Review: Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

What if there was an app that told you what song to listen to, what coffee to order, who to date, even what to do with your life—an app that could ensure your complete and utter happiness? What if you never had to fail or make a wrong choice?

What if you never had to fall?

Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results. Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school. Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore — a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming. ~ Goodreads | Author | Amazon

Source: Provided by Harper Teen for my honest review

Review:
I really loved the concept of Free to Fall. Although I don’t believe we’re being programmed what to think and do with our phones yet, I do think a lot of the themes explored in this book are already happening. We rely heavily on technology and I could easily see us flocking to an app that pre-selects what music we should listen to, what restaurants we should go to, what areas to avoid for our safety, who we should be friends with, without ever questioning it. We already do that to some extent. While most apps offer helpful suggestions and reviews - this takes it a step further, excluding anything from your app that deviates from the Lux app’s plans for your future.

For the most part I really enjoyed this book. It’s fun, action packed and has a enough high tech future, sci-fi elements while still showing a world that’s very familiar to our own and relatable. Rory is a great protagonist. She happily goes with the Lux program because it makes her life better. She’s an over achiever able to reach all her life goals thanks to Lux and Gnosis – the company that makes the app. When she starts questioning things, she’s all in and fights for what she believes in. I loved Rory right from the start.

The story sort of got too big though. Instead of focusing on that one theme, free will, Free to Fall starts heading into Lost (the TV show) territory with evil government initiatives, secret societies, double crosses and the romance, while sweet, didn’t really grab me. It’s all interesting but spreads the story too thin IMO.

While I was hoping for something a bit darker, this was a fun stand alone (stand alone FTW!!) that had great social commentary about free will, plenty of intrigue and a touch of romance.