We All Fall Down
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- Create Date：2022-08-11 09:52:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Rose Szabo
- ISBN：0374314322
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Summary
The first book in a dark fantasy YA duology by the author of What Big Teeth， about the power and danger of stories and the untold costs of keeping magic alive， perfect for fans of Aiden Thomas and Marie Rutkoski。
In River City， where magic used to thrive and is now fading， the witches who once ruled the city along with their powerful King have become all but obsolete。 The city's crumbling government is now controlled primarily by the new university and teaching hospital， which has grown to take over half of the city。
Moving between the decaying Old City and the ruthless New， four young queer people struggle with the daily hazards of life―work， school， dodging ruthless cops and unscrupulous scientists―not realizing that they have been selected to play in an age-old drama that revives the flow of magic through their world。 When a mysterious death rocks their fragile peace， the four are brought into each other's orbits as they uncover a deeper magical conspiracy。
Devastating， gorgeous， and utterly unique， We All Fall Down examines the complex network of pain created by power differentials， even between people who love each other―and how it is possible to be queer and turn out just fine。
In River City， where magic used to thrive and is now fading， the witches who once ruled the city along with their powerful King have become all but obsolete。 The city's crumbling government is now controlled primarily by the new university and teaching hospital， which has grown to take over half of the city。
Moving between the decaying Old City and the ruthless New， four young queer people struggle with the daily hazards of life―work， school， dodging ruthless cops and unscrupulous scientists―not realizing that they have been selected to play in an age-old drama that revives the flow of magic through their world。 When a mysterious death rocks their fragile peace， the four are brought into each other's orbits as they uncover a deeper magical conspiracy。
Devastating， gorgeous， and utterly unique， We All Fall Down examines the complex network of pain created by power differentials， even between people who love each other―and how it is possible to be queer and turn out just fine。
Reviews
Christa
，
Despite many reviewers saying the writing or world-building was confusing， that wasn’t a problem for me。 I actually really enjoyed this book and I’m mainly docking stars due to how race and gender were presented （which most of the reviews mention， so I’m not going to waste my time going over it again）。 TBH， I’ll probably listen to the second book when it comes out because I want to hear more of the story， but I’m not going to recommend this to others
coffee
，
This was a really uncomfortable read to get through and I"m sure the author and publishers know why at this pointI think it had potential on the LGBTQ side of things but it was also done in a way that left me rather confused。 Were the characters being misgendered the whole time and never corrected it （for some reason） or was this a push on how we use gender and pronouns？ I'd like to give the author the benefit of the doubt on this one since they are NB but some of it also made me feel iffy。 As f This was a really uncomfortable read to get through and I"m sure the author and publishers know why at this pointI think it had potential on the LGBTQ side of things but it was also done in a way that left me rather confused。 Were the characters being misgendered the whole time and never corrected it （for some reason） or was this a push on how we use gender and pronouns？ I'd like to give the author the benefit of the doubt on this one since they are NB but some of it also made me feel iffy。 As for the story and content， I was disappointed to see that while this was a decently sized book， not much actually happened and the ending was very lacking。 It ends in a way that would suggest a sequel but I very much doubt many people would pick up another book by this author （and if they do， the ratings are not looking great）As for the reason I will be rating this low and not recommending it， this book was full of racism that honestly， could have been removed entirely。 Why make the hero a black man if all you are going to do is throw the police at him （and show us a very detailed and uncomfortable torture/police brutality scene）， belittle him， make him a caricature， and then demonize him when he shows his anger for the mistreatment he has been faced with？ And he's not the only black character that got this type of treatment， even though he was the main one we followed。 And， of course， the perpetrators （aka。 the other MCs， there are 4 of them but I'm thinking of Jack specifically） get away with it。 No， in fact， Jack is put on such a pedestal that I was just left slack-jawed。 I understand the appeal of a morally grey type of character but Jack was just， no。 I wish I'd read the reviews for this before buying， ugh 。。。more
Ella🐸❤️
，
