It’s pretty hard to exist on any form of bookish social media without seeing Falling by T.J. Newman all over the place. This thriller has some big name endorsements on the cover and a lot of hype (especially about the first sentence, which I’m still miffed that it’s a fake out and irrelevant), so I had to check it out.

I’m torn on this one, y’all.

On one hand, this sucker flies by. I mean, I finished it in two hours and 35 minutes, and not on purpose. It’s a wild and kind of terrifying concept, so it’s best not to think about it too much. I mean, the pilot’s family is being held hostage until he crashes the plane, and this guy, Bill, has to pick between his family and everyone on the flight.

[Spoiler Alert]
However, I’m not so thrilled with the ‘bad guy’. Making a Middle East people group the scapegoat for a terrorist plot just doesn’t feel right. Reading this right before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks probably didn’t help, but it didn’t sit well. There are a plethora of reasons an author could pick for hijacking a plane that don’t involve villainizing people who already have a hard time. I wish Newman would have been a little more creative with her why.

Newman wrote this book while working as a flight attendant and it definitely shows. She paints the flight crew as the unsung heroes of the sky. She gives them more of an active, savior-type role than any other hijacked plane thriller. Instead of just running errands for the main character, the team on this flight are making calls of their own.

Overall, I think this book could’ve used a bit more work before going to print. There’s quite a few places where the grammar is off and irritated me. The ‘bad guy’ plot line should’ve been reworked, and honestly could’ve been more creative overall. If you can look past those weaknesses, Falling is a page turner. There’s a lot of people who love this book and a good chunk who hate it. I see both sides, so you should probably just check it out for yourself and tell me where you land.