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76th out of 86 books
—
35 voters
The Time It Takes to Fall
by
Margaret Lazarus Dean (Goodreads Author)
It is the early 1980s, and America is in love with space. Growing up in the shadow of Cape Canaveral, young Dolores Gray has it particularly bad: she dreams of becoming an astronaut.At school, Dolores finds herself caught between her desire for popularity and her secret friendship with the smartest and most unpopular boy in her class, whose father is NASA's Director of Lau...more
Hardcover, 306 pages
Published
February 6th 2007
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 2007)
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Astronauts have been in the news quite a bit lately, though not for the usual reasons. So was it just an eerie coincidence that debut novelist Margaret Lazarus Dean’s space-centered first novel, The Time it Takes to Fall, was released just a day after an astronaut and Navy captain was infamously arrested for attempted kidnapping in Florida?
Dean’s coming-of-age tale is set during the days before and after the Challenger disaster and deals more in social history than scandal. Through her endearin...more
Dean’s coming-of-age tale is set during the days before and after the Challenger disaster and deals more in social history than scandal. Through her endearin...more
Upon further reflection, I'm changing my rating from four stars to five.
I think in many ways coming-of-age stories retell the loss-of-innocence story most familiar to me in the story of the Garden of Eden. "The Fall" is hauntingly repeated with several characters, including NASA and the shuttle Challenger. It is the painful crash at the end of the fall where lessons are learned, and that may be Dean's point all along.
Dean's ability to inhabit the mind of a 13-year-old girl, and narrate both pers...more
I think in many ways coming-of-age stories retell the loss-of-innocence story most familiar to me in the story of the Garden of Eden. "The Fall" is hauntingly repeated with several characters, including NASA and the shuttle Challenger. It is the painful crash at the end of the fall where lessons are learned, and that may be Dean's point all along.
Dean's ability to inhabit the mind of a 13-year-old girl, and narrate both pers...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I've been obsessing with space lately since I watched that Top Chef episode where they were to cook meals that were to be sent to the astronauts in satellites outside Earth. This book couldn't have arrived in better timing, and the truth is, I have never read a coming-of-age story framed and waved like this, it was so good. I loved how it struck a balance between focusing on fact and fiction, highlighting both the basis of the story, which was the real-life historical event, and the lives of the...more
This story had some relevance to me coincidentally as we used to live in Florida and had visited the Cape Canaveral space station, which is well worth a visit. This is a coming-of-age story set against events with the space shuttles and a mother who is going through some difficult times. She takes off and has an affair and leaves her dear daughter to do a lot of growing up on her own.
This was a good coming of age novel. I liked the way it blended in the facts about the space program and the Challenger disaster with the fictional story in a way that does not seem particularly dated. The book also made me rethink those events and the impact they might have had on a different generation, one who was younger than I when the Challenger exploded. The characters are well realized and I think in many ways the mixture of elements work well to describe this girl and the way she is try...more
There are certain events that people of a certain generation remember where they were or what they were doing. One of those for Generation X is the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Margaret Lazarus Dean's fiction portrayal caputures it perfectly. It has just enough historical and cultural references to keep the reader in tune with what was going on at that time, but without dating itself. This is truly the mark of a fine writer. On the one hand, her talent reminds me of Laura Moriarity's, anot...more
When I finally got into this book, I consumed it heartily and yet, there was reason for the great hesitation. First, Myla Goldberg is a hard act to follow and as I had just finished "Bee Season," Margaret Lazarus Dean had some big shoes to hop into. The other objection to immersing myself in Dean's novel is the unmet expectations of the book's purpose. I had seen Dean read some months back and was moved by her premise that her generation (which happens to be my generation) is heavily influenced...more
i realize i never wrote anything about this book!
i really enjoyed this one. i liked the cover, skimmed the jacket, decided it sounded interesting (though not my usual subject matter) and decided that it was a library book - it's worth a shot!
well, this was a gem! i loved the story. i adore coming of age stories so i was pleasantly surprised with the main character and her struggles as she grows up.
