Readers fall in love with Fallen

Fallen, by Lauren Kate, is a captivating story about a girl named Lucinda Price, or Luce for short, who is sent to a reform school called Sword & Cross. During her time there, she tries to hide her dark past from all of the new people she meets. Her past returns to haunt her, including the mystery surrounding the unexpected and unexplained death of her crush, Trevor.

Though she is still mourning her loss, a boy named Daniel catches her eye. She can’t help but find him attractive, even though his attitude toward her is hostile from the beginning. She doesn’t know why, but he immediately seems strangely familiar to her. Luce’s curiosity gets the best of her, and she struggles to find out why he acts the way he does with the help of her new friend, Penn. Penn was a loner before she met Luce, but she turns out to be the only person that keeps Luce grounded throughout the book. Penn comes to her aid many times, so Luce knows she can rely on her. At the same time, another boy named Cam tries to get Luce’s attention, but is unsuccessful because Luce is preoccupied with thoughts of Daniel.

The story grabs your attention and makes you want to know what happened in their past. It slowly reveals what happened to Luce and how she wound up in Sword & Cross, but keeps you trying to figure out everything else left in the shadows. The book revolves around the question: What part does Daniel play in Luce’s past?

Toward the end, Daniel talks to Luce, and the mystery starts to unfold before her eyes. The truth begins to slowly come out from behind the cover that he had been keeping, but she has to figure out most of the mystery alone because he can’t tell her. This gives rise to a new question: Why can’t Daniel tell her why she vaguely remembers him?

The major conflict of the book remains unsolved, and the book ends without fully revealing the secrets of the past. It keeps pulling your attention back to it even after you finish reading, encouraging you to read the sequel. Fallen keeps you guessing to the very end.