I unfortunately was not able to read this book before the archive date. Someday I hope to read and review it for my blog. I will give a 5 star review on here so that I don't mess with it's rating.

Well, it took me ten years to read this, and it took me another ten years to review it, and here we are. I really don't have much to say. This was fiiiiine, but it was a really hard buy and it required a lot of suspension of disbelief.

And there was too much romance. Did I just say that? Is that even possible for me to say? Yes. Spoiler alerT: Cam falls in luuuurve. Why? I wasn't sure. I'm still not sure. Because Sofie has nice eyes, it seems.

I'm honestly sad I didn't like this because that premise. I love hearing about classism in dystopian environments. They did some very fascinating things with this classism (creepy things, too. Creepy things that I could buy.) However, the ultimate ending required a lot of suspension of disbelief. Too many things just magically fell into place.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a decent read. I really loved the concept. This story has elements of sci-fi, dystopia, romance and ya. The story time period jumps back and forth from before they entered deep sleep and 1000 years into the future after they have awakened from the sleep. The jumping between periods could've been left out in my opinion and it still would've been just as good. Overall it was a good read. The cover originally attracted me to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Freefall by Joshua David Bellin. Seventeen-year-old Cameron wakes from a thousand year deepsleep in the year 3151. The destination of Cameron and almost a million other people is the Earth-analog planet Tau Ceti e. The story alternates between 3151 and the year before people were put into deepsleep, 2150. The mystery surrounding the girl with the golden eyes pulled me into the book. The past eventually catches up to when the deepsleep begins and the story stays on Earth Year 3151. This story is a mix of science fiction, dystopian and mystery and it's filled with suspense, strange creatures and twists. 5 stars!

I wanted to try a book by this author so I requested this. Sadly, his writing style just wasn't for me and I had to put the book down. I do have a few friends I know that would enjoy his writing so I passed his name along to them.

FREEFALL by Joshua David Bellin is definitely worth a read if you are a sci-fi fan and are looking for adventure, romance and space travel science. Bellin packs all of that, plus commentary on socio-economic and racial disparities, into FREEFALL which alternates between time periods (Earth in 2150-2151 and an Otherworld in 3151). Cam is a privileged Upperworld teenager from Earth who becomes enamored of a young woman named Sofie, leader of the Lowerworld opposition. Sofie holds steadfast to her beliefs: "The main job of a pundit or priest or philosopher ... was to tell stories. Publicly, where anyone who wanted to could hear them. Sometimes the stories were called sermons. Sometimes they were called dialogues. Sometimes they were called parables. Sometimes they were called Vedas. No matter what they were called, their purpose was the same: to lead their audience to the ways of wisdom."

And it is Cam who struggles to live up to her expectations: "She'd seen through me the way she always did, seen that deep in my heart I was holding back, expecting her to prove something to me before I committed fully to her cause. Life's like that in the Upperworld. You learn to believe there's always an out." Earth is rapidly disintegrating and the leaders send two starships (with their passengers in deep sleep) to another planet – a millennium in the future. Of course, there are complications and not all is as it should be in the future world for Cam and his friends Adrian and Griff or for Sofie and her people. Read FREEFALL, called "a strong choice for YA sci-fi shelves" by School Library Journal, to see what happens next.

Noteworthy experiences while reading this book: This one I think would have been better if it would have stayed in the past or the future.

Check out author's other books or related books? Maybe

Recommend this book? If you like books that switch times then sure.

Notes and Opinions: The start of this one was killer but shortly after the first chapter you learn that this is going to be in he narrative of past and present. Which for me it felt like it slowed the story down. I really did love the characters but that switch back and forth really didn't work for me at all. I wish this would have been told from the past than book two could have picked up where that one left off.

This is a book about survival and although I didnt like the jumping from past to present it was still fairly good. I did think at times it was hard to follow and I wasn't fully understanding what was going on.

The romance was ok in this one as was the cast of characters. I had little bit of trouble connecting with them all but really enjoyed Cam.

In the end this one had its good parts and bad parts. I do with it would have been a series though.

Go Into This One Knowing: Looking for a new sci-fi story check this one out!

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Freefall was a fast-paced, dystopian, YA sci-fi read that centers around main character Cam Newell. Cam and his friends have decided to volunteer and train to be passengers of the Executor, a massive spaceship traveling to a distant planet looking for a new place of residence, as Earth’s resources have been depleted. The narrative alternates between past and present and focuses on the time jump forward where the ship finds itself stranded on the hostile planet. Cam meets Sophie and we enter the insta-love trope more or less.

