Review: When the Sky Fell on Slendor by Emily Henry

Author: Emily Henry
Publisher: Razorbill
Date of publication: March 2019

Almost everyone in the small town of Splendor, Ohio, was affected when the local steel mill exploded. If you weren’t a casualty of the accident yourself, chances are a loved one was. That’s the case for seventeen-year-old Franny, who, five years after the explosion, still has to stand by and do nothing as her brother lies in a coma. 

In the wake of the tragedy, Franny found solace in a group of friends whose experiences mirrored her own. The group calls themselves The Ordinary, and they spend their free time investigating local ghost stories and legends, filming their exploits for their small following of YouTube fans. It’s silly, it’s fun, and it keeps them from dwelling on the sadness that surrounds them.

Until one evening, when the strange and dangerous thing they film isn’t fiction–it’s a bright light, something massive hurdling toward them from the sky. And when it crashes and the teens go to investigate…everything changes.

When the Sky Fell on Splendor involves a group of teens who have been brought together through tragedy.  They were all affected by a steel mill accident in the town a year before.  Their favorite past time is to investigate and film local ghost stories and paranormal activity.  One night, they witness something falling from the sky.  The next day, they notice certain changes within themselves.  This was a random pick from my library's "new releases" section.  I had seen mixed reviews, but I held out hope that I would love it.

I'm not going to lie, I really didn't care for this one.  I think the story had a great premise and potential, but the execution fell very short.  I found the story confusing and disjointed, especially the ending.  I'm still not sure I get what happened to the kids or the town.  The book mainly focuses on Franny and offers up flashbacks with her and her older brother before the accident.  I didn't really find that they added anything to the over all story.  The other characters were forgettable.  Part of that could be the narrator of the audio-book.  All of the voices sounded the same.  Maybe I just wasn't the target audience for this book.  I don't have anything else really to say other than I wouldn't really recommend it.