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The Falconer
A New York Times Editor’s Choice Pick
“A novel of huge heart and fierce intelligence. It has restored my faith in pretty much everything.” —Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth
“[An] electric debut novel…Reader, Spending time with Lucy is unapologetic fun, and heartbreak, and awe as well.” —Chloe Malle, The New York Times Book Review
In this “frank, bittersweet coming-of-age story that crackles with raw adolescent energy, fresh-cut prose, and a kinetic sense of place” ( Entertainment Weekly ), a teenaged tomboy explores love, growing up, and New York City in the early 1990s.
New York, 1993. Street-smart seventeen-year-old Lucy Adler is often the only girl on the public basketball courts. Lucy’s inner life is a contradiction. She’s by turns quixotic and cynical, insecure and self-possessed, and, despite herself, is in unrequited love with her best friend and pickup teammate, Percy, the rebellious son of a prominent New York family.
As Lucy begins to question accepted notions of success, bristling against her own hunger for male approval, she is drawn into the world of a pair of provocative feminist artists living in what remains of New York’s bohemia.
Told with wit and pathos, The Falconer is at once a novel of ideas, a portrait of a time and place, and an ode to the obsessions of youth. In her critically acclaimed debut, Dana Czapnik captures the voice of an unforgettable modern literary heroine, a young woman in the first flush of freedom.
“A novel of huge heart and fierce intelligence. It has restored my faith in pretty much everything.” —Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth
“[An] electric debut novel…Reader, Spending time with Lucy is unapologetic fun, and heartbreak, and awe as well.” —Chloe Malle, The New York Times Book Review
In this “frank, bittersweet coming-of-age story that crackles with raw adolescent energy, fresh-cut prose, and a kinetic sense of place” ( Entertainment Weekly ), a teenaged tomboy explores love, growing up, and New York City in the early 1990s.
New York, 1993. Street-smart seventeen-year-old Lucy Adler is often the only girl on the public basketball courts. Lucy’s inner life is a contradiction. She’s by turns quixotic and cynical, insecure and self-possessed, and, despite herself, is in unrequited love with her best friend and pickup teammate, Percy, the rebellious son of a prominent New York family.
As Lucy begins to question accepted notions of success, bristling against her own hunger for male approval, she is drawn into the world of a pair of provocative feminist artists living in what remains of New York’s bohemia.
Told with wit and pathos, The Falconer is at once a novel of ideas, a portrait of a time and place, and an ode to the obsessions of youth. In her critically acclaimed debut, Dana Czapnik captures the voice of an unforgettable modern literary heroine, a young woman in the first flush of freedom.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 29, 2019
263 people are currently reading
7871 people want to read
About the author
Dana Czapnik
1 book145 followersDana Czapnik is a 2018 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Fiction from The New York Foundation for the Arts. In 2017, she was awarded an Emerging Writers Fellowship from the Center for Fiction. Czapnik earned her MFA at Hunter College where she was recognized with a Hertog Fellowship. She’s spent most of her career on the editorial side of professional sports including stints at ESPN the Magazine, the United States Tennis Association and the Arena Football League. Her debut novel, The Falconer, will be published by Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in January of 2019. A native New Yorker, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and son.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 537 reviews
February 1, 2019
Lucy is a high school student growing up in New York in 1993. She's a so-called "pizza bagel"—a mix of Jewish and Italian heritage. She's not afraid to speak her mind, even if it's to trash-talk, and she's a talented basketball player, comfortable playing among men and boys—and she knows she's good, too.
"I'm not just the leading scorer at my school, I'm the leading scorer in the entire league for two years running, which you would think would garner me the same amount of respect Percy gets. But I'm a girl, and I'm really tall and I don't have Pantene-commercial hair and I'm not, let's say, une petite fleur, so everyone just assumes I'm a lesbian."
As tough as Lucy appears, she also has a vulnerable side, especially when it comes to her best friend, Percy. He's the heir to a major fortune, and things come easy to him, but he likes to pretend he's poor, likes to talk about how horrible America is and how hard people have it. Lucy is in love with Percy, and although she knows he doesn't feel the same way about her, she isn't willing to give up hope, but she also isn't willing to follow him with lovesick stars in her eyes.
"Even though I know Percy isn't remotely interested in Sarah as a person, he likes her in a way he'll never like me, so our jealousy of each other is mutual and equally damaging, which I recognize with the left side of my brain. But I'm a creature forever ruled by the right, the part that holds what a more sentimental person might call the whims of the heart."
Lucy doesn't understand why men and boys are treated differently than women, and even portrayed differently in art. Her favorite statue in Central Park is called "The Falconer," and it depicts a boy releasing a falcon into the wind. She resents how girls and women would be depicted as girlish, afraid of the world around him, yet this boy appears powerful and strong. That's what she wants to have.
