Monday 27 September 2010

Tallulah Falls by Christine Fletcher

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Pub.Date: May 29th 2007
Age Range: 12 and up
Pages: 400
Format: paperback
Source Of Copy: from the author

When Tallulah Addy sets out on an impulsive cross-country trip to rescue her best friend, she doesn't anticipate getting stranded in rural Tennessee without a dime. Nor does she guess that rescuing a dog will land her a job in the local veterinarian’s office. But there, under the wary eye of ornery Dr. Poteet, Tallulah works harder than ever before, tending to animals of all shapes and sizes—and unexpectedly, to wounds long-buried in herself. Tallulah swears she'll leave the first chance she gets, yet when given the choice, it may prove harder to keep the promise to her friend than to say good-bye to the strangers who have become her new family.


Another story about escape to find one's self. Adventurous but peaceful at the same time, the book is still a good one although it doesn't come close to its sibling - Ten Cents A Dance.

What draws me into this book is the fact that it has such an uncommon plot - a girl sets off to go find her friend and suddenly gets stuck in a strange place with no money and no one she knows. That seems to be the biggest problem here - how to survive and get to her friend in time. But the deeper issue is that Tallulah not only doesn't know how to deal with this situation, she doesn't know how to deal with her entire life at all.

The charm of Tallulah Falls is probably the life in Tennessee that Tallulah accidentally falls into. I love how the author lets us know so much about animals and the likes. Although sometimes it feels like there's too much of animal treatment here I still find it interesting to read about those friends. Also, Tallulah Falls focuses most on family and friends rather than love, so I think it's refreshing.

All the characters in this book appeal to me one way or another. My favorite has to be Maeve. Unpredictable, she can be a bitch or a best friend at the same time but too bad she doesn't appear much. Tallulah doesn't impress me as much as Ruby from Ten Cents A Dance did, however, I do sympathy with her. Kyle doesn't turn out to be what I expect, so I'm a little disappointed.

The ending is lovely. I think Tallulah has found her great escape which would be new challenge but she's definitely made the right choice. It's one of my favorite parts from the book.

Rating: 3.5/5

4 comments:

Annie. said...

I actually liked this book more than Ten Cents A Dance. Both are great to me.

debbie said...

Uhm I won't pick up this book then :(

Laina said...

Awwwww, a puppy :D Sorry you had some issues with this one. Still want to read it, though. :)

Anonymous said...

When I read the plot, my first thought was that it sounded a bit like "Doc Hollywood" - where the guy sets out to start a new practice in Hollywood but he gets stuck in Micanopy, Florida along the way. So I made a special trip to Micanopy just to see it - lol!

Love stories where people set off to find themselves - maybe because I've done it myself and often reach for that when I'm stressed and feel like running away.

Good choice!