I feel like Jandy Nelson shouldn't wait ten years before writing her next book because she is an excellent writer and I want to continue reading her work. This was another great book from her, covering a lot of heavy topics with a touch of magical realism that reminded me a bit of Sarah Addison Allen, another favorite writer of mine.

This book deals with the Fall family, who have been missing their father for years after he left one day and never returned. Each of the three Fall siblings have their own feelings about why their father left and how it has affected them, but also how it has affected their relationships with each other. You can easily feel for each character, and anyone who has dealt with something similar will be able to relate. The characters are all very well-written, and each have distinct personalities. As the story progresses, a tragedy happens within the family that causes them to reflect on how they got to the point they're at. And while there are lots of emotions and depressing moments, there are also a lot of laughs. There's a couple of side characters that steal the show at times and bring the story together. The magical realism is done very well - there's enough to help move the story and give it that magical sense, but not so much that it overwhelms the story or distracts from what's trying to be said.

There are other types of losses dealt with as well - the Fall siblings mother losing her brother, their ancestor losing the love of his life, others losing their mother or abilities or themselves. All these losses are dealt with in their own way, but they also bring the characters together. Almost every reader will be able to connect with one of the characters in some way, as everyone has dealt with loss of some kind.

Highly recommended, along with her other books.

This family saga laced with magical realism didn't work for me. Things were too over-the-top. In a way it felt like Nelson was trying to write a book like Dig by A.S. King but she tried too hard and missed the mark. I wasn't the right reader for this book but I am sure it will find an audience.

I read I’ll Give You the Sun and I remember loving it, (though that’s about all I remember) so I couldn’t resist downloading Jandy Nelson’s newest book when it was Read Now on Netgalley.
This book is lyrical and whimsical and beautiful but soooo sooo long and quite convoluted. I loved the different perspectives and the different characters. The reveal at the end was very drawn out though it did ultimately pay off.
I enjoyed this book and found many parts of the story lovely, however, even though this book is billed as YA I would never let a young adult of mine read it. There is a decent amount of gratuitous and weird sexuality (like the mentioning of the word penis numerous times in the first 3 pages of the book for absolutely no reason) that really took me out of the book and I think makes this book completely inappropriate for anyone younger than an older teen.
Thank you to Dial Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so I love Jandy Nelson. Like... alot. I will be rereading <i>I'll Give You the Sun</i> until my death. This book was hectic, the plot was a bit difficult to follow, and it was a huuuuuge swing. And, amongst all the chaos, Nelson captures lots of heart. The cast is so incredibly lovable. Queer, touches on difficult topics including abandonment and assault, and does so in the magical world of a Jandy Nelson. If I were a young teen, I would be making diabolical tumblr posts about Miles and Felix... lol. So yeah... this is quite an epic return for Jandy Nelson! I will likely continue to read anything she writes...<3

Did I love this book? Did it drive me crazy wanting to know? Did the jumping between narrators, letters, etc, annoy me? Did it intrigue and entertain me? Oh my ALL THE FEELINGS!!! I think perhaps my biggest question at the end was how I would feel about a 14 yo child of mine reading this. There is a LOT of much more adult content (not porn, people) than I might want for someone who is 14yo. However, if my child were 14 and knowingly choosing to read a 500+ page book, they're probably mature enough to handle what is inside.

(The other lingering question......do these towns actually exist? As a resident of Northern California, I kept mentally picturing where each setting was in relation to the others. Jackson is a real town, but not in the county mentioned. And if I had to mentally place Paradise Valley, I would think about Sebastapol (my very own Brigadoon), even though it would have been bittersweet for it to be in Paradise, the city that burned. And yes, I recognize that part of the magic of the book was the mysteriousness of the town. For that, I'm still sticking with Sebastapol, but from the 1970s, where a little fog would make the whole place disappear! At least to the romantic tween that I was.)

End result is that I loved the characters! I loved the twisty turny connections and stories and feelings! I loved the weird and wonderful way the story is presented. And even when I was chuffed that the narration flipped at a really good point, I realized it was because I was so invested in this story! This is one of those books that I really think adults will enjoy as well, as long as they understand that it is written for a YA audience. Really well written for a YA audience.

POSITIVELY IN LOVE!

When The World Tips Over is like magic or sunshine captured in a bottle. The story was simply stunning and even the sadness, betrayal and heartache was beautiful. But, the flawed characters! The descriptions! I could wholly picture each bit of this story that felt like rays of sunlight.

Advance reader copy provided by Penguin Group and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publishing team and PRH Audio for the review copies of When the World Tips Over. As a longtime fan of Jandy Nelson, I was excited to dive into her latest work.

I loved this book. Despite its length, it never feels drawn out—a richly layered family drama told through multiple perspectives, each character thoughtfully developed with their own distinct identity and journey of self-growth. The audiobook, in particular, stood out with its nuanced narration, capturing tone and emotion beyond the words, perfectly conveying the author’s style.

Highlights include the balanced exploration of hope and grief, the complexity of sibling and family dynamics, vivid imagery, and Nelson's brilliant weaving of love and storytelling. This is a remarkable book, not just for YA readers, but for anyone who appreciates family dramas and coming-of-age stories.

I loved I’ll Give You The Sun but this one wasn’t for me. I found the writing style really challenging to get into, and I found myself lost at times with all of the moving pieces. I think there will definitely be plenty of readers who love this one but unfortunately I am not one of them.

I seldom read young adult but Jandy Nelson writes them perfectly, she has whimsy, emotion and age appropriate characterizations.

When the World Tips Over much like my favourite I’ll Give You the Sun is full of unforgettable characters who are coming of age and finding out how to deal with difficult emotions.

Nelson writes with such a vivid pen, quirky characters jump off the page and the central story always offered rich life lessons.