i even enjoyed the bits about physics and the very detailed descriptions of the shuttles - not my...more
i really enjoyed this one. i liked the cover, skimmed the jacket, decided it sounded interesting (though not my usual subject matter) and decided that it was a library book - it's worth a shot!
well, this was a gem! i loved the story. i adore coming of age stories so i was pleasantly surprised with the main character and her struggles as she grows up.
i even enjoyed the bits about physics and the very detailed descriptions of the shuttles - not my...more
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I enjoyed this book - Dolores is a well-realized young narrator, and I liked her both for her reliability and her unreliability. Her feelings about the adults in her life seemed well imagined, and the adults themselves acted like real people. Everything building up to the Challenger disaster was wonderful, and I was wondering why this book wasn't huge. However, after Challenger explodes, the book becomes a formulaic coming of age story that only redeems itself (and then just) in the epilogue. I...more
I was a bit dismayed. I was reading on hoping Dolores would soon become a woman so I would understand why she mentioned in the first few chapters that she would help solve her family's problem. I mean, how could she? She's still a teenager. And there was this part about her mom committing adultery. It wasn't clear if she did become a mistress of the high-ranking official of NASA or not. It was a blur really but I enjoyed how the Dolores scribbled on her notebook about her experiences as if makin...more
What a fine, fine novel this is! I was much older than Dolores when the Challenger exploded, but I was deeply affected by it. Margaret Lazarus Dean has done a remarkable job of capturing the ambiance of both time and place and entwining the story of Dolores and her family. I could feel Dolores's anger with one parent or the other, her frustration with her little sister, her desire to fit in, her passion for shuttle launches, her dream of being an astronaut, her desire to know the truth. And the...more
Mar 11, 2013
Oksana *Bookaholic*
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
No one
Shelves:
barf,
fake,
lacking,
lame,
oh-hell-no,
psycho,
slap-the-mc,
um,
what-was-the-point,
wtf,
you-call-that-a-romance
This book was.... HORRIBLE!!!
First of all, whole sections were missing, and some were misplaced. Like WHAT???
Another thing is the content. This book is about a thirteen year old eighth grader. Now I don't know what the author was thinking, but the MC did some pretty bad things. Like have sex with Josh the senior on like their first date. Smoke, with no bad consequences. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TI TEACH OUR GENERATION, WOMAN???? Anyway, the characters and their actions were really annoying,...more
First of all, whole sections were missing, and some were misplaced. Like WHAT???
Another thing is the content. This book is about a thirteen year old eighth grader. Now I don't know what the author was thinking, but the MC did some pretty bad things. Like have sex with Josh the senior on like their first date. Smoke, with no bad consequences. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TI TEACH OUR GENERATION, WOMAN???? Anyway, the characters and their actions were really annoying,...more
While I was in the middle of reading this I saw a quote from an author (can't remember who) that said "coming of age" stories generally must be set against a historical background in order to be successful. That is exactly what Dean has done here, chronicling Delores's life between the ages of 11 and 13 as she grows up on Florida's Space Coast. Her father works for NASA and is intimately involved in the shuttle program - the book outlines Delores's love for the program (and her father) right up...more
What a terrific book. Dolores is one of the most realistic teens in recent fiction, and her relationship with couldbe best friend Eric, which is affected by Dolores' need to be accepted by the snobbish kids at school, rings terribly true. Her complex relationship with her mother is also very nicely handled. The backdrop of Florida before and after the space shuttle disaster is fascinating and feels painstakingly researched. Dean manages to give the reader lots of background on the space shuttle...more
There are certain moments in American history which define a generation. One such moment occurred in January 1986, as much of America watched live as the space shuttle Challenger launched from Florida. A mere 73 seconds after liftoff, the unthinkable happened and the shuttle exploded in front of a stunned nation. The Time it Takes to Fall chronicles the coming-of-age story of young Dolores Gray juxtaposed against the backdrop of the trials and tribulations of the NASA space program in the 1980's...more
Thought-provoking novel -- at times engaging, at times frustrating -- centered around the 1986 Challenger disaster. Part of it feels contrived, almost as if the author went to obvious trouble to make sure we know the novel is set in a particular time and place. The coming of age story was, for me, a bit distracting, at times unbelievable. And yet, I came to care about the characters and turned the book's pages with ever-quickening speed to learn of their fates.
