The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

Couldn't put it down. Not great literature but a good read. A few too many coincidences to make it totally believable but then it is a story.

Once I realized what the premise of this book was, I had that internal struggle as to whether I should go on or not. Influenced by an actual event the author read about in the newspaper (although outside of that a work of fiction), the tragedy that shapes the book is incredibly tragic and somewhat disturbing. So I turned to one of my book groups to see if it was worth reading on - they encouraged me to continue and it was indeed very worth it.Rachel is a young girl who is the sole survivor of a horrific "accident". Her mother is Danish and her father is black, highlighting the struggles of a biracial child in the 1980's. Displaced from a family she dearly loved and now living with her religious paternal grandmother, she must face discrimination along with many questions about her parents and their actions.It may be assumed Rachel is the main character of the story, but many other characters shape the richness and emotion in the book; especially "Brick" (who saw her 'fall from the sky"), her father Charles, and her mother Zella. Pain, substance abuse, and fear shape these characters, which in turn shape Rachel as she develops into a young woman.I struggled between giving this book a 4 and a 5-star rating ONLY because I feel as though it ended abruptly. I could have kept reading for much, much longer. There was so much more I wanted to know about each and every character I was introduced to.Some takeaway quotes I saved: "The way Grandma paints her dream for me, there’s a low sky" - Rachel"My children are one half of black. They are also one half of me. I want them to be anything. They are not just a color that people see." - ZellaIf there’s no one else to tell another side — the only story that can be told is the story that becomes true. - Rachel

I picked up The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow as an impulse buy. The ebook was $1.99 on Amazon, it had some good reviews underneath it, and I figured it was a worth a shot. I am so glad I took the gamble as this is such a great book that I immediately started recommending to my friends after finishing it.The story is about Rachel primarily, but it is also about Jamie who becomes Brick by the end.Rachel is half Danish and half black and must live with her grandmother in Portland, OR after an event that happens in Rachel's life when she was living in Chicago. The event is the main mystery of the book, so I will not spoil what happened. All we know is Rachel now lives with her black grandmother in a black neighborhood, her father has gone back on assignment, and her mother and brothers are gone.A large portion of the book is not only about Rachel's past, but about how Rachel now must fit in a primarily black community as she is light skinned and bright eyed. We follow Rachel throughout her life from early childhood into adulthood as she struggles with not quite fitting into either of the two communities- the white community, where she is too dark, and the black community, where she is too white. Men find her attractive, as she has developed early, and exotic, which doesn't help with the women within each community.As stated, it is also the story of Jamie aka Brick, who is the sole witness to the event that happened in Rachel's life. His mother is a drug using prostitute of sorts and is absent in Jamie's life. He runs away one day, as a young child in search of Rachel. He only knows she is in Portland, but can only afford a bus ticket half way there. We follow his life as a homeless child growing up on the streets who is used by two other homeless people to make money off of him. Will he find Rachel and be able to tell her what happened? Hint: yes!The story is told through the eyes of many of the characters, primarily Rachel's, who's narration changes the older she gets. I really appreciated this as most authors don't bother to change sentence structure or tone as the person ages. Durrow did this for Rachel and Brick.We also get glimpses into the event through the eyes of Rachel's mother, who kept a journal which is found by her neighbor and friend. Even though we get glimpses of the event and know what happened, the bigger question is why did this event happen and we are left in the dark until the very end of the book.The characters are well developed and grow throughout the book. The writing is top notch too. Durrow definitely drew from her own life and that shows throughout the book, especially within the tension of not fitting into one culture. My copy had an interview with her, where she opens up about some of her life.I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend it. It might get dusty a few times in the room, but it is definitely worth the read. I gave this one 4 stars.

I read this book on the recommendation of a Pinterest user. It wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be but it was an interesting read non-the-less. Sometimes it's a slightly uncomfortable read but light enough for a holiday book as it was in my case. The author tackles some interesting issues with a couple of plot twists thrown in for good measure - I don't want to give anything away and the product info will give you a far better overview than I can but it's worth a read.

Good price and good condition

One of the best books I have ever read - heartbreaking, clever and full of lessons

I felt there needed to be better characterisation to be honest, the story was good but the characters were uninteresting which was a shame.x

Great. Read to children