Eleven-year-old Will has never been Outside.
Literally. Since he and his mother moved into their home, he has not been
outside. His mother Diane suffers from agoraphobia, which they refer to as the
Black Lagoon. She has built a world, and Will’s world, Inside.
Thank God for
technology, as they can order any and everything they need and have it delivered.
Will is a small adult in this area, as he signs for all the packages and writes
any and all the checks. He knows what Outside looks, feels, and smells like,
but he has never, in his memory, attempted to cross the threshold. Inside, he wears
a Helmet and a wet suit at all times.
Instead of calling each room by its functional name
(bedroom, kitchen, Mom’s room, etc.), Diane has renamed the rooms (Cairo, San
Francisco, Tokyo, etc.). It’s hard to keep them straight and figure it out. At
first I thought the mother and son were world travelers.
The story open as Will decides to venture Outside. He
has heard a noise and wants to explore its origins. Outside, Will discovers
Marcus stealing the garden hose. Intrigued with the boy, Will wants to learn
more about Outside.
This is the beginning of Will’s bildungsroman. Although
his Inside life have centered around music, art, and science experiment, he has
never been to school. “Homeschooled,” is
how Diane describes it when anyone tries to intervene.
He meets Jonah, a loner, who introduces him to
skating boarding. Soon, he is skateboarding all over the city, had quit wearing
his Helmet, and no longer sleeps with his mother.
The first third of the book is wonderful. Well
written and imaginative, it’s fascinating to watch Will truly become intrigued
with other people and the Outside. In the middle of the book, there is a part
called “Titus.” To the savvy reader, this section gives away the rest of the
story. Will’s fascination with Outside, his newly found independence, his
mother’s fears, skateboarding and finding Marcus start to get a little old. All
the real action takes place in the first third of the book. That’s why I give If I Fall, If I Die 3 out of 5 stars.
I received this book from Blogging
for Books in exchange for this review.
