Freefall by Mindi Scott

Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time where Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely.

Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . . 
{taken from goodreads.com}






I must be attracted to dark contemporary YA lit at the moment because this is the 2nd one I've picked up in a week!  Freefall begins with a heavy heart & it doesn't let up either.  I felt myself really reaching out to the main character, Seth.  He's someone we can all empathize with, no matter what side of the tracks we came from.  I like that this book is told from a male's perspective.  Some times I get tired of reading the same story, through the same set of eyes.  Mixing it up every once in awhile creates something fresh!


Seth is in a band with his trashed out older brother & a few close friends who follow the same suit.  Their lives revolve around partying, drinking, girls, playing music, and partying some more.  His best friend, Isaac, suddenly dies one night from too much alcohol & passing out in Seth's front lawn.  Seth was the last person to see him alive & the first to see him dead.  This encounter stays with Seth and will continue to haunt him for months after Isaac's death.  For Seth, it seems like every one is able to pick up with their lives and move forward, but he is stuck in the grieving process and can't seem to let go of the guilt about Isaac's death.


The book is set in your typical town, with your typical rich kids & your typical poor kids.  Seth is one of the poor kids.  He lives in a trailer park with his mom & his brother (when his brother isn't in jail).  He knows that his life doesn't offer much, so when Isaac dies he finds himself really grasping for the point in all of this.  Then one night at a party, Seth meets Rosetta.  Suddenly his life has meaning & he realizes that this girl is everything different from where he came from & who he used to be.  The relationship between Rosetta & Seth is predictable.  At first, we see that Rosetta is weary of the bad boy from the opposite side of town; yet she is intrigued by him too.  As their relationship grows, so does Seth's demons about Isaac's death and his fear of stage fright with his band.  


As the story unfolds, we realize that Rosetta is fighting some demons of her own & perhaps this is why the two of them were really drawn to one another in the first place.  Without giving too much of the story away, I'll just say that these two characters find each other in their darkest moments & start to shed light on their fears and fight them together.  The characters have a lot of depth to them, and the descriptions are just enough to put you in the story.  The ending was a bit of a let down, though.  I felt like it needed more.  I understand the author's purpose for ending it where she did; however, I wanted to know more about the characters and what happened next.  I closed the book with questions, instead of answers.


Freefall teaches us about taking chances in life, no matter how scary they may seem.  When you find someone who understands your fears and can walk you through them, it's even better.  Life is short & we can't live our days scared of what may happen next.  We must open our eyes and take that leap every once in awhile.