Catch Me If I Fall

Catch Me If I Fall by Claudia Recinos Seldeen is written in HI/LO verse, an increasingly popular form of poetry that is highly effective in conveying a complete and fully fleshed out narrative.

Here we meet Angela, a highschool student who has always endeavoured to reach the high expectations that her Guatemalan mother has set for her. When her head is turned to the sport of boxing, Angela fears that she will not excel in her new hobby, although it makes her truly happy. Longing to please her mother, Angela struggles with balancing her own happiness with her mother's demand for perfection.

This is a beautiful story that touches on the immigrant experience, the evolving relationship between a mother and daughter, and the need to remain true to one's self. Recommended. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and West 44 Books for an ARC.

I ADORED this story!

I worried, I laughed, I audibly gasped. I could not get through it quick enough!

The writing is brilliant - I had so many favourite sentences, I wanted to highlight them all to come back to later.

So much story, in such a short book.
This author really knocked it out of the park!

Can't wait to read whatever she writes next!

I’m a recent fan of Seldeen’s books and was excited to read this new one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Four stars!

I love the way she writes her stories in verse. It’s totally different from what I usually read and I think it fits so well with the younger character’s personality and voice. Well done!

This was a great story of determination ans self discovery. Told in poetry form a young lady deals with the pressures of living up to expectations not just from her mother but those she has put on herself.

I really enjoyed this. Very fast paced. Thirty minute max reading time. 200 pages!

I loved the story & the journey Angela went on. Was it written for my age group? No absolutely not, but I still took something from it. I 100% recommend this book!

Having grown up in an immigrant family with no father due to her mums teen pregnancy Angela has always been pushed to perfection. She’s a top student and wins her regional competition at trapeze. But her friend introduces her to boxing and she starts to reevaluate what she wants to be doing with herself.

I read this in class and I had to stop myself from crying more than a few times. This is a set of poetry seemingly written by the main character Angela as she navigates the pressures of being perfect and learns the true meaning of being successful on her own terms.

While I loved all the characters and was surprised with how well I felt like I knew them from such a small amount of text, Chance was easily my favourite!

This book is a roller coaster of emotions and if you see it in store it’s definitely worth picking up!

Thank you to NetGalley, West 44 Books, and Claudia Recinos Seldeen for the opportunity to read Catch Me If I Fall in exchange for an honest review.
Catch Me If I Fall is a hi-lo novel-in-verse written for a teen audience in a poetic style.

Since she was a child, Angela has had a passion for trapeze and trains for competitions. She only knows first place. When her friend brings her to boxing after school one day, Angela finds a new passion and struggles with the conflicting requirements of each.

Because she is from an immigrant family, it is Angela's mother's belief that she needs to try twice as hard as everyone else to succeed. The pressure with trapeze is high, but Angela finds a passion without the stress of winning, something that truly makes her happy for the first time in so long she can't even remember when she felt such joy: boxing.

Knowing her mother would likely not approve, Angela keeps her boxing involvement a secret, until the pressure of trapeze hits too hard. But it's her mom. Surely she can back whatever Angela's final choice is, right?

I enjoy the hint at the Guatemalan-American experience in this novel. The story also reflects what many young people go through: they are pushed into hobbies or sports by their parents, never really having a chance to explore something new because they have known the same thing all their lives. As a teen, that is a time when people are trying to figure out who they are, and a good time to branch out and try new things. I also appreciate the fact that this book explores a rather uncommon sport that there aren't many fiction novels about: trapeze.

This novel demonstrates the struggle people face when they want to please and earn praise from their parents, but they also want to do what they love and enjoy. Sometimes people's passions change, and that is part of being human: we grow and change, and we are influenced by our surroundings (friends, family, school, and experiences).  This book is an excellent model for a young adult audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Catch Me If I Fall in exchange for an honest review!

It was a short but enjoyable read. The story follows Angela, a competitive trapeze dancer who falls in love with boxing. Starting at a young age, Angela felt an immense amount of pressure to be the best. Her mother, born in Guatemala, believed that people like her had to work twice as hard as everyone else to succeed. Angela trains multiple times a week for trapeze in order to ensure her success. Her interest in boxing complicates things, as she finds herself splitting her time between boxing lessons and trapeze practice, putting stress on both her body and on her close relationships. The author does a great job showing the struggle between wanting to please those around her while also ensuring her own personal happiness.

I enjoyed the format in which the book was written and I would recommend Catch Me If I Fall!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Catch Me If I Fall is an young adult book written in verse. I find that books written in verse are ... easier to get through for a lot of us ADHD folks. I'm not sure if it's the flow of the words being in poetry form or just less words in general maybe?

But moving on, this book is beautifully written. I don't think I'd have enjoyed the storyline as much if it WASN'T written in verse to be 100% honest. I think I'm a tad older than the targeted demographic, and that's why.

I did enjoy this read, and I'll be looking for more books by the author!