I honestly don’t know how to rate this book。I liked the writing style， because it’s so ambiguous and leaves a lot of imagination。 However if you’re not used to this type of mysterious writing， where you really have to lean into what the author is saying， then you might not like it。I loved the fantasy fairy tale feelings I got from this book， but I especially loved the representation。 Among the main characters were a genderfluid/non-binary person， a lesbian， 2 black people， and a possibly trans p I honestly don’t know how to rate this book。I liked the writing style， because it’s so ambiguous and leaves a lot of imagination。 However if you’re not used to this type of mysterious writing， where you really have to lean into what the author is saying， then you might not like it。I loved the fantasy fairy tale feelings I got from this book， but I especially loved the representation。 Among the main characters were a genderfluid/non-binary person， a lesbian， 2 black people， and a possibly trans person。 None of these labels were pushed onto any of them （so I may be wrong about their orientations） and I appreciated that there was no triggering coming-out sequences。 Everyone was just accepted for who they were。 With a diverse set of characters， I’m excited to see where this story goes， especially in terms of their destined roles in a certain prophecy？This book deals with themes like discrimination， injustice， fate， and acceptance。 One of the parts that happens early on in the book （spoiler but not so plot important） is that David， a black man， is stopped on the street by cops who want to know where he’s going。 I was immediately surprised and scared for him…and I knew I had to keep reading。 With this theme coming up so early on in the book I needed to see how this society would change…Honestly the book got more confusing as it went on and the ending left me unsatisfied for sure。 The relationship dynamics and the choices of the main characters were definitely questionable…and I don’t like how we’re pushed to support David and Jesse throughout the book and then at the very end it turns out they’re the ones making the wrong choices？？ I love the idea of the Zara， an outsider， being the hero in the end but her relationship with Jack already seems unhealthy…I guess this review is so long because I’m conflicted。 I usually like the majority of the books I read， but this one left me unsatisfied and questioning the characters’ choices。 。。。more
Christin James
，
3。75⭐This plot was SO interesting。 The world building was not like anything I've read before。 I love the diversity of characters。 I know this book got some bad press about it's Karen-esque scene involving the cops。 Some were upset that the Karen in the situation got away with it unscathed。 As a black woman， it didn't offend me cuz that's often how our world works。 Most of the time the Karen's don't get punished。 I'm interested to see where Szabo takes us next cuz it's either going to be REALLY g 3。75⭐This plot was SO interesting。 The world building was not like anything I've read before。 I love the diversity of characters。 I know this book got some bad press about it's Karen-esque scene involving the cops。 Some were upset that the Karen in the situation got away with it unscathed。 As a black woman， it didn't offend me cuz that's often how our world works。 Most of the time the Karen's don't get punished。 I'm interested to see where Szabo takes us next cuz it's either going to be REALLY great or really not。 。。。more
Becky Orner
，
That ending was hella abrupt。 I liked the characters， but it was hard to get a sense of who was who early on。 I had difficulty with the different points of view all sounding similar。 I know there's a lot of controversy surrounding a specific part of this book and I'm not in a position to give a full opinion on it， but it didn't feel as terrible to me as some have said。 That ending was hella abrupt。 I liked the characters， but it was hard to get a sense of who was who early on。 I had difficulty with the different points of view all sounding similar。 I know there's a lot of controversy surrounding a specific part of this book and I'm not in a position to give a full opinion on it， but it didn't feel as terrible to me as some have said。 。。。more
Mjspice
，
Nooooope at the character pinning a murder on a gay black man。
Juliet
，
2⭐️ is perhaps too generous。 This book was a train-wreck and the only reason I kept at it was that I paid a lot of money for this beautiful Illumicrate edition。 There was virtually no plot （and even the tiny existing sliver of plot didn’t make its way into the story until the very end in a confusing mess）。 I still have absolutely zero idea what happened in the last 10% or so。 The way magic works in this world isn’t explained so the reader is just supposed to *magically* understand and go along w 2⭐️ is perhaps too generous。 This book was a train-wreck and the only reason I kept at it was that I paid a lot of money for this beautiful Illumicrate edition。 There was virtually no plot （and even the tiny existing sliver of plot didn’t make its way into the story until the very end in a confusing mess）。 I still have absolutely zero idea what happened in the last 10% or so。 The way magic works in this world isn’t explained so the reader is just supposed to *magically* understand and go along with it， I guess。 That’s only the tip of the iceberg for me， unfortunately。 There was violence against colored people which I was VERY uncomfortable with reading。 Racism that wasn’t even necessary to explain the plot。 In addition to this， there were homophobic undertones which makes no sense to me， considering the author is non-binary。 They constantly had their characters misgendering other characters without explaining to the readers why that was the case （I。e。 a character named Turing considers herself a she but then another major character calls Turing a he throughout the entire book， yet Turing doesn’t correct them）。 There are simple ways to make this clear but the author chooses not to make it easy for their readers。 I wish I had something nice to say about this book but quite frankly， it was very boring and poorly written。 I don’t understand how this author is a writing professor。 。。。more