An original way to frame a coming-of-age story, by placing it in the era of the Challenger disaster and also right in the middle of NASA family country. I liked this book a lot. The writing was beautiful and somehow gentle despite harsh events or feelings in the characters' lives. I thought the narrator was extremely believable with a couple of small exceptions I won't go into to avoid spoilers. I did feel the ending was a bit too abrupt.
I loved this book, following the adventures of NASA in the early 80s through the eyes of a 14 year old. This gal was quite intelligent, making many decisions well beyond her age, yet acting like a typical 14 year old on many occasions.
I was unaware of some of the conclusions drawn about the Challenger accident until I read this novel - very, very sad, indeed.
I would definitely read this author again.
I was unaware of some of the conclusions drawn about the Challenger accident until I read this novel - very, very sad, indeed.
I would definitely read this author again.
hard to decide 3 or 4 stars, but delores stayed with me. so 4! the story is like none i have read, told by the teen-aged daughter of a NASA worker responsible for the infamous O ring on the Challenger. a little uneven at times, esp with boy/girl relationship, but a good thoughtful read. apparently, the challenger tragedy is for her generation what the kennedy assassination is for mine.
This is a great coming-of-age story set in the shadow of Cape Canaveral during the excitement of the Shuttle program. I think it's an exceptionally well written first novel.
Favorite quote: They fall for so long that falling starts to seem a natural state of being; they start to feel that they could live normal lives this way.
Favorite quote: They fall for so long that falling starts to seem a natural state of being; they start to feel that they could live normal lives this way.
Very good; really captures the feel of growing up in the NASA "family"; a girl goes through her parents separation, dating, and the Challenger disaster
A novel related to the 1986 space shuttle disaster. It was pretty well done and enjoyable to read, but pretty standard fare in terms of contemporary fiction.
An interesting view of a teen's perspective on family dynamics, boys, love and school. Kept my interest well, but a little disappointed in ending.
This book gets exactly right so much about being a thirteen year old girl, AND I NEVER FEEL THAT WAY.
I picked this book up because it's a big disaster/personal tragedy formula, which I always love. In this case, a young girl determined to become an astronaut has to come to terms with the Challenger disaster and her parents' divorce. So far, it's sad and introspective - that's what I'd say after the prologue and the first two chapters. I'm anticipating being devastated by the fracture I feel coming with the protagonist's relationship with her father. It's devastating to see the family start to f...more
I originally got this book to aid in my research for a project I'm working on, but once I started it, I couldn't let go of it. Dean deftly renders the bleak minutiae of growing up in a home with one parent missing - weeknight dinners at the mall food court, the perpetual messy living room, grades that plummet because no one's around to make you work harder. I thought the connection to the Challenger disaster was tenuous, and the ending was a little unsatisfying, but overall, this book was as ent...more
Finally got a chance to read this one and enjoyed it quite a lot. It was fun to read something by someone I know, in part because it was sort of fun to recognize some things in people from our shared past (e.g., "scholars"). But, I hope Margaret takes this as a compliment when I say that there were points when I got so into the story that I forgot I was reading "Margaret Dean's book."
If you were a young teen in the mid-80s, much of this novel will resonate with you. If you were a gifted student,...more
If you were a young teen in the mid-80s, much of this novel will resonate with you. If you were a gifted student,...more
i love it its a book i will pass down to my kids
This is one of the best fictions books I've read in a long time... Highly recommend.
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Margaret Lazarus Dean grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and received a BA in anthropology from Wellesley College and an MFA from the University of Michigan. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Michigan and lives in Ann Arbor.
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