Book Review.

By Reviewer: Dianne
Title: As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth
Author: Lynne Rae Perkins
Primary Audience/age group: Middle school and up
Genre: Realistic Fiction
# Of pages: 352
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Year of Release: 2010
Part of a Series? No
Rating: 4 (View Scale)
Recommend? Yes


Description: Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. This pretty much sums up the start of 16-year-old Ry’s summer. As Ry is on a train heading for a summer camp program in the middle of the Montana wilderness, he comes across an unopened envelope from the camp marked “Urgent” which he had simply stuck in his luggage and forgotten. Upon opening it, he finds that summer camp has been cancelled. He tries to call his grandfather who is dog sitting in their new home in Wisconsin while his parents go off on a Caribbean vacation. Of course there is no reception on the train, so when a mechanical problem delays the train he steps off to see if he can get through to him. As he seeks a spot where he might be able to make the call, he notices that the train appears to be moving…and indeed it is, leaving him in who-knows-where Montana. One catastrophe after another ensues with virtually every character (even the dogs) in this novel, leaving the reader somewhat breathless, and highly entertained. Will Ry ever be reunited again with his family?

Review: This book was fun to read. The point of view changes as we follow our hero through his wild adventure across the United States and to the Caribbean. Even his dogs put in their two cents worth... but the dog version of what is going on is done in pictures. (What? You thought dogs could read and write??) Although the coincidences in the story are totally unbelievable, it doesn’t make you shake you head in disbelief and toss the book aside. It’s way too entertaining for that.

Rating: 4 for mild language

Positive: Ry learns a lot from his rescuer, Del. Del tends to be the white knight that comes to the rescue whenever needed and will literally give you the shirt off his back. He is not afraid to work with his hands and displays an optimistic attitude about pretty much everything. Ry picks up on this and by the end has found satisfaction in helping out wherever he can. It’s a good lesson in “love your neighbor”.

Spiritual Elements: None

Violence: None

Language: There were some mild language issues in this book.

Sexual Content: None

Other: None

Recommendation: Even though Ry was 16 years old, I would not hesitate to recommend it to middle school and up.

I started to read this book, but never got around to finishing it. This review is by Teen Lit Review. 

Much Love,
Anj