Oh my goodness this book was amazing! Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group and Jandy Nelson for the price large of reading this book. At first I wasn’t sure what to think of this book but the more I read the more I was entranced into this story and totally engaged with all of the characters. The way all their stories come together is truly beautiful. It was a beautifully written family story from so many perspectives but somehow all fit perfectly together. So beautiful!

This book was far too long, in my opinion. I was reading on my Kindle and then got a hard copy from the library and seeing how thick it was made me feel a bit better about how long it was taking me to get through. I enjoyed the story and the characters well enough, but I doubt I will think about this book much in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and PRH for providing me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED this book— though that’s no surprise considering who wrote it. This is a story about stories, and how our lives are all stories that intertwine. The book is truly a puzzle, but it was a delight to put that puzzle together and the final picture was well worth the wait. I think I will absolutely be reading this book again, and making everyone I know read it too.

Like the other books I have read by Jandy Nelson, this was a beautiful, magical story that kept me turning pages after I should have stopped for the night and thinking about the characters long into the next day, until it was time to read again. The multiple times lines and stories were a little confusing at first, but it was worth the effort to sort it out. The heroes are indeed heroes. And the villains… maybe we can rewrite our destiny after all? There were several twists and surprises that I didn’t see coming. Nelson kept me guessing right up to the end. I highly recommend When The World Tips Over to new and returning readers of Jandy Nelson. Thank you #NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

I loved this book. I don't know how else to explain it aside from this book fed my soul. I know that sounds flowery and overwrought, but the writing was so captivating. It felt heart-breakingly beautiful. It ripped my heart out and sewed it back in all at the same time.
It's a magical story of a family torn apart and brought back together. All with a dose of magical realism along the way.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest review.

The Fall siblings have a complicated relationship, especially since their dad suddenly disappeared years ago. When they each meet the same mysterious girl, it starts them on a journey that will lead to revelations of their own family history and perhaps help mend their strained relationships. Overall, this had an engaging mystery plot that could at times be a bit confusing with the multiple storylines and mystical realism, but came together in the end.

I don't receive access to many advanced reader copies from publishers, so when I do, I try to read and review them before the pub date. My fall ARCs were an abundance of riches, though, so I knew I wouldn't quite make it with this one, but then good ol' Helene really put me behind. But this book is so lovely, that I couldn't wait another day for my gosh dang internet to be restored, and am writing you from my dear public library instead. Bless public libraries.

I didn't really need to know what this book was about in order to request it. Jandy Nelson publishes books so infrequently (2010 and 2014, previously), that when I saw her name (and another gorgeous, bright, abstract cover), I hit the request button immediately. Her luscious prose takes her books beyond the normal YA fare -- in fact, I classified this one as "literary fiction" in my book journal, a genre I rarely place on YA fic. The only other book I can think of I'd classify this way is The Book Thief.

Through switching perspectives, timelines, and storytelling techniques, Nelson tells the saga of the Fall family, primarily the three Fall children, Dizzy, Miles, and Winton, but also their parents and ancestors before them, and the rainbow-haired girl who will change all of their lives. I was so swept up in this story and the truly lovely writing that I didn't notice that it was 528 pages long until I started seeing physical copies of it show up on bookstagram. While the story is rooted in reality, there's a sense of magic woven throughout that keeps things buoyant and moving.

I loved this book so much, and all of the characters inside its pages, most certainly including the (talking) dog Sandro. Jandy Nelson fans won't be disappointed, and I hope this one will draw even more fans to her work.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Dial Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This story follows the Fall sisters and a mysterious gal that shows up, shaking them to their core.

I wanted to love this story, but it fell short for me, unfortunately

I have loved Jandys books. This one was okay but didn’t have the same big emotion as the others. I could see how others would love it, it just wasn’t my favorite.

I’ve been a huge Jandy Nelson fan since reading “I’ll Give You the Sun,” so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. I was initially a bit worried because it took a while for me to get into. However, once I was in, I was in.

This fantastical story has a little bit of everything: family drama, mystery, love story, magical realism, and even road trips. On top of all that, we get to meet this lovable cast of characters through multiple POVs. Not to mention, all of the characters have so much depth!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group/Dial Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have been a huge fan of Jandy Nelson for years and loved this as much as her first book. One of my top five reads this year, easily

Thank you, Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group/Dial, for allowing me to read a digital ARC of Jandy Nelson's "When the World Tips Over." This novel was released on September 24, 2024. "When the World Tips Over" is the first novel I've read by this author, and I must admit, it won't be the last. The character development was superb! I had difficulty getting into the book initially; still, I persevered and was swept away in the saga of the Fall siblings: Wynton, Miles, and Dizzy, their mother, their father, and the impact of rainbow-haired Cassidy on each of their lives. Is Cassidy truly an angel or a stalker? The emotional journey of each character, filled with angst as they attempted to deal with tragedy, betrayal, abandonment issues, self-discovery, love, self-acceptance, and a curse, was palpable. I loved Sandro, dog extraordinaire.

