Falling by T.J. Newman

Falling by T.J. Newman
⭐⭐

Falling by T.J. Newman is a story about humanity, survival, terrorism, and what people are willing to do when faced with a life or death situation. In this book we meet Bill, a pilot who accepts a last minute job request, much to the chagrin of his wife, Carrie. It should be an easy job and Bill’s biggest worry is Carrie’s anger - at least until he receives an email with a photo of his wife and children, bound and gagged, attached. Sam, an immigrant from Kurdistan, has an agenda and he offers Bill an ultimatum. The veteran pilot can either crash his plane, killing everyone on board, or helplessly watch as his family is killed instead. 

I wanted so badly to like this book! Its premise was so promising and it’s the exact kind of psychological manipulation that I typically adore. Plus, so many others loved it (including my dad)! Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. 

Most of the characters felt very one dimensional to me. They just simply existed within this crisis. Towards the climax of the story, the author includes back stories that by that point, are completely unnecessary. It felt like an attempt to fluff the book up - delaying the resolution to the story in hopes of having a thicker book. Even characters that were not important to the story received backgrounds that eventually became more of a nuisance than an addition. Why wait until 2/3’s of the story to offer histories for each character?

I felt that the premise was strong but just not executed the best. There were definitely positives in this story though! The first of which is the pacing. This book is quick and the tension created as a result of that intensity is a nice effect. I looked forward to the parts of the story that centered on the flight attendants. Those were by far the best moments in my opinion!! Also, politically speaking, this book made many great points and offered a wonderful conversation about privilege, the United States, the murders we commit in the name of justice, and the oppression of other races and groups. 

Overall, this wasn’t my cup of tea. It felt like an action film that took itself a little too seriously. I wouldn’t really recommend picking it up, but who knows! Maybe you’ll enjoy it! So many people did! It just wasn’t for me!