Fall, by Colin McAdam

I never understand having nothing to read when there are so very many books on my "to read" list. Yet there I was at the library in this predicament. I chose this off the Fast Reads shelf, thinking it seemed worth a shot. Good random choice! Fall was dark, intriguing, and captivating.

Fall takes place at an exclusive boarding school in Ottawa. It's told in first person from the point of view of two roommates. Noel speaks from the present day, as the story is set in the past. (Twelve years in the past, according to a review, but I don't remember that being clear in the novel.) He's a lonely loser with a lazy eye he gets teased for. He works out a lot and is clearly a bit weird. Julius, the popular and handsome son of the American ambassador, talks as an 18 year old, while the story is happening. His parts are almost stream of consciousness, and you feel like you're inside his head. He's going out with Fall, the title character, who Noel has a crush on. Conflict follows. 

I liked this book. It really was a fast read, as you get sucked into the darkness and keep turning pages to see how it turns out. It's not perfect, but I was satisfied.