Review of "Freefall"

"I know you were there."

     In the young adult novel Freefall, debut author Ariela Anhalt takes a new look at the old boarding-school-drama trope. Luke Prescott has everything--a charismatic best friend, straight A's, and a spot on the Briar Academy's varsity fencing team. If he's careful, he can forget about the tragedy that took his dad to the grave and ruined his relationship with his mom. And when he can't forget...well, there's always the cliff, that secret place where the fencing team does their hazing ritual. When a new kid ends up dead at the bottom of that very cliff, the delicate balance of Luke's world is shattered forever. Suddenly, his best friend is Suspect Number One in a premeditated murder, and he's been asked to testify. With no other witnesses to talk to, the pressure is on for him to get his story right--and Luke is no longer sure this was an accident after all.

     Freefall does not open as a heart-pounding drama. Instead, it tells the simple story of a boy at war on two fronts: struggling against peer pressure at school, and lashing out against his widowed mother at home. Luke can't get over how callous his mom was in the weeks he needed her most, and it seems the only thing she ever offers him is excuses. Then, one fateful night, his best friend, Hayden, causes a boy to fall to his death, and Luke is the only witness. As time passes and it becomes less clear whether this was, in fact, an accident, Luke has to come to terms with everything from his own involvement to what happened to his father four years ago. Most importantly, he has to decide who deserves forgiveness and who deserves to be punished for everything they've done.

     This novel reads like a a YA story. The prose is straightforward, the characters generally easy to interpret. Anhalt slips into Luke's mind with as much grace as a ballerina, grasping the inner workings of the boy's mind with startling ease. There is more than enough angst for anyone interested in such things, although it is centered more around working out whether Hayden is capable of murder than getting the girl or winning new friends. Social groups are a big deal in the elite Briar Academy, and the tension created by Hayden's bossiness is tangible. The academy feels like an actual place rather than a fictional world, which is very neat.

     Most stories that emphasize an internal struggle are anchored around a related plot: bringing down a terrible evil, preventing some awful change in the town or school, or winning back the love of a significant other. With Freefall, this is not quite the case. While Luke does face the impending deadline of Hayden's trial, there is little in the way of a structured plot between the accident and the climax. Yet Anhalt makes this work, using worried friends, concerned faculty, and backstabbing adversaries to dig into the very heart of Luke's afflictions. Although there are times when this messes with the overall pacing, in this setting, against these characters, a meandering plot is somehow just what is needed.

     The trials Luke faces are numerous, and have a very serious effect on who he is. When we meet him, he is a kind boy who isn't sure he likes the way Hayden treats their friends behind their backs. And he stands out as the only one who doesn't drink, swear, or otherwise act out the way his friends do. As he tries to figure out what really happened on the cliff and what he's going to do about it, however, his language and mannerisms begin to evolve. Aside from F-bombs, which are used fairly often, the profanity used is relatively minor. There is a fight or two, usually involving combatants under the influence of alcohol. One already-deceased character is responsible for his own fate, which causes all kinds of trauma in the lives of their friends and family. Romance doesn't progress further than light kissing, and relationship problems of all kinds manage to add a great deal to the plot. 

     I would recommend this book to teens looking for a boarding school drama that goes beyond boy-meets-girl. Luke Prescott has to deal with a lot of emotional luggage over the course of the story, and the author handles it well. Even if the prose is rather simple, it captures the characters' emotions nicely. And while the pacing is slow at times, the plot is remarkably well executed. In short, Freefall is a great debut for a strong author and deserves a solid four stars.