georgina ⋆。ೃ࿔*:･ （remus’ version）
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 the plot didn’t take off till 80% of the book and after reading all of it I’m just majorly confused on what I read。 It bothered me to no end that Jack kept misgendering Zara but in her defense Zara never corrected her， which I think is a weird thing for the author to do but okay。 I’m so confused on the whole ending and who’s on who’s side。 I definitely don’t think I won’t be reading any sequel of this book
Judith
，
2。5✨
Melanie Schlicher
，
The story is great in theory， I love the characters and the idea of magic being lost and them being able to bring it back。 I was lost at times because some really important information seemed to be missing to make the story whole and the writing style changed around a lot。 the narrator suddenly spoke to the reader like "you may be wondering why。。。" which did not fit at all with the tone of the rest of the book and after that it almost felt like the author changed their story telling entirely。I b The story is great in theory， I love the characters and the idea of magic being lost and them being able to bring it back。 I was lost at times because some really important information seemed to be missing to make the story whole and the writing style changed around a lot。 the narrator suddenly spoke to the reader like "you may be wondering why。。。" which did not fit at all with the tone of the rest of the book and after that it almost felt like the author changed their story telling entirely。I believe this could be a great book， it does need more work。Regardless， I would love to know how it continues from here。 。。。more
S。 A。 Daley
，
Interesting story and characters。 I liked it but there were times it lost my interest。
coen
，
oh brother this book is a stinker！！ Jeezus christ roze szabo you bigot
Marjolein
，
I think the world is interested enough， but could be better executed。 I never really clicked with the characters， and the sudden （and for me not always logical） change in pronouns kind of threw me off。。。 Not really my book。
Amelittle
，
Promising， interesting ideas， some characters have well developed motivations， but some others are just archetypes modified so nothing follows the old standards。 I find that nice， but for the main characters is not enough， they need a more solid background。 I think I will read the second book to see where it gets。
Sarah
，
i。。。 don't know ？ the story felt like a never ending introduction and everything was kind of messy and problematic i。。。 don't know ？ the story felt like a never ending introduction and everything was kind of messy and problematic 。。。more
Mirlya
，
Lots of controversy about this book。
Kanan Jarrus
，
The cover is gorgeous 😍 And that ending omg yay now I have to wait a year for the next book。
Katie
，
The only reason I didn’t DNF this is sheer stubbornness。 When a book takes 300 of its 400 pages to actually get to any plot， it’s going to feel like hard work。 Add to that absolutely zero character development， questionable handling of LGBTQ+ and racial issues， jarring narrative structures and a confused magic system and the book falls down in so many ways （no pun intended）。 If it weren’t for a couple of lovable supporting characters， this would be a straight 1*。 Sorry， Szabo。
Miranda R
，
“Once there was a monster that lived in the river。 Once there was a maiden， pure of heart。Once there was a hero， come to make his fortune。 Once there was a witch， distributing help and harm for purposes all her own。”When trying to come up with a description for this book， I can’t help but think of whirlpool。 The book starts out so broad。 With just ripples of plot and pieces of characters。 Throughout the book， the characters grow and change and whirl together with the plot that finally comes to a “Once there was a monster that lived in the river。 Once there was a maiden， pure of heart。Once there was a hero， come to make his fortune。 Once there was a witch， distributing help and harm for purposes all her own。”When trying to come up with a description for this book， I can’t help but think of whirlpool。 The book starts out so broad。 With just ripples of plot and pieces of characters。 Throughout the book， the characters grow and change and whirl together with the plot that finally comes to a head at the end。 All in all， I enjoyed this book。 I think it I’m set up for a very intense sequel。 Turing and Jack are my favorites！ I loved their relationship so much。 ⭐️All in all， I thought this was a very intriguing read and it kept me interested and now looking forward to the sequel。 This book was very character driven， but it involves a prophecy that plays heavily into each person having a role。 And the characters grow and fall into roles you didn’t expect as the story goes Some trigger warnings （and my thoughts as a someone who is not part of either affected group so please take this with a heavy grain of salt and be aware if you are someone that would be affected by these issues。）:Wrongful imprisonment and treatment of a man that was black。 （I didn’t see this as a race caused issue as his arrest was because of other reasons。 And the police treated other characters terribly as well。 Generally the police in this book are not seen or conveyed as trustworthy or positive forces in the world。）Pronoun issues/wrong pronouns being used （I personally felt this was intentional and conveyed the characters’ journeys of self discovery and understanding of themselves。） 。。。more