Dana Czapnik's debut novel follows Lucy as she struggles with her relationship with Percy, with self-esteem and what her peers think of her, and having to confront the uglier parts of life, people, and the betrayal of trust. Lucy has courage but how do you keep strong in the face of adversity, how do you continue to have self-confidence when you're constantly getting knocked down?
I found Lucy to be a very well-drawn, vivid character. I've seen some comparison to Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye , and while I don't really see that, she definitely has a memorable, sometimes acerbic, sometimes vulnerable voice that sticks with you. She is a character you root for, one you take into your heart.
While I loved her character, I struggled with the book overall. At times I felt as if it was told in a stream-of-consciousness style, with long play-by-plays of basketball games and meanderings through New York history, art history, etc. It just didn't hold my attention as much as it hoped, so I found myself skimming through certain parts of the book.
When The Falconer worked, it worked well. It made you feel with, and for, Lucy. It really captured New York City in the 1990s vividly as well. While for me, the book was uneven, it clearly demonstrates that Czapnik is a storyteller with a great future, one whose work I'll be watching for.
NetGalley and Atria Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yrralh/.
"I'm not just the leading scorer at my school, I'm the leading scorer in the entire league for two years running, which you would think would garner me the same amount of respect Percy gets. But I'm a girl, and I'm really tall and I don't have Pantene-commercial hair and I'm not, let's say, une petite fleur, so everyone just assumes I'm a lesbian."
As tough as Lucy appears, she also has a vulnerable side, especially when it comes to her best friend, Percy. He's the heir to a major fortune, and things come easy to him, but he likes to pretend he's poor, likes to talk about how horrible America is and how hard people have it. Lucy is in love with Percy, and although she knows he doesn't feel the same way about her, she isn't willing to give up hope, but she also isn't willing to follow him with lovesick stars in her eyes.
"Even though I know Percy isn't remotely interested in Sarah as a person, he likes her in a way he'll never like me, so our jealousy of each other is mutual and equally damaging, which I recognize with the left side of my brain. But I'm a creature forever ruled by the right, the part that holds what a more sentimental person might call the whims of the heart."
Lucy doesn't understand why men and boys are treated differently than women, and even portrayed differently in art. Her favorite statue in Central Park is called "The Falconer," and it depicts a boy releasing a falcon into the wind. She resents how girls and women would be depicted as girlish, afraid of the world around him, yet this boy appears powerful and strong. That's what she wants to have.
Dana Czapnik's debut novel follows Lucy as she struggles with her relationship with Percy, with self-esteem and what her peers think of her, and having to confront the uglier parts of life, people, and the betrayal of trust. Lucy has courage but how do you keep strong in the face of adversity, how do you continue to have self-confidence when you're constantly getting knocked down?
I found Lucy to be a very well-drawn, vivid character. I've seen some comparison to Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye , and while I don't really see that, she definitely has a memorable, sometimes acerbic, sometimes vulnerable voice that sticks with you. She is a character you root for, one you take into your heart.
While I loved her character, I struggled with the book overall. At times I felt as if it was told in a stream-of-consciousness style, with long play-by-plays of basketball games and meanderings through New York history, art history, etc. It just didn't hold my attention as much as it hoped, so I found myself skimming through certain parts of the book.
When The Falconer worked, it worked well. It made you feel with, and for, Lucy. It really captured New York City in the 1990s vividly as well. While for me, the book was uneven, it clearly demonstrates that Czapnik is a storyteller with a great future, one whose work I'll be watching for.
NetGalley and Atria Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2018 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2018.html.
You can follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/yrralh/.
February 3, 2019
3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars
I read an intriguing interview about the author and the making of this book, which led to my requesting it from Net Galley. The author stated this is the book she wanted to read when she was a teen. It is very different from the usual books I pick up.
The protagonist is Lucy Adler, a very talented basketball player on the public courts in New York City. The story, set in 1993-1994, is a slice of life focused on Lucy’s 16th and 17th years and is told entirely from Lucy’s perspective. We accompany Lucy on her coming-of-age journey as she tries to find a direction in life at a time when America is still essentially a man’s world. Lucy faces many challenges, including not being popular at school, being secretly in love with her best friend Percy who fancies many girls, grappling with feminism, trying to figure out how women can earn the same opportunities as men, and most importantly, how to stay true to herself at the same time. Despite her challenges, Lucy is able to find moments of joy, beauty, strength, and ultimately understanding.
Here are some of the reasons for my relatively low rating. I would have enjoyed some introspection from some of the other characters; everything is viewed through the eyes of Lucy. I loved the scene Lucy shared with her mother - I wanted to see more of her mom. There are many descriptive passages throughout the book; a little less would be better. I did not care much for all the scenes with Violet and Violet’s friend Max. A few would have been fine, there were just too many and that thread became tiresome.
