The Fall is based on The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. I am familiar with Poe's story and I was intrigued when I read the blurb of this book. It sounded exciting; it sounded different. In fact, it was confusing and repetitive. However, even though it wasn't what I expected, I did still enjoy reading it.
Madeline is the main character, and she has a twin brother called Roderick. They are part of the Usher family. They live in a house where madness is in the air they breathe. Everyone in their family is cursed with a horrible illness. As their mother's favourite child, Roderick is sent away to school with the hope that it will save him from the curse. This means that Madeline is left alone. She finds this hard as the twins have always been close. Madeline's only chance of escape is by destroying the house that causes the curse. I think that the storyline was good even though it was a little difficult to follow.
At the beginning of the story, the curse that Madeline and her family have is not properly explained which made it quite difficult to understand what was happening at certain points. I was roughly twenty chapters in when I finally understood it and from then on I was engrossed in the book. The chapters themselves are all very confusing as they jump from Madeline being at a certain age to her being at a completely different one: Madeline is 9; Madeline is 15; Madeline is 11; Madeline is 16, and so on. Although, I did like that we followed Madeline on a very long journey because I think that it made it easier for the reader to understand her character.
The most confusing part of the story is that it seems as if Madeline is in love with Roderick. I think that if the writer had left those parts out there wouldn't have been a difference to the story. I think it is unnecessary to the story and quite strange.
I did really enjoy the story. However, parts of the story, to me, make no sense. For example, Madeline can't remember what happened to her father, and the reader never finds out either. As well as this, the servants in the house find a dead man in the attics, but nobody finds out who he is. Also, Madeline starts a garden but is unable to grow anything as the ground is cursed. But, somehow Madeline is able to grow ivy that is capable of countering the evil of the house.
Despite all the negatives to be found in this book, something about it really gripped me from the moment I picked it up. One reason I think that it gripped me is because I loved Madeline's character. I liked how she never gave up no matter what happened and the fact that she will stop at nothing to save herself and her brother. Also, I liked the house itself. I liked that it was personified and I think the author described it really well.
I would say that the book isn't aimed at either boys or girls. I would aim it at teenagers rather than younger readers as it touches on some heavy subjects (such as death and homosexuality). I think that there are a lot of negatives to this book but overall it is very well written and I really enjoyed it. I would definitely consider reading Bethany Griffin's other books.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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