An autobuy author forever.

Upon reading other reviews I’m glad I’m not just being a brat reader and not wanting to finish this. I have started this about 5 times and I just absolutely cannot get into this. It’s kinda comes in hot and slow at the same time. Maybe I’ll try again maybe I won’t idk another book this author wrote has RAVE reviews so maybe I’ll check that out first and revisit. Okay sorry thanks for letting me read this!!

This book had a bit of a slow start for me, but by the end I really loved it! The characters were so unique and they each won me over. The relationships really grounded the story in reality, even with its little touch of magical realism.

Jandy Nelson’s writing is SO distinct. Her prose is fast, a bit chaotic, and wonderfully dramatic without ever feeling too overwhelming. I really enjoyed the different mediums she used throughout the story: stories within stories, unsent emails, journal entries, and family trees.

With each piece of the puzzle revealed, I couldn’t stop turning the pages; I *needed* to know how everything connected. The entire reading experience was a rollercoaster.

The marketing copy on the back really gets this one right: “With road trips, rivalries, family curses, love stories within love stories within love stories, and sorrows and joys passed from generation to generation, this is the intricate, luminous tale of a family’s complicated past and present.”

I wasn't super sure about this book at the beginning, but as it continued on the more I fell in love with it. I loved how the stories inter-twined, how everyone had similar experiences and mysteries to figure out. Near the middle to the end of the book, I was shocked by how many twists there were, with some I kind of guessed and others I was wildly-off on. Overall, this book feels like the Jandy Nelson books I've read before, with a bit more to it. The meaning behind the story is still deep, all the characters are complicated, and the ending is well written and makes a lot of sense with what happened throughout the book. Personally, I really liked Cassidy and the way she told the story of the Falls throughout the book.

This was my first book by Jandy Nelson.

I found it difficult to keep track of all the characters and what's happening. The story is told via multiple POV's, diary entries, notes, letters and the addition of magical realism made the story all very chaotic.
I was not able to finish reading.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read the ARC!

I thought I'll Give You The Sun was a perfect book and wondered if Nelson would struggle to reach the high bar she set with her debut. Perhaps writing When The World Tips Over was a struggle; perhaps it wasn't. But good God is it every bit as fabulous! Another complex sibling story, this one interwoven with generational love and trauma, magic realism, music, wine and aphrodisiacal soufflés, the novel is nearly impossible to put down.

I deeply appreciate how Nelson explores family mythology -- how we take on roles (or have them forced upon us) which aren't necessarily a fit; how we convince ourselves that things are a certain way and struggle to incorporate new information that doesn't support the lies we've told ourselves. Simply put, this is an astonishing work.

Jandy Nelson is a very nostalgic author for me since I remember vividly the moment I read “I’ll
Give You the Sun” a decade ago. It was a beautiful book that still brings back a lot of nice
memories. So when the author finally announced a new book after years since her last book I was
very excited. However, “When the World Tips Over” wasn’t at all what I had expected.

We follow three main characters (Dizzy, Miles and Wynton) who are siblings, but get an additional
POV from this mysterious girl named Cassidy. In addition, we get letter in between chapters from
different characters, and all of this was a bit messy and all over the place in my opinion. All of the
different POVs, their backstories, the magical realism aspect… it was just too much to follow
along.

The three siblings were great, and I especially enjoyed Miles chapters with Sandro and Felix. But a
lot of the times I felt like their stories just got muddled over by other characters’ POVs. I enjoyed
the overall storyline but it was unnecessarily long; the pacing was slow at times. Despite that I
liked the message of the book and the finale, even if it was a bit rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dial Books, and Penguin Young Readers Group for this advanced copy! You can pick up When the World Tips Over on September 24, 2024.

Jandy Nelson undoubtedly writes gorgeous prose for dynamic, multi-faceted characters. Her stories are filled to the brim with emotional moments, stunning character growth, and messages that rip your heart out and put it back together again. Saying that, you definitely have to be in the right mindset to pick up her books, and unfortunately, my headspace is not set for a Jandy Nelson novel at the moment.

That doesn't mean I won't pick it up sometime in the future, but at the moment, I wasn't in the right reading mood to properly appreciate it. If you're looking for something that will make you laugh out loud and bawl your eyes out simultaneously, though, this is your book!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for both a physical and digital early copy of this book! 😊 I loved the emotional depth that this book had. It touched on a lot of things I think are difficult like mental health, depression, and complicated family relationships. I thought the characters were well developed and likeable. I liked that this shifted viewpoints and timelines. It was fun to jump from past, to present, to diary entries and letters unset. The only thing I didn’t like was I think the pacing dragged a little. I found myself getting bored and I didn’t think this needed to be 500+ pages. There were a few times this got repetitive for me. However, I enjoyed the emotional depth this novel had and thought it was a great read!

I didn't finish this book. It just wasn't my cup of tea. I attempted to delve into the author's other works, but I faced the same challenge and couldn't complete them either.

I thought the synopsis of this book sounded good. I tried several times to grasp ahold of the story but to no avail. I might return to it and try again. Probably not.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I LOVED I'll Give You The Sun, it is still to this day one of my favorite YA novels and just in general one of my all time favorite books. I was super pumped to receive the ARC for When the World Tips Over, so thank you NetGalley.

What can I say but that it was excellent, I always loved the way Nelson wrote about family dynamics in the most realistic way, because more often than not it is usually portrayed as teenagers having a stable relationship with family members and its all sunshine and butterflys when in most cases it is not the case. The romance is also always so pleasant and not the usual insta love which I despise. It took me longer to get through this one because life happens so i had to put it down for a bit but once I picked it up again I couldnt put it down. I love it! The writing is immaculate as always.