Fallen Leaves

by Tessa Emily Hall

[phyllish]

In seasons of change, God is always constant

Selena suffered from anxiety, which was no surprise considering the things she had been through in her sixteen years of life. Wrested away from her dad and brother and made to believe that she was sent away. Living with and caring for an alcoholic mother, left to wonder if she would come home at night and what kind of condition she would be in when she got there.

But things were different now. Living with her aunt and uncle while her mom was in rehab. Finding again the faith of her father and putting her own life of partying behind her, Selena was ready to start her new school year at the prestigious art school and live the fairy tale she had always dreamed of.

While Selena had a crush on the next-door-neighbor, Austin, and their relationship was a large part of the story, it is hard to call this a romance. It was so much more about Selena growing in her relationship with Christ as she had to learn to trust Him even if her life wasn’t turning out as she expected.

The characters in the story were fleshed out in a way that I felt I really knew them. Her frenemy, snobbish cousin, the dreamy and oh-so-sweet Christian boy-next-door, her aunt who had taken her in. Oh, and her art teacher. Yeah, he was great!

One of the things I really appreciated about this is the way her “old life” of partying was mentioned but never glorified. Though she had turned to cigarettes and anxiety pills to help calm her, Selena knew that the lifestyle she had lived was but a false illusion and could bring no real or lasting happiness.

My emotions were all over the place as I read this book. As a baby Christian, Selena had to learn to trust God and to not act rashly. She made a bad choice due to jealousy and anger that had my heart thumping. Okay, it probably won’t have you reacting that way, but I get quite worked up watching characters do dumb things like this! At some moments I was laughing, others I was hoping, and yet others I had tears in my eyes. In other words, I was very emotionally invested in this story.

This is the second book of a series that is not specifically named on Amazon. It is a follow-up to Purple Moon which I have not read. The author did a great job of filling in details so I was not lost, but she still had me wanting to read that one as well. I’ve included a preview of that story at the very end of this post. All indications point to another book coming – not that there wasn’t a satisfying ending here, because there was, but it is clear that there is still more to be told.


This review was originally posted on Among the Reads


I was given a free copy of this item. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.