Story for the Week
So that headline probably makes you think, “Say what now?” and rightfully so. This week’s story tells the tale of Corinne and Avery, kindergarten enemies to high school “besties for life.”
Corinne has always enjoyed school, and the social aspect is a big part of that. She made a lot of friends very quickly, and her social circle grew exponentially every year. Avery was a significant exception, and neither of them can really explain why. Avery was invited to Corinne’s birthday party that year (she didn’t come) primarily because we had to invite everyone.
Neither of the girls can say today why they disliked each other so much, but they both agree it became a true dislike beginning with Corinne’s snack one day. Back in kindergarten, seedless grapes were a great snack—bite-size, portable, healthy—and Corinne liked them. But one particular day, Avery decided to tell Corinne that there was poop in her grapes. Now Corinne knew that there wasn’t poop in her grapes, but from that point on, she wouldn’t eat them, and she and Avery were definitely not friends.
As grade school progressed, sometimes they were in the same class, and sometimes they weren’t. The weren’t invited to the other’s birthday parties unless they were in the same class, and they certainly didn’t go if they were. By fourth grade, when there was a comment at lunch about a pickle as a body part and all of the kids at the lunch tables had to talk to the teacher, the line in the sand had been drawn. It was pretty well-established that Corinne and Avery were destined not to be friends. (The most ironic part about it was that Avery’s mom and I have always gotten along really well.)
In fifth grade, all of the students tried out instruments to see who was interested in starting beginner band in preparation for middle school. Corinne and Avery both selected the trombone. Suddenly, they were thrust into a scenario where they had to work together, and they started talking a little bit. In seventh grade, the trombone section was very talkative, and the band director moved Corinne next to Avery, and they realized that they really didn’t dislike each other after all.
In the summer of 2019, before eighth grade started, Corinne asked to go to one of the local carnivals. She mentioned to me that Avery invited her to hang out with her and another friend. I was shocked, literally taken aback, and asked, “Avery W******?!?!” Corinne laughed and informed me that she and Avery were actually good friends now.
Corinne and Avery have spent a lot of time together over the last several years, and I have watched them become great friends. One day when Avery needed a ride somewhere, they were chatting the entire drive. When we pulled into the parking lot, I said that I couldn’t believe all of it started with poop in Corinne’s grapes. Avery’s response? “OH MY GOD I REMEMBER THAT!!!” And they both burst out laughing.
It has been amazing watching them become the people they are, and it has been a life lesson for all of us about how relationships develop and change. A while back, I read a young adult novel about people who aren’t who we think, in good and bad ways, and it made me think about how Corinne and Avery have grown as individuals and as friends.
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 Stars for Even if I Fall by Abigail Johnson
352 pages
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
I originally received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and Harlequin TEEN/Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher’s Description
Brooke and Heath should never have become friends, let alone fallen in love.
A year ago, Brooke Covington lost everything when her beloved older brother, Jason, confessed to the murder of his best friend, Calvin. Brooke and her family became social pariahs, broken and unable to console one another. Brooke’s only solace remains the ice-skating rink where she works, but she no longer lets herself dream about a future skating professionally.
When Brooke encounters Calvin’s younger brother, Heath, on the side of the road and offers him a ride, everything changes. She needs someone to talk to…and so does Heath. No one else understands what it’s like. Her brother, alive but gone; his brother, dead but everywhere. Soon, they’re meeting in secret, despite knowing that both families would be horrified if they found out. In the place of his anger and her guilt, something frighteningly tender begins to develop, drawing them ever closer together.
But when a new secret comes out about the murder, Brooke has to choose whose pain she’s willing to live with—her family’s or Heath’s. Because she can’t heal one without hurting the other.
************
Even If I Fall is a young adult novel by Abigail Johnson that tells the story of 17-year-old Brooke Covington whose brother was sent to prison a year ago after confessing to killing his best friend Cal. Brooke and her family have become outcasts in their small town, and Brooke’s only solace is her new best friend Maggie (who recently moved from LA and doesn’t know Brooke’s history) and working/ice skating at the local ice rink where she is basically tolerated because she knows how to drive the Zamboni. Brooke’s life takes a major turn when she happens upon Heath, Cal’s brother, walking in the rain and offers him a ride.
This is an emotional journey of healing for a girl who has to reconcile the horrible thing that her brother did with the fact that he’s her older brother and she still loves him. As her family just tries to make it through each day, Brooke is still learning to navigate how she feels about her brother, about the town, and about Heath. As her friendship with Heath develops, Brooke’s need for answers about why her brother did what he did get stronger. When she finally learns the truth, it puts her into a bit of a tailspin.
Even reading this as an adult, I was touched by it. This story tugs all the right heart strings and doesn’t have a clean happily ever after because sometimes the things we can’t believe could possibly be true are actually the truth. I also like that the author stayed away from the sexual side we see so often in young adult books today. There are a couple of kisses in this one and no swearing that I remember. In fact, in one part of Brooke’s narration, we read, “‘It’s freaking hot out here.’ Only he doesn’t say freaking.”
This is a book I would certainly recommend to anyone who enjoys a nice heartfelt read.
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