I don't always like multiple time POV's but I felt this book did a good job of it. Also, after having recently read another book in a similar sub-genre, I wasn't too keen on reading another similar book, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I felt that it addressed several moral issues and made me think.

I am definitely in the minority with this, but “Freefall” felt blah to me. There was a good story and good world-building in there, but it feels like it moved at a snail’s pace getting to anything exciting. I also felt disconnected from the main characters. This is one of those where I can neither recommend nor not recommend it.

Such an interesting concept. Totally something I'd recommend to my students.

I just could not get into this one. It was a little too heavily sci-fi. It promised to be long and tedious. The back and forth in time element slowed down the plot rather than keeping me engaged.

a YA dystopian space adventure with a touch of love. I would not go into it specifically for the romance because that was the weakest aspect of the book. The romance was less than mediocre, and it needed to be incredibly ramped up or completely taken out. Cam was feeling insta-love to the extreme and Sofie didn't seem to reciprocate.
I definitely enjoyed the world building here. Earth is dying, corporations run the world and there are no formally recognized countries anymore. There are 2 classes of people "Upperworlders" and "Lowerworlders". They are kept segregated and the Lowerworlders are treated like they are less than human. I also liked that the story was told in alternating chapters between present time and the past. It was really smart to tell this story this way, because you get alternating chapters of world building and adventure.
The writing held promise and I would definitely be interested in reading future books from Joshua David Bellin.

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Net-galley that I have chosen to review.

It downloaded from Netgalley as an ACSM file and I was unable to read it on my kindle, or even convert it into a mobi with a special program I have. Disappointed.

Really excited for this one. The premise is definitely one to hook you!

3.5 Stars

Freefall by Joshua David Bellin is a YA dystopian space adventure with a touch of love. I would not go into it specifically for the romance because that was the weakest aspect of the book. The romance was less than mediocre, and it needed to be incredibly ramped up or completely taken out. Cam was feeling insta-love to the extreme and Sofie didn't seem to reciprocate.
I definitely enjoyed the world building here. Earth is dying, corporations run the world and there are no formally recognized countries anymore. There are 2 classes of people "Upperworlders" and "Lowerworlders". They are kept segregated and the Lowerworlders are treated like they are less than human. I also liked that the story was told in alternating chapters between present time and the past. It was really smart to tell this story this way, because you get alternating chapters of world building and adventure.
The writing held promise and I would definitely be interested in reading future books from Joshua David Bellin.

I received an advance reader copy of this book that I have chosen to review.

I really wanted to love this, but I just wasnt very invested in the story or the characters. Im not always a fan of books that go back and forth between past and present because I tend to prefer one way more than the other. In this book I prefered the present chapters but my curiosity was still peaked enough that I wanted to know what happened in the past. Sadly those chapters were full of info dumping and I cant imagine anyone thinking all that in their head. There were also a few coincidences that were just too convenient.

I felt like the main character was a bit too stalkerish. He was obsessed with Sofie after seeing a video of her once so the romance didnt work for me at all. I also ended up not really liking any of the characters. This story explores racism and poverty which isnt going to be everyones cup of tea. I cringed at how the cultural and race elements were portrayed. With it being a dystopian I understand the society is going to be cruel and unjust. I gave this book three tries before finally giving up. It just wasnt for me.

I wont be sharing this review since I only read half the book before putting it aside. Im really sorry this book didnt work out for me.

I so badly wanted to fall in love with this one. I have enjoyed the author's other series, Survival Colony 9 and Scavengers of Souls. And I didn't dislike this one. But it had some ups and downs for me. Let's start with the good!

The good:

-The premise was pretty fabulous. I definitely needed to know how it was going to turn out. I mean, come on- dude is in cryosleep for a thousand years!?! It's the the Gagarin premise on The 100, on crack. And I am here for it.

-Everything on the new planet was pretty intriguing. I wanted to know all the things! Because this is not the happy Earthlike planet they'd hoped for, and also, can you even imagine? It's kind of a fun mind trip!

-A lot of the issues seemed quite timely. I'll get into this more, but there's a big focus on racial and socioeconomic issues. About people being forced to live in horrible conditions based on their ethnicity, their skin color, their social and economic status. They're also being told they must stay on a dying planet. It's awful, of course. And yes, the point is that this is a horrible thing to do to people. So that aspect was good.

The not so good:

-I felt that the aforementioned racial and socioeconomic issues issues needed to be handled a bit more sensitively. I get that it was a cautionary tale, but I didn't feel like there was enough growth and remorse for some of the harshness toward the beginning. There are some things said by Cam, his friends, and their whole society at large that really rubbed me the wrong way. And again, I do understand that this is supposed to be seen from the perspective of "oh hey wait this is wrong and horrible", and for some characters, it accomplishes that. But I never felt like they fully understood the weight of some of the words and phrases that were used.

