How to Keep Rolling After a Fall by Karole Cozzo
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
Blurb (on back of book):
After a cyber bullying incident turns her life upside down, a handsome wheelchair rugby player shows a former mean girl that everyone deserves a second chance.
The party was at her house. The photos were posted to her Facebook account. That's all the evidence anyone needed to condemn Nikki Baylor for a cyberbullying incident that humiliated a classmate and nearly resulted in the girl's suicide. Now Nikki's been expelled from her old school, her friends have abandoned her, and even her own parents can't look her in the eye. With her plans for the future all but destroyed, Nikki resigns herself to being the girl everyone hates - almost as much as she hates herself. But then Nikki meets Pax, a spirited wheelchair rugby player who knows what it's like when one mistake completely shatters your life. Refusing to judge her because of her past, he shows her that everyone deserves a second chance... and everyone deserves to be loved.
MY OPINION: ******
This book has me shook. I ended up rating it six stars but it deserved so much more than that. It was a combination of pure heartbreak, entertainment, empathy, and beauty. I loved this book to no end and despite some minor flaws, it was amazingly wonderful.
After all, nobody's perfect. And no book is perfect either. There's always one little tiny thing that you learn to just ignore.
For me, that one little tiny thing was the slights against disabled people. Yes, I think it was justified because it's an accurate representation of what people think or act like when thinking about disabled people, whether mentally or physically, but it still angered me that it wasn't ever fully resolved. For example, Nikki says something like "He's hot for someone in a wheelchair." That's just not right. Just because he's in a wheelchair, that demotes his physical attractiveness? That doesn't make sense. The author tries to resolve the issue by having Pax guess that she thought those words and she feels ashamed, but still.
However, other than those tiny little discriminations, I absolutely loved this book!
Pax was the best character ever. He was funny, sarcastic, had a sense of humor, was brave, strong, and determined. I loved how he never gave up, even though he was disabled and things were harder for him. He wasn't afraid to ask for help, which is an annoying trend that's going around in fiction regarding disabled people. He was also kind, romantic, and sweet.
Nikki, on the other hand, made a mistake and now her life is ruined. However, was it really a mistake? She had all the time in the world to stop what happened but she didn't. This isn't a spoiler because it's talked about in the blurb and the first 20 pages so... she and her friends are really popular. One of them had just broken up with her boyfriend and they caught this girl Taylor with him and one other person in a party naked in a bedroom. One of the girls decides to take pictures and post it to Facebook. They upload the pictures on Nikki's profile so she ends up taking the brunt of the deed.
This book was so amazing and I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author. I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a strong, provocative, romantic novel!
Main Character: Nikki
Sidekick(s): Pax, Sam, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstanding, lack of judgment, social media, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was very real to life.
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