When a high school freshman commits suicide, everyone at Liberty School of Excellence is shocked—especially Eve Hunter, who is not only the English teacher at Liberty, but also a friend of the victim’s family. Although devastated, Eve is prepared to offer her love and support. But when the grieving mother discloses her theory that her son was secretly bullied to death at school, Eve is … conflicted. Not at a prestigious school like Liberty, Eve is certain. Regardless, she agrees to do some underground (and possibly illegal) investigating—even if that means risking her career. After all, the pain of losing a child trumps that of losing a job.
Eve isn’t the only one delving into secrets. Her son, Malik Hunter, is a sophomore at Liberty whose perfect life is a perfect lie. Behind his good looks, straight A’s, and the facemask of his football helmet, Malik battles a crippling depression. But someone sees through it all. Someone who reaches out to him on LibertyNet, the school’s online intranet. Someone who seems to know Malik better than he knows himself. Someone evil.
Eve believes a cyberbully may be lurking in the dark realms of LibertyNet.
Malik knows there is.
Unless anybody in this household is willing to reveal their secrets, someone could end up falling over the edge … literally.
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What an emotional story to read! How the mastermind in this story could get completely embedded into the victim’s head and weave the negative thoughts in a way to gut the victim. What a sick sick person to prey on teenagers who are so impressionable at that age.
It’s every parents nightmare, their child committing suicide.
Did they miss the signs? What happened in the days prior? Could they, should they, would they… It’s on constant loop in the parent who is grieving…
When this hits home with a student at the exclusive private school in Miami, Eve who is a teacher at the school, starts doing her own little investigation as to why did this young man take his life.
This is a page turner, nail biter book!
My first book by this author but won’t be my last!
4.5 stars
Liberty School of Excellence prided itself for producing star students. When an unexpected tragedy strike, everyone was left reeling in disbelief, especially the victim’s mother. Eve Hunter answered the mother’s call for help to investigate what actually happened. With her own son Malik as a student, it became a priority to uncover the chilling truth before it’s too late.
I started this book blind and I’m glad for it. I think the blurb says too much and I believed I enjoyed the story better without any prior knowledge.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book with its never ending heart thumping moments. I never thought a domestic based story could grip my attention as much as it did, but some of the scenes had highly strung tension that I can’t stop flipping the pages.
There were a lot of characters that added questions and intrigue. I liked forming my own theories throughout the book. The revelation was not unexpected to me, but it wasn’t a big deal because it was done well. I especially loved the epilogue because it was realistic.
The Falling of Stars is a story of a race against time to uncover the truth. It would appeal to readers looking for an engaging psychological thriller.
Wow. *breathe* This book shook me. I needed to sit a minute after finishing it, just to digest. To have all the feels. To mourn, laugh, process. This book is a 7-star book. This is Traci Finlay’s 2nd book and she truly creates some magnificent storylines. Emotional, thrilling, suspenseful. This book dealt with many heavy subjects. It didn’t shock for shock value. It didn’t wrap up pretty so that you felt good and happy at the end. It was truthful and ugly in places. It made me FEEL. Again – ALL THE FEELS.
I loved the dual points of view of Eve and her son Malik. The characters vulnerability was so well done. You didn’t roll your eyes at their actions or thoughts. You ached for them, for the pain they were suffering and how they were trying to find their footing through this storm. But more than that, Traci created tremendous moments of levity and humor in the book. Malik’s voice rang so true that you would think a 16 boy really did write his chapters. The jokes about how he doesn’t watch movies because he’s trying to avoid certain things was just fun relief during tense moments. The small bit of dry humor “You need the dots” caused me to laugh and really enjoy the moments of wit she weaved through this heavy plot. I cannot say enough good things about this book. I don’t have the words to describe the feelings it invoked or why it touched me so much. But if you are even thinking about reading this book – DO IT. I will personally pay you back the cost if you do not find this book powerful. I am impatiently waiting her next release. Bravo Traci, on a masterpiece.
This is my first read by this author and what an amazing book to introduce me to!
I’m a proud fan!
This story was smart, edgy and compelling. Told in dual POV, the story develops and unfolds methodically, adding to the complexity of the story.
