Title: All Fall DownSerie: Embassy Row 1/3Author: Ally CarterPublisher: Scholastic PressFirst Edition edition (February, 2015)
A new series of global proportions -- from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.
This exciting new series from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter focuses on Grace, who can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world, and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.
Now, at age sixteen, she's come back to stay--in order to solve the mystery of her mother's death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.
The hero of our story is Grace, a girl that hasn'a had a stable family
life. His family, (his parents, his brother Jamie and her) have been
changing due to his father's work in the army. Her life seems to be
stabilized, because they have decided to stay in one place, but it all
goes to hell when Grace is the witness in her mother's murder. But
nobody believes what she has seen, and everyone says the death of her
mother was an unfortunate accident.
Our story begins when Grace arrives at Embassy Row to stay and live with his grandfather; three years have passed since that traumatic event. As we read, we get to know a little more to Grace and everything that happened to her in the last years. It is a traumatized young girl who tries to adapt to the circumstances, but she can not. Since the first day, her attitude is combative, sarcastic and distrustful. She doesn't want to be there, all place brings memories of her mother. They spent every summer at that residence, enjoying the city and the friends. When she was a child, the embassy was her playground, she kept getting into trouble, too naughty for her age, she followed his brother and his best friend, Alexei, everywhere. But today, that Gracie is gone, but today she gets into trouble. As the story progresses, we see that Grace has to face herself, her memories, those things she thinks she knows and her fears, to discover what really happened to her mother.
“Adria is a very friendly post, but we live in a dangerous world. That’s why security protocols are not optional. We do not prop open doors. We do not give out access codes. And we never, ever jump off of walls." [...]
“While you are in this building, you are on American soil. This is your country. This is your home. But step outside these walls and you are a visitor in Adria- a visitor with a very important job. Grace, I need to know that you understand me.” [...]
Our story begins when Grace arrives at Embassy Row to stay and live with his grandfather; three years have passed since that traumatic event. As we read, we get to know a little more to Grace and everything that happened to her in the last years. It is a traumatized young girl who tries to adapt to the circumstances, but she can not. Since the first day, her attitude is combative, sarcastic and distrustful. She doesn't want to be there, all place brings memories of her mother. They spent every summer at that residence, enjoying the city and the friends. When she was a child, the embassy was her playground, she kept getting into trouble, too naughty for her age, she followed his brother and his best friend, Alexei, everywhere. But today, that Gracie is gone, but today she gets into trouble. As the story progresses, we see that Grace has to face herself, her memories, those things she thinks she knows and her fears, to discover what really happened to her mother.
“Sometimes the walls that stand between us and our neighbors are all that stand between our country and war.”
Other characters are Noah, Megan, Lila, Rosie, Alexei, Ms. Chancellor, his grandfather, etc ... They all live there and are part of different embassies, I liked everyone, especially Noah and Rosie. Noah will become her best friend, and he has a very outgoing personality with Grace, and get closer since the beginning. Their dialogues are funny. Meanwhile, Rosie is a 13 years old girl, and she has many skills to be so small.
The story develops in one atmosphere full of political intrigue, conspiracies and secrets. I really enjoy the plot, because the nuanced plot has several twists, especially at the end, I did not expect them, so that I liked a lot. and that's the reason because I gave it 5 stars.
