The Fallback Plan [Format Kindle]

It's hard to believe The Fallback Plan is Leigh Stein's first novel. Such is the assurance with which she delivers the story of recent college graduate Esther Kohler, forced to move back in with her parents while contemplating her next move: stepping into full-fledged independence and adulthood.

If this story sounds familiar maybe that's because it is less about moving home in defeat after college and trying to concoct a life plan, but rather a meditation on the universal experience of becoming a responsible, self-sufficient person.

What really makes Stein's book shine is the seamless mix of intelligence, humor and despair. This is not Young Adult fiction or Chick Lit by any stretch (with all due respect to both genres). This is literature, plain and simple, and the protagonist's sharp, self-deprecating wit is wielded like a sword to fend off the genuine fear and loss she experiences throughout the novel.

But make no mistake: while laugh-out-loud funny, The Fallback Plan will have you on the brink of tears on more than a few occasions. I found myself rooting hard for Esther, though I knew that a book this good would not offer easy answers or a pat conclusion.

Highly recommended.

Leigh Stein has done a very interesting thing with "The Fallback Plan".

At the center of the story is a young family (Amy and Nate Brown) quietly reeling from the loss of their youngest daughter. Most authors would most likely keep the focus of the story on the Brown family, and the ways in which the death of their child not only tears the, apart but also deeply affects their surviving daughter, May.

But Stein instead chooses to tell the story from the perspective of Esther Kohler, the next-door neighbor. Esther has plenty of her own stuff going on- she's a recent college grad who is back home and living with her parents. She spends most of her days either hanging out with her two loser friends (one of which is a 20-something guy named Pickle...) or dreaming up ways to become ill enough that she can receive disability benefits and not have to work. The ironic part is that Esther's depression is a pretty serious illness in and of itself. [As someone who is, in fact, disabled (I was born with Spina Bifida), I want to make it clear I did not take any offense to Esther's desire to be physically ill. Stein made it fairly apparent that Esther's hope for physical ailment was just her way of seeking validation of her crippling depression.]

With nothing else going on, Esther begins to babysit for May. And the two form a really sweet, quirky, and touching bond. May brings Esther out of her funk, in a way. And Esther begins to open up and deal with her own issues and memories.

While the story is amusing, and wry, it's not a happy one. However, I DESPISE being emotionally manipulated by authors so I think Stein did an outstanding job of keeping just enough distance from the heartbreak so as not to alienate or scar the reader. This was a quick read, but I also found myself staying up very, very late these past few days to read. And even though I finished the book a few days ago, I'm still thinking about it.

I'm a little bit in awe of Stein's ability to compact so many deep issues and relationships into such a spare and moving story, and still maintain a sense of levity throughout.

I'm really quite surprised at the negative reviews of this book. I picked it up as it is based in my hometown but soon enjoyed it for so many other reasons.

The story is funny and heartwarming, and it stayed with me for many days after I read it. It had me thinking: about the different relationships in our lives, how we hide our true selves from most people, and how each interaction with someone affects us and our choices. I strongly identified with Esther's internal monologue - laughing at the crazy while recognizing my own crazy thoughts and how they motivate us, and I fell in love with May through Esther's eyes. I was so touched by her youthful struggles with a grief she didn't really understand, which seems to me an impressive feat by Ms. Stein; creating a 6-year-old character with such authenticity.

Ms. Stein's writing is easy to read, quite clever and so often surprising (using pandas along with The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, all the while deliberately twisting C.S. Lewis' original story to illustrate her own story, as you would for any child). Her language is illustrative and Esther's world comes alive in your mind easily. Her characters are real and while they don't always make the choices you would like, they make the choices that they need to make.

I would absolutely recommend this book without hesitation.