Gut wrenching and emotional, a tragedy to a high school friend leads into a dark and chilling journey of secrets and societal pressures. An unknown email account sets the stage for this suspenseful, twisted psychological thriller.
Thought provoking, haunting, and full of surprises, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how the story would end up.
Oh my goodness!
A parent’s worst nightmare comes to life and it’s not what she knows but what she suspects that’s chilling. She learns things are not what they appear!
Never second guess your gut instincts!!
This story is a must!
4.5 stars!
Eve Hunter is a high school English teacher, a wife and a mother of two sons. Throughout her life, Eve has had to overcome certain trauma. When tragedy strikes a student, Eve sets out to help the mother get answers, but it becomes much more complicated than she could have imagined as her sophomore son, Malik, also becomes entangled in this web of manipulation.
“Your mission is set. Will you be a shooting star? Or a falling star?”
Narrated in dual POV, this story unfolds with complex layers and rich character development that leads to building tension. Knowing what is at stake makes the actions that both Eve and Malik take all the more intense. Adding to the element of uncertainty is how certain characters continue to guard harmful secrets.
“There’s no complete healing, but the moment you accept that it’s a war that comes and goes for the rest of your life, you’ve already won the majority of the battle.”
There are many appealing aspects of this book, namely, the quick pace and constant chase to uncover the truth since everyone was a suspect. Eve’s tenacity is so admirable. As for Malik, getting into his head seemed effortless and the difference between the POVs for Eve and Malik felt unique to each. Also, I liked how the local flavor of Miami was included in the plot landscape.
The Falling of Stars is an absolute page turner of a thriller with chilling elements of how a predator can leech into the minds of unsuspecting victims.
This is undoubtedly most profound, multi sensory experience I’ve had this year that has left me dazzled and stunned. As I’ve peeled back layers and sublayers of this extraordinary story in my search for truth with Eve, I’m not sure having reached the end, I’m supposed to celebrate our success or weep with helplessness. For every truth unveiled, there’s millions hiding in the dark.
Mind blowing, mind numbing. This is not JUST a story, it’s a jarring, gut wrenching lesson about social evils of digital age. It’s about wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, roaming amongst us, trying to lure the weak and depressed.
If you want to read ONE STORY this year- PICK UP THIS BOOK!!
The Astounding veracity, the narrative syntax will blow you away! A hard to digest life lesson which ALL OF US MUST READ!!
“That’s what life is, isn’t it?
A series of challenges that you always pass, one way or another. Even if you fail them. Either way, it’s over. But it’s all about taking control of your emotions, not letting your emotions control you.”
Watch out for Traci Finlay booklandia, her career is going to skyrocket at warp speed and there’s no stopping this sparkling genius of a writer. This is just her second book………Let that sink in!!
I am in awe!! Legit heroine-worshipping, bow-down state of acquiescence to have discovered & fortunately met Traci. I was floored when I read her first book- The Rules of Burken, but this one has taken a huge leap upwards and onwards.
You won’t believe the soul shuddering, very possible scenario when you dive headfirst into this white knuckled, hair raising ride of your life. It’s a fantastic psychological thriller that had my hair standing on end THROUGHOUT, my flesh was mottled with goosebumps and an icy shiver danced on my spine from page 1 to the last.
“It’s creepy, though, watching my body heal from falling down the stairs while my mind gets more injured every day.”
The plot is scary real, eerily forewarning. This could be happening RIGHT NOW in your community, in your neighborhood, in your district school and **shudders** in YOUR FAMILY!!
As I’m writing I can feel a chill run through my soul….
It’s a story simply about a mom. Owner of a ginormous heart full to the brim with all encompassing love for her family, Esp her kids. As I read in Mud Vein, the strings & bonds that join mother and child are permanent and unbreakable, getting stronger over time
A fierce, protective, tenacious fighter of a mom who goes on the hunt for the predator like a tigress, sniffing around the scents, poking around in dark corners, looking for predators out to hurt the children of her pride. She’s Relentless in her pursuit of closure for her friend who lost her beloved child to cyber bullying.
“What’s going on? Who are these people surrounding our children? We bust our hearts trying to protect our kids, and we’re feeding them to the wolves.”
