Review: Just Don’t Fall by Josh Sundquist

Dec 22, 2009 by shanyn

Title: Just Don’t Fall
Author: Josh Sundquist
Publisher: Viking Adult
Publication Date: January 21, 2010

From Goodreads.com

Josh Sundquist was an energetic and inquisitive nine-year-old when he was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a virulent cancer that eventually claimed his left leg. His extraordinary journey takes him from his small southern town-with his father, an aspiring pastor questioning his faith, and his mother, a rigidly conservative homeschool teacher- through a dizzying array of hospitals, on to high school, and then to the mountains, where Josh learns to ski.

On the slopes, Josh’s world bursts wide open and he finds within him the drive to become a champion skier, despite his disability. While he navigates the dramas of high school and an unstable home life, Josh keeps his eyes on the prize-the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Italy.

Just Don’t Fall isn’t just the story of a boy becoming a man, but of a champion realizing his greatest aspiration.

Looking for a memoir? Looking for an inspiration story that isn’t too sappy? Looking for an excellent book to read?

You’ve found it.

I got sent this book randomly in the mail (meaning, I wasn’t contacted before it was sent), and it is the best randomly sent review book I have received, ever.

The dialogue throughout the book is light and true to the age Josh is as he is describing what is happening. I love the inner monologues – they are just the right length and often had me laughing out loud. In fact, as soon as I read some passages, I had to read them out loud to the other people I was around. Here is an example:

Dr. John Gray says in his book Men Are from Mars, Women Are From Venus that being a good listener means agreeing with everything the girl says, and never trying to help her solve her own problems. You should instead just show how you understand that the problem she is telling you about is a very serious one by repeating back to her what she’s just said and then asking her how that makes her feel. For example, if she says, “My computer is broken.” You should not say, “I will fix it for you,” even though this is what you might want to say since her problem is very stupid and you could easily fix it. Instead, you should say, “I am so sorry to hear that your computer is broken. How does make you feel?” And then, when she tells you how she feels, you should say the exact same thing as you did before, only now you put in the new words she’s just used to describe her feelings. “I am so sorry to hear that you are pretty annoyed about it, I guess. How does that make you feel?” And so on.

It still makes me laugh reading it, and I have read it multiple times.

This book appeals to many different individuals, and is one I would recommend to nearly anyone. It’s not all about how inspirational this person is, either (even though he definitely is). It’s a true story with a true voice that will make the book hard to put down once you’ve stopped.

Book Cover: 5/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Writing: 10/10
Ending: 10/10

Overall: 50/50