Freefall by Anne Levine

Who: Anne Levine
What: Freefall
When: September 1st, 2008
Why: Tour
How: From Author

What would your life be like if military service was
compulsory, not voluntary?

Aggie is eighteen and getting ready to do her
service for the Israeli Army. She could get a cushy assignment—maybe pushing
paper somewhere—or she could just take her chances. Only, Aggie isn't like that.
Despite her small size and the fact that she needs to gain weight to even make
the grade, and despite the total disbelief of her entire family (except her
grandmother, who is an old freedom fighter and don't you forget it), Aggie is
trying out for an elite combat unit.

Ben—Aggie's crush of the
moment—isn't at all convinced that she's making the right choice. Shira, Aggie's
best friend forever, is bewildered (and perhaps a bit too interested in Ben).
Then there's Noah. And the serendipitous snow. And a good-bye kiss that turns
into, well, a real kiss.

Luckily for Aggie, her backbreaking,
sand-in-mouth, completely-lost-in-the-desert training produces an unlikely
dividend: friends. The kind she never imagined she could have. The kind you'd go
to war with—and for.

Freefall by Anne Levine was one of those books I thought I wasn't gonna like...and I ended up really liking it! With lovable characters, a cute romance, and a deep look at the decisions of a girl enlisting in the army, Freefall was an enjoyable read.

Addie, the main character, is a typical teenage girl. She's quirky and has crazy hair and feels young and childish. But she's also lives in Jerusalem where according to the novel (unsure if this is true or not), you must enlist in the army. She doesn't want to be in an intelligence agency, or pushing papers behind some desk. So she tried out for elite combat training. I could relate to Addie, since absolutely no one except Noah really believed she could do it. Despite many different obstacles that sometimes overwhelmed her, and everyone treating her like a child, she blossomed.

The whole elite combat training was rigorous and pretty cool to read about (though never would I want to go through it.) I mean, running with sandbags on your back for hours in a hot desert? Um, no thanks? But that's what she--and the best of the lovable trainees-- did. Lily was funny, spunky, and refreshingly funny compared to Addie's more analytical brain. Noah was aaa-dorable, though he didn't get to see a lot of him. What you do see, you'll love!

Something that really irked me had to be the ending and the length. Not the ending in itself, which I thought was an awesome ending, but the fact that it was so open. I'm pretty sure there won't be a sequel so I still had so many unanswered questions. Also, I felt that the shortness of the novel made it seem rushed. It didn't give me enough time to fully get to know and enjoy the characters!

But my rating? AHH-GREAT!

Happy Reading!
-Harmony