The author juggled many individual stories throughout the novel, but in the end, they all collided in a semi-neat ball for a satisfying conclusion. There were some instances where the author stretched incredulity, but overall, it was a great novel about a dysfunctional family who found their way and attempted to heal. Families are flawed, but love permeates the bonds of those within. In the end, the past is reconciled with the future.

I encourage individuals to read "When the World Tops Over." It is not just whimsical and magical but also an engaging novel that will captivate you from the first page to the last.

4/5

An absolute joy. This was like Big Fish and a Encanto had a spiritual YA novel baby’. I adored reading this.

Thank you @penguinteen for the gifted eARC of WHEN THE WORLD TIPS OVER!

I absolutely adored Jandy Nelson’s previous book I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN so I jumped at the chance to read an eARC of her newest book.

I loved her take on Cain and Abel and history repeating itself down a family line. It was fascinating and heartbreaking, especially when you realize the root of the split between Wyntyn and Miles Fall.
My favorite thing about Nelson’s books is how she weaves in threads of magical realism but makes them so fun that you absolutely want to believe the Dizzy Fall can see mute ghosts, that Wyntyn Fall is haunted by his missing father’s trumpet music, and that Miles Fall can speak mind to mind with all the dogs in town.

She also perfectly captures how messy and full of emotions/angst teenagers are (and also makes me so glad I’ll never be a teen again!).

I do wish this book was about 100 pages shorter though. There were parts of the story that dragged and I kept wanting her to get to the good stuff already.

If you’re a fan of YA, I would still recommend picking this one up!

WHEN THE WORLD TIPS OVER is out now!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6855910461
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DA80epRS2uB/

I was thrilled to get access to an early copy of When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson. I’ll Give You the Sun is one of my all-time favorite YA novels, and my expectations going in were pretty high. Maybe that’s why they were not met? The TLDR: this book was so overlong that it started to make me resentful towards the MANY characters and their increasingly repetitive inner monologue. Additionally, the structure of the narrative was not organized in a way that made it seamless to remember the complex connections of all these family members. Threads were dropped to hastily get picked up again a hundred pages later.
Upon first blush, I will say that was enjoying the very lovable and idiosyncratic characters that Nelson writes so well. Then the storyline, which included a little magical realism, pulled me in and I thought I was going to get a little bit of a mix between Rabbit Cake and Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance. And I would say that if that appeals, you might enjoy this book with the aforementioned caveats.
There was still lovely writing, and I did enjoy the plot threads coming together in the end. It will certainly not be the last Jandy Nelson book I read!

Great book! Magical and fantastical while also being completely and heartbreakingly real. I loved the characters and the magical elements, the setting was great and the whole thing just radiated. I wish there was a little more but at the same time if I had one criticism some parts did feel like they went on too long.

1 Sentence Summary: The Fall siblings—Dizzy, Miles, and Wynton—haven’t been the same since their father disappeared years ago, until one day a mysterious rainbow-haired girl appears and upends everything they thought they knew about their lives.

My Thoughts: This was absolutely incredible!!! The prose was lovely, the story was compelling, and I fell in love with the characters immediately. They were flawed and three dimensional and each had their own struggles to deal with, and their interactions and relationships with each other were so complex and nuanced.

I really loved the format of the book, with all of the POV switches and the flashbacks between past and present and the extra little tidbits like newspaper clippings and journal entries that were included. All of the stories within the story worked so well and made the overall novel much more layered and interesting. I also really appreciated getting to see the perspectives of each of the Fall siblings and how differently they would view the same situation. Everyone has something they’re struggling with, and you don’t know what other people are going through.

The emotion was so well written, and the setting and atmosphere really added to it. I did tear up a few times while reading. There was a theme throughout of tragedy, of family curses, of destruction, yet there was also an undercurrent of hope and connection and new beginnings.

Jandy Nelson is such a talented writer, and is especially good at writing complex and compelling family dynamics. This novel is part family drama, part tragic love story, part mystery, and part magical realism. The way everything came together at the end was shocking (I gasped out loud at one of the reveals) and was absolute perfection.

AND I LOVED THE MAGICAL REALISM ELEMENTS!!!!!

Recommend to: Fans of family curses, multi-layered stories, secrets, magical realism, siblings finding their way back to each other, and strange (almost enchanted) towns.

(Warnings: swearing; sexual content; alcoholism/drug use; rape; child abandonment; mentions of death)

This is a beautiful story from a very talented writer. It's been ten years Nelson's last book was published (I LOVED I'll Give You The Sun!) and I was thrilled to hear that another book was in the works. This multi-POV YA novel follows three siblings, their mother, and an enigmatic rainbow-girl who shows up unexpectedly. It also weaves in historical narratives from generations past. All of this to say, there's a LOT going on in this book. Ultimately it weaves together a lovely, complex, and moving account of the Fall family. The story is objectively a five-star read. Personally, I struggled to get through all the switching narrators and wanted more from the ending.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers/Dial Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel via NetGalley.

