Book Review: The Fall Of Innocence

Warning: This article does discuss sensitive topics such as PTSD, depression, and rape.

All rating scale information is located on the bottom of the page. 

The Fall Of Innocence by Jenny Torres Sanchez

The Fall Of Innocence is an immersive and emotional read about a 16 year old girl named Emilia Dejesus, who was raped near her school playground at a young age. The after effects of the rape left Amelia with PTSD and depression, as well as a desperate need to forget it all. But when news is brought up upon her attacker’s identity, Amelia is no longer able to hide from the things she so desperately tried to forget. 

Plot Originality: The Fall Of Innocence has a very original plot compared to the many other books I’ve read that surround the after effects of rape. Whereas most books tend to have the climax of the story be the victim finally opening up and telling others of the rape, this story already had that done and out of the way before it even started. This allowed for a curiosity upon what the climax of the story would be. That being said, there were many elements of surprise added into the book (especially towards the end) and I rarely knew what was going to happen next.

Character Development: The character development within the book was great. Emelia (the main character) progressed well throughout the book and had an overall believable and ‘3D’ type feel to her. I can also say the same for her mom, but perhaps a bit less on the scale (The mom isn’t the main character after all). 

Writing Style: The writing style of this book was very well done. The way the author structured sentences and applied variations of powerful words really added a more emotional and worldly build to the story. The story does have frequent POV (Point of view) switches though, which were often confusing. It may take a re-read to really understand what’s going on in full (but things do kind of start to click in your head after a bit more elaboration further within the book). Overall, I would say that the POV switches add more uniqueness and importance to the story as a whole. 

Emotion: Where to even start? The emotions in this book were very much there, to say the least. It had the typical emotions that tend to play out in books that focus on rape – but a bit more exaggerated and THERE. The POV of the mother really adds a whole new level to the sorrow that was already in the book. (Very rarely is the mother showcased and given insight to, in the degree that it was in this book). To give you some perspective – I cried while reading this book. That doesn’t happen very often, and especially not to that degree. 

My overall rating of this book would be an enthusiastic 5. It hit all the spots for me, and overall made a very harmonious and powerful book to read. There were elements within the book that were extremely unique, and kept me wanting more – even after the end.

Rating System

I will be ‘grading’ the books based upon these four categories:

Plot Originality, Character Development, Writing Style, and Emotion

Overall book review/quality rating scale: 

5 – 100% would recommend – absolutely soul consuming. Great plot originality, character development, writing style, and emotion. COULD NOT PUT DOWN. (Would also say these books are often the ones that traveled with me long after it’s been read)

4 – Pretty dang good. A few things could be improved upon, but overall – It was a read that left me wanting more. 

3 – It was okay. There wasn’t anything super soul-consuming about the read, but it had me entertained. 

2 –  Not quite my style. Not the best in terms of plot originality, character development, writing style, and/or emotion – but it had a few positive attributions.

1 – Could use a LOT of improvement… Not to say it’s a totally terrible book – just perhaps it’s one that could use a good polishing. (Lack of plot originality, character development, writing style, and/or emotion)