Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
March 1, 2012/in Fiction 14+ Secondary/Adult /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 193 March 2012
Reviewer: Clive Barnes
ISBN: 978-0857070999
Price: £6.99
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's UK
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 14+ Secondary/Adult
Length: 256pp
Buy the Book

Falling Fast

Author: Sophie McKenzie

When River goes with her classmates to the local boys’ school to audition for the joint year 6 production of Romeo and Juliet, she hopes to be chosen for Juliet. Instead she has to be content with the Nurse. But, at the rehearsals, she falls heavily for Flynn, the brilliant, charismatic, brooding Romeo. As in the play, the path of true love does not run smoothly, but the difficulty comes not from the violent clash of rival families but from River and Flynn’s own insecurity and vulnerability. Told by River, this is a convincing tale of teen love grounded in a world of family, school and friends. Sex is a part of this, too; taken in her stride by Emma, River’s flirtatious friend, but approached rather more circumspectly by River herself. In what appears to be the first in a series of books to follow Flynn’s fortunes, Sophie McKenzie engages her readers immediately with her characters and illustrates the intensity of their feelings through River’s empathetic quotations from Shakespeare’s play. The circumstances of the lovers’ meeting may well be familiar to some readers who go to single sex schools and the play may be familiar to more, through GCSE study at least. Perhaps some readers who do not know the play may even be moved enough by McKenzie’s modern version to feel that Shakespeare still has something relevant to say to them.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2012-03-01 00:00:152022-01-15 11:24:47Falling Fast

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

Download BfK Issue Bfk 272 May 2025
Skip to an Issue:

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Winners of the 2025 UKLA Book Awards

June 27, 2025

Effervescent, scintillating, riveting! Collection of ‘colossal’ word poems wins the CLiPPA

June 20, 2025

Winners of the 2025 Carnegie Medals announced

June 19, 2025

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2025 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
Socks Signs of Love: Love Match
Scroll to top