BOOK REVIEW: FALLING FROM THE SKY by Nikki Godwin (YA m/m romance)
One summer.
Two boys.
Ten carousel horses.
OH THE FEELS.
This is one of the sweetest, most distinctive m/m romances I’ve read in many moons. Nikki Godwin is an author I love—I’ve been following her writing career with great interest, since we’re both YA authors who write gay and hetero romance. She’s got the goods, and I recommend this gentle first-love story to all m/m and YA fans looking for something pleasingly different.
FALLING FROM THE SKY hinges on a creative concept, something I always appreciate. Away at basketball camp for the summer, 16-year-old Ridge meets Micah, a Native American boy his age who runs the carousel at the local mall. Micah tells him the 10 carousel horses each have a special connection to him and his tribe, and he offers to reveal all the backstories to Ridge in a series of summer outings. Ridge accepts, reluctantly. He plays it off like he has nothing better to do, but he’s clearly intrigued by this confident, super-friendly guy who “talks too damn much” and “needs a haircut worse that I do.” (Yeah, Ridge can be pretty grumpy. It made me smile; he reminded me of a friend of mine, and his voice felt authentic.)
The ten-horse plan is an ingenious way to stir up sparks AND ramp up tension. It gives the developing romance a built-in countdown: What happens when the boys run out of horses (and summer)? A happy ending doesn’t seem like a foregone conclusion. Ridge has always identified as straight, and he wraps his growing feelings for Micah in reams of denials and justifications as they go on their “horse dates” and bond over Xbox Zombie Sanctuary 3.
If you’ve read Godwin’s other books, you already know she’s a master of slow-burn romance. The boys back into awkward friendship at first, which evolves into an “I want Micah to want me” situation that intrigues Ridge as much as it unnerves him. Soon he finds himself stalking his phone for Micah’s next text, getting pinpricks of jealousy when other guys are around his new “friend.” It gets to the point where you just FEEL that first kiss about to happen–but Ridge is such a tangle of emotion that you don’t have the slightest idea how he’ll react, and that’s both exciting and gut-wrenching.
That tension drives the book’s first half, but Godwin’s got more up her sleeve than a cat-and-mouse tease. FFTS is a fully developed romance between two teen boys who both challenge and complement each other. They open up about things that matter: Micah about his much-loved Nanna and his troubles with his parents, Ridge about his father’s death in the plane crash that haunts him. They push each other out of their respective comfort zones: Micah challenges Ridge to jump off a bridge with him, Ridge challenges Micah to ride a Ferris wheel. Neither one of them is perfect—Ridge is testy and full of typical teen-boy insecurities, Micah sometimes has trouble with boundaries—but I think their relatable flaws are what made me buy them as characters and root for their relationship.
To Godwin’s credit, she’s more interested in exploring the specifics of that relationship than the implications of “straight” Ridge loving a guy. I know that might seem like a controversial approach, but Ridge’s story arc is less about deciding how to label himself and more about opening himself to love in an unexpected guise. I love a good coming-out book, but I found FFTS’s approach refreshing. That’s not to say things are glossed over—there’s candor and depth to Ridge’s narration, but because it’s delivered with Godwin’s wry humor and light, assured touch, this never feels like a heavy “issue” novel.
This isn’t the book to pick up if you’re looking for hot and heavy—sex hasn’t really entered the equation for these two yet, though you know it’ll be great when it happens. But don’t let that dissuade you: this is a seriously sweet, thoughtful, and romantic book, with scenes you’ll be thinking about with a smile weeks later.
Where to pick up FALLING FROM THE SKY (’cause you’re gonna, right?):