3.5 stars

It’s 2024 and I’m crying over a Jandy Nelson book. Who would’ve thought? I remember hearing about this book back in 2019? Perhaps 2020? And never did my past self imagine that I'd get approved for an ARC of it!

<I>When the World Tips Over</i> follows the three Fall siblings who live deep in Northern California wine country and are haunted by the long ago disappearance of their father. There's 12-year-old Dizzy who sees spirits and bakes cakes. Perfect Miles, genius, athlete, and overlooked. And Wynton, the eldest son and biggest disappointment. These three have their worlds tipped over with the appearance of a mysterious rainbow-haired girl who seems to know a little too much about each of them.

This story is a true Nelson classic, filled with magic and complex characters and fun family dynamics. There was an unexpected magical realism element to this story – very reminiscent of <i>One Hundred Years of Solitude</i> which seems to be a clear inspiration – that adds another layer of whimsy to the whole story. I was honestly overwhelmed at first by all the talk of ghosts and curses and family lore, but it hooked me in pretty quickly, and I was deeply invested in the stories upon stories into stories wrapped up in this novel.

My only complaints are that the pacing felt a bit disjointed with all the timeline shifts. I do think the format of this novel is very creative and also necessary for how the story itself unfolds, but I do think it could have felt a bit more seamless. I also wasn't the most satisfied with the ending, a little too many threads left loose for my preference but I'm sure others will love it!

Overall: I recommend to any Jandy Nelson fans who've been missing her signature style all these years and those searching for something that'll surprise them time and time again. This book is not what you'll expect it to be but it's certainly something wondrous! Excited to see what she'll come up with next.

Thank you NetGalley and Dial Books for the digital ARC of this book!

4.5/5 stars

Warning: although I usually try to make my reviews spoiler-free, this one does contain some minor spoilers for When the World Tips Over.

The best word I can use to describe When the World Tips Over is electric. The story pulled me in from the very first page and did not let me go until I had read every last word. While there are some flaws with the overall plotting of the book, it is hard to deny that I loved every minute of the whirlwind adventure this book took me on.

We begin with the Fall siblings. Dizzy is twelve years old, and has just gone through her first friend breakup. She is dealing with bullying at school, and tensions at home between her mother and her favorite brother Wynton, who her mom kicked out of the house. And she can see ghosts. Miles is glowing (literally), he is one of the most popular people in school, and seemingly the perfect child. But his only real friend is a dog he can talk to, who also happens to be the only being that knows Miles is gay. Wynton is an exceptional musician, who has to wear sunglasses whenever he plays to hide the fact that he is crying. The three siblings have been in disrepair ever since their father left over a decade ago, but a new person is about to turn all of their lives upside down.

There are truly so many positive things to say about this book. I love the distinct voices of the Fall siblings. Nelson perfectly crafted the voices and struggles of a twelve, seventeen, and nineteen year old. Each of those stages of life carries a certain kind of despair and a search for the self, which I thought was wonderfully portrayed. I love genre-bending that comes from blending contemporary fiction, magical realism, mystery, and history all in one. I adore all the talk of food, which is a special relationship shared between Dizzy and her mother. And there were so many funny moments, while simultaneously the book was unable to shy away from delving into serious topics like death, grief, and religion.

These nebulous aspects remain a constant throughout the book, and are the pieces which lead to me devouring it in just a few days. However, after the love affair was over, there were a few things which didn't quite sit right with me in terms of the plot. The first third of the book is, in my opinion, perfect. We get introduced to Dizzy, Miles, and Wynton individually, while also getting the chance to see each of their meetings with the rainbow-haired girl.

Diving into some of our minor spoilers: about a third of the way through the book, Wynton gets in an accident, and is in a coma for most of the rest of the book. While we still have chapters from his point of view in the coma, they are much more abstract, so we don't get to know his character as much as we do the others. It is disappointing because we get really conflicting accounts of Wynton from the people around him, so I really would have appreciated the chance to get to know him more from himself.

Especially when I am in a larger-than-life story that also engages magical realism, there are some things I will easily forgive. For example, I usually don't like love-at-first-sight, but it was overall used well as a device in this book, and thus didn't bother me too much. But while I do love me some magical realism as well as ambiguity in my books, there was a little bit too much ambiguity as to what was magical and actually happening and what was exaggerated.

And then there is the thing that really scratches my brain. All of the adults in this book have made some pretty large mistakes. This in and of itself is not bad; making mistakes is a pretty human thing to do, and the adults shouldn't be portrayed as perfect. However, I feel like the narrative doesn't spend enough time reckoning with those mistakes. Having flawed and three-dimensional characters is necessary, but I also want character development and maybe a few discussions with their kids about the mistakes they have made before they become a big happy family. Because of the lack of this, it made the ending feel a bit disingenuous.

However, there are so many good things going on in this book that I don't think that should dissuade anyone from reading it. When a book gives me the emotional roller coaster the way this one did, it tends to win me over. Because what I want as a reader is to be sucked into the lives of the characters and go on an adventure with them, and that is exactly what happens in When the World Tips Over.