Ioana
，
Book Review: We All Fall Down - the @illumicrate book pick for July 🌟🌟Rating: 2/5 starsI first heard about this book a while ago when I did my prediction/guess post for Illumicrate。 Until then I haven't heard much about it。 The setting intrigued me: magical city on an island， monsters and witches， magical powers， very cool cover - a lot of promising aspects。General story/plot: magic disappeared from the city years ago and different groups of individuals want to bring it back。 Easy to follow gene Book Review: We All Fall Down - the @illumicrate book pick for July 🌟🌟Rating: 2/5 starsI first heard about this book a while ago when I did my prediction/guess post for Illumicrate。 Until then I haven't heard much about it。 The setting intrigued me: magical city on an island， monsters and witches， magical powers， very cool cover - a lot of promising aspects。General story/plot: magic disappeared from the city years ago and different groups of individuals want to bring it back。 Easy to follow general idea， nothing special。Magic: we have monsters， witches and general non-magical people， but here is where my problems started to appear。 I really wanted more explanation of how the witches could do any of the magic， where is the magic coming from （a well undet the city？ maybe， not sure）。 I also wanted to know more about the monsters - the only explanation about them is a character's opinion， but nothing concrete。Characters: here is my biiiiiig problem。 There are 4 main characters （on the cover） and they all represent something from the LGBTQ+ group。 Plus we have the discussion of white vs black and monster vs human and women vs men。。。 The book has just 400 pages and it wants to cover sooo much that it ended up so confusing and sometimes scenes feel just gratuitous instead of proving a point in the story。 Here is where a lot of readers could/can feel very triggered by a lot of things。 I got confused by a lot of things and I ended up not caring about any of the characters。。。2 personal problems: there are multiple situation in which different characters are told to hide for very good reasons and they just stupidly don't listen not even for an hour。 Also， love at first site。。。 I Hate These Things in Stories and I couldn't get over it。。。 。。。more
Britt
，
Hm。。。 What to say about this book。。。 Well， I wanted to like it， and in some ways I did， but to me the writing felt a little clumsy at times， and the plot was executed a bit poorly。 I was lost， and still am after finishing it。 I did like the setting and a couple of the characters a lot。 （I'm not sure if I was supposed to like David， but I don't）。 Zara and Jesse I liked， and Jack up to a point。 I feel like not enough happened in the first half and then far too much happened in the final chapters。 Hm。。。 What to say about this book。。。 Well， I wanted to like it， and in some ways I did， but to me the writing felt a little clumsy at times， and the plot was executed a bit poorly。 I was lost， and still am after finishing it。 I did like the setting and a couple of the characters a lot。 （I'm not sure if I was supposed to like David， but I don't）。 Zara and Jesse I liked， and Jack up to a point。 I feel like not enough happened in the first half and then far too much happened in the final chapters。 Also， they sometimes did that annoying thing where they narrate the book and address the reader and I'm really not a fan of that。I see how some people see this as problematic。 There were subjects I feel could have been handled better。 The whole body = gender thing was a little iffy to me， but I'm not entirely qualified to speak on those subjects。 Still， I could see the issues pretty clearly。Anyway， I think this book had a great premise but ultimately fell a little flat。 I'll probably still read the second one， just to see how it plays out， but I don't think I'll ever pick this up again。 。。。more
Thomas Barnes
，
The problematic parts of this book are well documented so I won’t waste time with them here。 I feel like this could have been a good book with some changes。 A huge chunk of the 400 pages is spent getting to know the characters and reading them running around doing various things in the lead up to carnival。 This could have been much more streamlined。 The carnival itself （which is what the action is all centred around） doesn’t start until the last 50 pages。 Despite the sheer volume of exposition s The problematic parts of this book are well documented so I won’t waste time with them here。 I feel like this could have been a good book with some changes。 A huge chunk of the 400 pages is spent getting to know the characters and reading them running around doing various things in the lead up to carnival。 This could have been much more streamlined。 The carnival itself （which is what the action is all centred around） doesn’t start until the last 50 pages。 Despite the sheer volume of exposition some of the characters feel flat and a lot of their backstory is merely hinted at。 This is frustrating。 It took me a month to read this book， which is unusual。Apparently this book is meant to be a duology and I’m hoping that the second book rectifies the racism shown。 Although how that would even happen is beyond me。 。。。more
Anthia Hernandez
，
It was promising but failed to come through
LadySofia
，
