The Fall by David L. Dawson tells the story of a coming of
age boy and his return from the outside due to his rite of passage. This is
another story I read a month ago, but it stuck with me. Two gods war with each other
and their conflict is what caused the end of civilization as we know it. A
group called the god slayers seek to reclaim a weapon capable of killing the
gods. This story is told third person with Ben being the main character. A
fourteen year old boy destined to be the mayor when his father passes away.
Like most boys of that age, he is starting to develop… well… ok he has a crush
on his best friend’s older brother. There is no other way to put it. And worse
yet, it was that blunt in the story too.
I realized halfway through the story, that it was meant for
young adults and I was disappointed. This is the type of story that was made
for an older market. On Amazon, it says suitable for twelve and older. I have
issues with that. A story that is meant for a twelve year old won’t hold the interest
of an eighteen year old. There are exceptions, but if it is a series and it
gets progressively darker as it goes.
Let’s get this out of the way, I don’t like young adult.
Sure, my first novel is young adult oriented, but it is meant for the older
market: fifteen and such. Any book meant for someone under fifteen, I can’t
stand. I couldn’t even stand them when I was those ages. The Fall by David L.
Dawson is a young adult novel meant for young adults starting at the age of
twelve and going upward. Ok, what! Twelve and up is a huge chasm of time. The
way I look at it, from the age of twelve to the age of eighteen, many things
change. You start cussing more, sex happens and you are more than likely going
to see someone in your family die and have to fully process that event. To
write a book and market it towards half a decade or more is a difficult feat,
to market a book for preteens and expect teenagers to read it is next to
impossible. The only way it could be done -IMO- is with angst and dark themes.
The Fall has dark themes, but it is tempered so the preteens can enjoy.
I’m sorry, but your main character is gay, you have two gods
fighting it out, destroying land masses and civilization. And you mention his
first time ejaculating. You have all the workings of a fantastic fifteen and up
young adult novel.
My ranting aside, and the three star rating, the overall
plot of the story was worth the read and I do look forward to the sequel.
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