Tallulah Falls

From the Publisher

"This story of a screw-up teen, 17-year-old "Tallulah," grabs the reader and doesn't let go. …It's an involving, nuanced character study that keeps the reader interested throughout. Honest and realistic--a winner."--Kirkus Reviews "First-time author Fletcher is a vet, and the compelling scenes of caring for the animals feel entirely authentic and never sentimental. …[T]eens, particularly those who love animals, will relate to the lonely outsider who finds compassionate attention from an unlikely source." --Booklist
"Most teens will relate to Tallulah-she's imperfect, stubborn, mouthy, and searching for truth and acceptance. They'll also understand from her descriptions and memories of Maeve why she is so devoted to the young woman and so devastated when she becomes cold and sarcastic. The supporting characters get their due as well, particularly Poteet, shrewd, insightful, and more compassionate than he lets on to be. The action moves at a breakneck pace as Talullah changes from an impulsive, difficult teen to a thoughtful young woman with direction." --School Library Journal

"Tallulah feels alone and small, but discovers she is neither - an empowering theme in a book that has everything: a heroine surviving an incredible journey (both external and within); characters so real they walk off the page; and a brisk yet thoughtful plot, brightened with flashes of humor. The Tennessee setting is vividly realized and is an essential story element. The author is brilliant at descriptions. A singer's voice rasps "as though sorrow were sandpaper" while too-short coveralls give Tallulah a Super Atomic Wedgie. In addition, the reader gets a fascinating glimpse at the inside workings of a vet's office. This is an excellent read from first-time novelist Christine Fletcher that will leave her audience anxiously awaiting her next book." --Teenreads.com

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Tallulah's 21-year-old friend Maeve is exciting, exhilarating, and lives life to the fullest. She is also bipolar, which she says is simply a label given by people "who don't like it when they see other people moving differently throughout the world." After having yet another fight with her mother, Tallulah gets a frantic phone call from Maeve saying she has left Oregon for Florida and needs her notebooks. The 17-year-old decides to deliver them; she runs away from home with a sort-of boyfriend but is stranded in rural Tennessee when he robs her and leaves her in a motel. With no money, she has no choice but to accept a temporary job offer at Dr. Poteet's vet clinic, helping out with the animals, living with Poteet's receptionist, carrying on a flirtation with one of the other workers, and making frantic phone calls to Florida, where she gets only an answering machine. When Maeve finally arrives, Tallulah learns the truth about her friend and the seriousness of her disorder. Most teens will relate to Tallulah-she's imperfect, stubborn, mouthy, and searching for truth and acceptance. They'll also understand from her descriptions and memories of Maeve why she is so devoted to the young woman and so devastated when she becomes cold and sarcastic. The supporting characters get their due as well, particularly Poteet, shrewd, insightful, and more compassionate than he lets on to be. The action moves at a breakneck pace as Talullah changes from an impulsive, difficult teen to a thoughtful young woman with direction.-Lisa Prolman, Greenfield Public Library, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

This story of a screw-up teen, 17-year-old "Tallulah," grabs the reader and doesn't let go. Tallulah attaches herself to Maeve, a 24-year-old free spirit who suddenly takes off for Florida, then calls Tallulah asking for notebooks she has left behind. Tallulah simply leaves with a boy she recently met, who robs and strands her in a tiny town in Tennessee. Stumbling through the dark, Tallulah finds an injured dog and gets a lift to the local veterinarian's office. The grumpy vet gives her a temporary job while Tallulah waits for Maeve to rescue her. Maeve, however, may not be a reliable friend. While dealing with the life-and-death issues that exist in a vet's office, Tallulah finds that she may not be a useless as she had thought. It's an involving, nuanced character study that keeps the reader interested throughout. Honest and realistic-a winner. (Fiction. YA)