***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: the fall

Title: The Fall
Author: Bethany Griffin
Series: n/a
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: October 7th, 2014
Source: Received from Publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

So I wasn't sure when I was going to get to read The Fall. Things have been hectic around here so my "to read" schedule went out the freaking window. Then my daughter picked it to color for Judging a Book By It's Cover, so I just had to push it up the list!

I've been having a hard time getting into book lately, but The Fall sucked me right in. Maybe it's the time of year it is, but curling up with this one after work on a chilly fall evening... Perfection.

I've never read Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, but I do know how to use google, and so I read up on it a bit. I can't say that it made me understand the story anymore! lol. But that's okay, I didn't need too. I was thoroughly creeped the F out and that's what I wanted. A book to scare my mom sweatpants off.

That it did, The Fall is pretty freaky. I think the best character of all is the house. Even though it's questionable what the real villain is, are they crazy? Or is this house really out to get them? Well if they are crazy than I am too, because that house was whacked.

The story is told through Madeline Ushers POV. I really liked her and I felt so bad for her and the curse she's dealing with. I was never a fan of her twin brother though. He came off as a bit of a jerk to me. And Omg, the opening to this story was great!

I don't get into classics and such, so I'm not sure how this retelling compared to the original, but I have to say it was very well written. I was captivated. I kept bugging my husband about it. If you are looking for a spooky book to read this month, give this one a try!

My only complaint is the ending is still kinda confusing to me, but I'm thinking maybe I'm just not deep enough to get it? lol. I think I'll re read the ending tomorrow morning when my brain is refreshed. Over all, I really enjoyed The Fall. I feel like I need to find time to read Masque of the Red Death soon, because it's been sitting on my kindle for ages.

Loved that house!

About the author:

Bethany Griffin is a high school English teacher who prides herself on attracting
creative
misfits to elective classes like Young Adult Literature, Creative Writing, and Speculative Literature. She is the author of Handcuffs & MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (April 2012). She lives with her family in Kentucky.

Find Bethany:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Labels: bethany griffin, creepy, greenwillow books, retellings, reviews, the fall, The fall of the house of usher

We so borrowed this idea from Sara at Forever 17 Books, who got the idea from an article on Babble called Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-year-old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About. Basically, it's about getting a child's perspective on the story inside the book based on just the cover art. It can be hilarious, but it can also be enlightening.

Okay, I totally missed doing these posts with Katie, and it looks like it's been right at a year since our last one. While cleaning recently, I found the folder that I kept her previous iterations in -- all 33 of them! -- so I begged April to see if Aubrey would be up to contributing, too. Lucky for me, she was! =)

This week, the girls are working on the following book:

Title: The Fall
Author: Bethany Griffin
Series: n/a
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date: October 7, 2014
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down? The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

Behold, the girls' attempts at recreating The Fall by Bethany Griffin...

Aubrey's masterpiece & guess:

Aubrey says:

"I think she must be lost in the woods. She is looking for her momma, but she can't find her. And it's dark and scary because it's Halloween."

Now I haven't read this one, and I don't think Jen has either. Why would we choose this one for the girls to color then? well, scrolling through goodreads Aubrey started yelling that she wanted to draw the one with the yellow haired girl in the scary woods. So there you have it! I've been so wrapped up and busy lately, so I'm sad I haven't gotten to this one yet, but I hope to find time soon! It looks really creepy and Aubrey may be on to something here!

*update* I started The Fall this week, and it's so creepy and awesome so far!

Katie's artwork & thoughts:

Katie says:

"I think it's about a girl who's about to fall because the Earth is all tipped, and she's the only person left on the Earth when it's tipping. And there also might be a storm with mist and fog."

Nope, I haven't read this one yet, but I loved Griffin's Masque of the Red Death duology. I've never read The Fall of the House of Usher, which this book is based on, but I'm intrigued by the premise. I don't think Katie got the same kind of creepy vibe from it that I did, but her interpretation based on the cover is still pretty scary. I'm hoping to get to this one before the end of the month in order to include it in my Spooky Reads.

Have you read this book or do you plan to? What do you think of the girls' artwork and their thoughts on the story's premise?