Falling Apart
Jacqueline Wilson
★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Synopsis from Goodreads-
I’m sorry, but I don’t want to live any longer. It’s nothing to do with what you said, Dad, I’d made up my mind to do this ages ago. Mum, maybe it will help to think of your twins together again.
Jan, I’m leaving you my blue cashmere sweater and all my books, even though they mostly belonged to you in the first place.
Louise, you can have my diamanté brooch and all my make up and any clothes you want. I’d like Carly to have my toy dog.
Goodbye.
Love from Tina.
Tina is fifteen and having a miserable time at home since her twin brother died. She falls in love for the first time. Simon is from a private school and not part of Tina’s world. They don’t have much in common, but Tina convinces herself she’s in love. When Simon ends it with her, Tina’s world falls apart.
First published in 1989, Falling Apart is an honest and thought-provoking story written by one of the world’s most popular writers. Jacqueline Wilson captures the voices of teenagers perfectly in this engrossing novel about couples and families, and what can happen when it all goes wrong.
JW should stick to middle grade fiction. None of these characters felt like teens.
I'd like to think Falling Apart was about a girls infatuation and how it can push you over the edge- but it just didn't work.
Tina and Simon's relationship was awful. I can't believe she fell for it. She said she loved him almost straight away, wanted to marry him, and agreed to have sex when she clearly wasn't ready. It was so obvious that Simon didn't care about Tina, and Tina's clinginess and oblivion made me cringe. And not because I felt bad for her- I was shocked someone could be that stupid. Tina clearly didn't respect herself, because if she had, she'd have gotten OUT of that relationship.
Jan was the only character in the whole book with any sense. I hate to say it, but there is now a Jacqueline Wilson book I don't like.
It just felt unfinished, as pretty much NOTHING was resolved.
Also, after Tina attempted SUICIDE, NO ONE DID ANYTHING. SERIOUSLY. She was just.... sent to group therapy. That's it. Seriously. She was kept in observation for one day, and even if she said she didn't mean it and she wants to live, you cannot just keep a MINOR- 15 YEARS OLD- for ONE day and claim she's just "a little upset." She also refused to eat, and no one raised an eyebrow at that either. Apparently everyone in this book is a freaking idiot.
This book wasn't realistic. Teens acted like 5 year olds, adults didn't care about what they did, and the writing was third person and present tense. Hate that. The writing was also too simple. It felt like JW was trying to teach sex-ed to a group of kindergartners.
If you want a good book about girls being pushed to the edge over a relationships, don't read this.
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