This book had a lot of potential that it didn't really live up to。 I love the queer representation， especially the fact that two of the four main characters are trans。 It is also interesting to see a world that is quite close to the real one in terms of how minorities are treated。 That world did make the book uncomfortable to read， so one should be prepared for that。Still， everything did not fit together all that well in the end。 The characters never really had the time to feel like people， and This book had a lot of potential that it didn't really live up to。 I love the queer representation， especially the fact that two of the four main characters are trans。 It is also interesting to see a world that is quite close to the real one in terms of how minorities are treated。 That world did make the book uncomfortable to read， so one should be prepared for that。Still， everything did not fit together all that well in the end。 The characters never really had the time to feel like people， and for most of the time I didn't feel like there was a plot that was moving along either。 I'm hoping the second book will have more focus， because I did like Turing a lot and I want to see how her story goes on。 。。。more
Meaghan
，
More like a 2。5 really。 Great start， but then flawed execution and messy ending really let me down。
Katherine
，
Do yourself a favor and just skip this book， if I hadn't of received this in an Illumicrate box I would have never purchased it， do to the controversy surrounding the book， after having read the book I can confirm not only is the book problematic， it's bad。 Do yourself a favor and just skip this book， if I hadn't of received this in an Illumicrate box I would have never purchased it， do to the controversy surrounding the book， after having read the book I can confirm not only is the book problematic， it's bad。 。。。more
Melissa Flanagin
，
Nope， just nope
Lena Montgomery
，
I saw that this book is getting a ton a negative reviews。。。which made both curious and reluctant to pick it up。 In the end， I did because I do try to keep up with my subscription box books and the was the Ilumicrate book for June。First of all， if I tried to describe this book to anyone it would sound batshit crazy。 You are obsentivly in modern day， but in an isolated community called River City - that has both an old section and a new University section。 Apparently magic used to abound there， bu I saw that this book is getting a ton a negative reviews。。。which made both curious and reluctant to pick it up。 In the end， I did because I do try to keep up with my subscription box books and the was the Ilumicrate book for June。First of all， if I tried to describe this book to anyone it would sound batshit crazy。 You are obsentivly in modern day， but in an isolated community called River City - that has both an old section and a new University section。 Apparently magic used to abound there， but it has been vanishing since the last revolution about 20 years ago。 There are "monsters，" lots of queerness， and some iterations of magic。 The police are partially corrupt， there are a few murders， witches。。。it's a lot。And you are dumped right into it and by the 75% mark it almost seems to have a plot。The problematic issue that has been raised （it is explained in many other reviews） was spoiled for me and I was on the lookout。 Not being of the racial group that is the target of this complaint， I may not be the best to comment - so take what you will from my comments。 To me， the accusations made had more to do with time and circumstance than race。 It is very difficult to tell how much prejudice for race goes on in this community。 They live with tons of "monsters" or at least people with mutations and loads of open queerness。 This is a very small portion of the book and is in no way a main theme or plot point。 Not wrong to point out that this could have been done differently/better but outwardly accusing the author of personal racism seems overwrought。 Others may have different opinions and they are welcome to them。My rating is based off of my overall enjoyment。 I appreciated the characters - in fact， I liked them all - but the plot and world building was just lacking。 。。。more
Matilda
，
Tbd
Emily
，
In the eccentric River City， anything and everything could happen， and this is where Rose Szabo adeptly incorporates their exotic imagination and creativity into this dark fantasy world of WE ALL FALL DOWN。 With the hidden force of destiny， four young queer people， each possesses some unique talent and potential， are brought together to the River City to restore the magic power that’s been fading over the years and re-establish the law and order of River City。 Are they able to conquer the unfore In the eccentric River City， anything and everything could happen， and this is where Rose Szabo adeptly incorporates their exotic imagination and creativity into this dark fantasy world of WE ALL FALL DOWN。 With the hidden force of destiny， four young queer people， each possesses some unique talent and potential， are brought together to the River City to restore the magic power that’s been fading over the years and re-establish the law and order of River City。 Are they able to conquer the unforeseen and unpredictable challenges and obstacles along the path and achieve their goals？ The readers will only find out in the sequel of The River City Duology！Loved the eye-catching graphic of the book cover that illustrates the fantastic four who are going to save the River City！I would like to thank BookishFirst and Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan Publishing for this dazzling ARC。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=We All Fall Down
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=We All Fall Down&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,We All Fall Down&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0