-Sometimes, it was info dumpy. While I liked the concept of the worldbuilding, a lot of times the delivery of the information felt tedious. Especially in the "thousand years earlier" chapters, I felt kind of bored with some of the more long-winded explanations. And then when my eyes would glaze over, I'd have to reread or I'd be confused.

-I didn't feel the romance. It was pretty insta-lovey, and while I get why the love interest was special, I didn't really feel the chemistry. I really liked Sofie as a character (much more than Cam, honestly) but his whole approach to their relationship bugged me. Did he really love her, or just admire her? I don't know, but the insta-love wasn't my fave.

Bottom Line: Pretty cool from a sci-fi perspective, but lacking some of the elements that might have made it stand out.

Freefall by Joshua David Bellin

I thought Freefall was a good read, this story is about race, oppression and the struggle to overcome. I enjoyed the Science Fiction aspects and the twists and turns of the plot. Freefall is an engaging story with good characters. I'm looking forward to reading more from this Author.

I give Freefall 4 stars for its engaging story.
I would recommend this book to Science Fiction Fans.

"We are the world's people! We have come to you not as beggars pleading for a handout, but as children of the Almighty, demanding at long last the rights we have been denied. You may hide behind your walls of wealth, walls built by the blood and suffering of our people, but those walls will not hold forever. They will fall, as do all walls founded on injustice, and may God then judge who among us is in the wrong and who is in the right!"

For you fans of The Illuminae Files here is another one for you! Freefall not only satiates fans of space travel, foreign planets, and interterrestial turmoil, it also incorporates a lot of meaningful content. In this area, Freefall is unlike the books of The Illuminae Files, (which are no doubt action-packed, riveting, and unique in their premise.) I really liked what Bellin was able to accomplish with this story.

The plot is told through the perspective of the main character, Cam Newell--an Upperworld young man who knows little about the true tyranny happening between the two nations. He and his friends have decided to volunteer and train to be passengers of the Executor, a massive spaceship traveling to a distant planet looking for a new place of residence as Earth’s resources have been depleted.

Cam’s Upperworld deception stays intact until he and his tech-savy friends hack into a forbidden network, broadcasting uprisings led by a mysterious woman and protege going by the name of Sofie. Intruiged by her prowess, Cam becomes enamored with her and needs to know more about her and the movement she represents.

Events ensue in a way that allowed the two to meet in person. From that moment, Cam decides to adandon the life that he knows, in order to follow Sofie into foreign territory. Cam realizes then how lied to he’s been about what is actually happening between the two nations. Now, his goal is to help Sofie advocate for the Lowerworld citizens to be able to travel to other planets too.

Let's start with a few things that I really enjoyed about this book:

#1 The way that the story is told between past, and present tense, is so engaging.

#2 Despite what you may believe from my comments further on in this review, I really enjoyed the incorporation of current events into the plot. It gives the reader the ability to connect with the characters on a deeper level of understanding, no matter what opinion they have of what’s happening in reality.

#3 I appreciated how the representation of powerful, and respectful speeches were and are more effective than any other method to reach people. Sofie used this method, and was searching for peaceful resolutions to issues. She was like a female Martin Luther King Jr.

Now, for a few things that I didn't necessarily like, or had some issue with:

In the opening few chapters, the reader immediately feels the hostile atmosphere between the Upperworld and Lowerworld--two countries inhabiting Earth created through means of segregation, racism, and prejudice. The ironic “wall” separating the two nations not only refers to recent points of political debates, but is also metaphorical in showing the divide between social classes.

#1 While I believe this is an important current event to discuss, it was clear which opinion was being represented throughout this plot. This opinion is not necessarily wrong, but I felt there were definite times of misrepresentation, assumption, and also prejudism being exploited that people don’t always tend to realize. This is a fiction story, so I’m not going to discuss this point further, but I think it needs to be pointed out.

#2 Another point I wanted to discuss was that I found it odd how Sofie’s character was portrayed. Several times, it was brought up about how “civilized” she was, or, more “Upperworld” she acted. In a world where the speaker of the suppressed group needs to be like an Upperworlder, is she really standing for what she is supposed to?

#3 That insta-love showed up againnnn. Cam's reason for instantly falling for Sofie (other than her beauty) didn't have enough backing.

Overall, I thought this was a very interesting story. I appreciated the integration of current politics into a interstellar Sci-Fi novel.

Vulgarity: Far too much for my liking.
Sexual content: Just kissing.
Violence: Like most sci-fi's, there's a decent amount.

3.5 stars.

A big thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this book!