readers will be inspired by this story.