As a mom, this part was the most hard to digest, I’m telling ya, it took a big glass of wine to push down the gigantic rock that was stuck in my throat. I just couldn’t endure Eve Hunter going mad with worry for her sons, her family, her school, her community. Her sons Malik and Xander are her reasons to breathe.
Liberty High has a monster hiding in plain sight. Using LibertyNet, the school intranet as a weapon, targeting students and manipulating their impressionable minds.
“What if … what if it’s not what you thought? What if it’s someone we don’t expect? Like, it ends up being someone we trusted, and maybe it’s worse than we thought? What if I don’t think you can handle it?”
**(My child’s school had a similar Social net and it scared me every single day seeing my child out there in this open cyberspace, vulnerable and exposed to any hate spewing keyboard warrior or cyberbullies)**
It’s a heart sinking reality that COULD be a real threat in real life, real soon what with ALL our millennial kids a slave of social media nowadays. But front and center characters are parents. Very real, human parents. They grieve, they fumble, they are strict, they are motivating, fierce pushers and ambitious. But they love their kids. Unconditionally, irrevocably & with all their heart and soul.
The first chapter had a line that just brought me to my knees. I legit couldn’t breathe just IMAGINING a mom saying it to her son….. But I would totally say it to my son.
“If you ever do … what Jordan did. If you ever feel like, like that’s what life’s become. That you need to—to do that. I mean, please don’t. I hope you never do. But if you do, just … put the gun to my head first. Okay?”
I’ve read this book non-stop. Shuddering with sobs, rubbing my chest where my heart is, trying to ease the pain and wanting to hug my child after every chapter.
Pick up this book when it releases, meanwhile I’ll shout from the rooftops,blatantly shove it in your faces, shamelessly pimp it to eternity because once in a while you come across such extraordinary story that sinks your heart yet makes it fly.
You’re the Bright, shining, Sparkling star Traci
Traci Finlay puts you deep into the psyches of a mother and her son, building nearly excruciating tension until she reaches a climax that leaves you breathless.
Eve and Malik have been a unit since she was pregnant with him at sixteen. With a later marriage to Alex and a new son, Xander, the dichotomy between mother and eldest son remains symbiotic. She has his back, always, and he knows this. She defends him and is his fierce champion. It isn’t so much that she chooses him over Alex and Xander, but rather that she grew up with him. Their relationship sort of defines them.
Malik, however, has secrets. Eve does, too. You will find yourself wondering how different things would be for them if they would disclose those secrets, even as Traci Finlay shows you the many reasons why they believe they can’t.
As mother and son begin spiraling, their need for each other becomes more essential and necessary, but rather than come together to defeat an unknown force, they retreat further apart. There are times when your heart nearly breaks for them, particularly Malik.
Traci Finlay addresses mental health, bullying, and suicide, and she does so with grace and respect. Her characters feel real. Their experiences feel real. You can imagine the circumstances of this book happening right now.
If the denouement feels a little rushed, maybe even a little too tidily revealed, you might even be a bit grateful. After all of the emotionally taut storytelling, you might need to get to the end quicker.
This is the sort of book that book clubs would devour. There is so much to unpack and discuss, whether from a parenting perspective or as a look inside a teenager. Let me know what you think of Traci Finlay’s thriller. I’d love to talk about it with you.
I sat on this review for a day and I am still struggling. This book punched me in the gut. Immediately when it was over I messaged Traci and told her “your mind is a little messed up. You write a lot of creeps.” But as I thought about this, all night and day today, I realized the reason why it hits you so hard is that these things are real life. Yes, they are messed up situations, but they happen. Probably everyday. We are the ones who don’t think about them. We read our romances, we read our fiction, but we don’t think about these things that go on in our world. Traci does, and they are in her heart, in her soul, and she writes about them. She weaves us her tales and tells a twisty story, but the thing is, these are the things that people are scared to talk about. This is why they are so hard to read and so creepy. These things happen. I will admittedly tell you that thought I had this story figured out about 7 times and then it twisted in another direction. I love stories that keep me guessing, I usually am the one who figures things out quickly. This is why Traci will keep me coming back for more, always.