cover image FALLING THROUGH DARKNESS

FALLING THROUGH DARKNESS

Carolyn MacCullough, . . Roaring Brook/Brodie, $15.95 (160pp) ISBN 978-0-7613-1934-4

In her first novel, MacCullough delicately deals with dark themes as her teenage heroine learns to cope with the death of her boyfriend and, also, with the realities of their often-destructive relationship. In the car with Aidan when he crashed and died, Ginny refuses to talk about the accident, even to her father or best friend. Then her father rents the apartment above their garage to a man named Caleb (when asked if he has kids, he says, "I used to. One boy. Not now"), and she finds herself spending more and more time with him. Their relationship begins to draw suspicion, and although Ginny claims that "it's not like that," her own feelings grow romantic. A series of flashbacks, some flowing into the main narrative more smoothly than others, reveal Ginny's experiences with Aidan. The plotting may be overdone in places (Ginny's self-absorbed best friend is unlikable and without dimension, for example, as is Ginny's actress mother), but the prose attains lovely, poetic moments ("I know you, I know you, I know you, you are mine," Ginny thinks when she sees Aidan waiting beneath her window). MacCullough expertly fleshes out the scenes, enabling readers to visualize the action and to intuit the implications for the characters. Realistically portraying Ginny's intense, dangerous relationship with an abused, angry boy who may have driven off that bridge purposely, and wanted—at least symbolically—to take her with him, the author tells simultaneous stories of loss and recovery. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)