We All Fall Down

Gr 10 Up–Four young adults are destined to become archetypal leaders in River City, a surrealistic fantasy world where the loss of magic has devastated the land and left an opening for corruption to take hold. After escaping an abusive home life, Jesse follows a promise left on a treasured postcard and takes a chance on a bus from the mundane world to River City. Once there, they discover that they can magically shift between a masculine and feminine presentation at will. Jesse soon connects with Jack, a scrappy enforcer for a local mob boss who ruthlessly protects her own. David, a young physics professor, is determined to trace the roots of magic and discover its secrets. Meanwhile, Turing, the “daughter of the river,” is framed for murder when two police officers are killed, and her monstrous shape leads everyone to assume that she’s guilty. Although Szabo’s worldbuilding is creative and immersive, this novel suffers from uneven pacing and characterization. Excessive focus on Jack, who is up front about being “not a good person,” often weighs down the story while Jesse, David, and Turing, far more sympathetic characters, are less developed. While this novel explores complex ideas like identity, fate, and systems of oppression, it feels unfinished. The four main characters represent a wide array of gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities. Jack and Jesse are both white while David and Turing are of mixed descent.