Falling
Eddie Allen
(Gilburt and Paul, April 14, 2020)
Love, life and death: the ups, and then downs of 16-year-old Norfolk boy Jack Preston over a momentous six months in 2011.Life seems good for Jack: he has a great circle of friends, a wonderful girlfriend and a real talent for music and cricket. He’s the star bowler in his village youth cricket team and he plays a key part in their county cup competition.But over the course of a few weeks one August, his world slowly begins to fall apart around him until it explodes in an outburst of anguish, violence and deep sadness. Jack believes that the only way he can escape his troubles is to run away from home and we follow his long and eventful journey on foot from Norfolk to London.Once in the capital he befriends a heroin addict – a lad not much older than himself but who offers him friendship and a roof over his head, and in return Jack provides some light in the darkness that they both descend into…Falling is about relationships, pressure on young people to perform, teenage angst, drug and alcohol abuse and homelessness – but with love ultimately shining through.Note: Contains some strong language and references to sex.