I do, however, award 5 stars to Lucy. Lucy is an exceptionally strong character, and I will remember her and her spirit for a long time. Her story also inspires an older reader like me to think back and reflect on my own younger years.
This is not standard YA fare. The Falconer is an intelligent book with significant depth. For that reason I have rounded my rating up to 4 stars and recommend it for both older teens and adults.
I read an intriguing interview about the author and the making of this book, which led to my requesting it from Net Galley. The author stated this is the book she wanted to read when she was a teen. It is very different from the usual books I pick up.
The protagonist is Lucy Adler, a very talented basketball player on the public courts in New York City. The story, set in 1993-1994, is a slice of life focused on Lucy’s 16th and 17th years and is told entirely from Lucy’s perspective. We accompany Lucy on her coming-of-age journey as she tries to find a direction in life at a time when America is still essentially a man’s world. Lucy faces many challenges, including not being popular at school, being secretly in love with her best friend Percy who fancies many girls, grappling with feminism, trying to figure out how women can earn the same opportunities as men, and most importantly, how to stay true to herself at the same time. Despite her challenges, Lucy is able to find moments of joy, beauty, strength, and ultimately understanding.
Here are some of the reasons for my relatively low rating. I would have enjoyed some introspection from some of the other characters; everything is viewed through the eyes of Lucy. I loved the scene Lucy shared with her mother - I wanted to see more of her mom. There are many descriptive passages throughout the book; a little less would be better. I did not care much for all the scenes with Violet and Violet’s friend Max. A few would have been fine, there were just too many and that thread became tiresome.
I do, however, award 5 stars to Lucy. Lucy is an exceptionally strong character, and I will remember her and her spirit for a long time. Her story also inspires an older reader like me to think back and reflect on my own younger years.
This is not standard YA fare. The Falconer is an intelligent book with significant depth. For that reason I have rounded my rating up to 4 stars and recommend it for both older teens and adults.
April 15, 2019
I absolutely loved THE FALCONER. This novel fairly explodes with quote-worthy writing: Dana Czapnik is an extremely talented author. I started off by writing out a few memorable lines on my scratchpad, then I was forced to open a folder on my desktop and I started snipping entire pages - her writing is that good.
This is not just a story about young Lucy, who is searching for herself and her place in the world. The FALCONER is about the choices we make - and their consequences, the sacrifices required when we choose, for example, art over security, and the lies we tell ourselves when we ultimately cave in and take that well-paying job so that we can keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies instead. Lucy learns to value her true friends, and also realizes that life will constantly shuffle people in and out of her life, no matter how much she would prefer to hold on to them and keep things unchanged.
This story takes place in 1993, in New York City., and is told in the first person P.O.V. of Lucy, who is half Jewish and half Italian - and she is definitely not your typical teenager. She is a basketball prodigy, in her senior year at a private high school, and she can "trash talk" with the worst of the guys. And yes, as her story unfolds, you suspect that she has a secret crush on her best friend, Percy - who is a stereotypical rich, good-looking playboy; and yes, you would be right in assuming that things eventually get hot and heavy between them. But there is no spoiler alert needed here, because this is NOT a standard YA trope-filled novel. Instead, you continue to read with bated breath and hope that Lucy listens to her older (artist) friends when they tell her "No one ever loves someone the way people are loved in poetry. You have to find a more realistic standard-bearer for love, otherwise you're going to spend the rest of your life very disappointed."
I felt like cheering when Lucy finally puts her failed hook-up with Percy behind her and says, "It's a sad day when you finally realize that not everyone you love has to love you back. It's a lesson I keep on forgetting I've learned before." And then, further on in the story, comes one of my favorite lines: "Dear Percy, you will always be my very favorite optical illusion."
This novel is full of beautiful gems like this:
"I didn't get a happy ending. But nothing really tragic or even vaguely sad happened either. The universe didn't punish me for having sex with a guy I knew was a jerk. There wasn't a loaded consequence. Nothing grand or important came of it. I fell in love with a boy, and he didn't love me back, and that's pretty much the whole story."
Except, of course, that it is not. The events in this story are just a small slice out of young Lucy's life: she is an intelligent, daring and life-embracing girl who chooses to have faith that there is more to life than Percy's nihilistic, anti-establishment philosophies. There is a bit of Lucy in all of us - and you will be so proud of her when you reach the final paragraph of this really excellent novel. (I know I had a huge smile on my face at the end!) Beautifully and truthfully written - what more can you ask for? Do yourself a favor and read this book!
My thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is not just a story about young Lucy, who is searching for herself and her place in the world. The FALCONER is about the choices we make - and their consequences, the sacrifices required when we choose, for example, art over security, and the lies we tell ourselves when we ultimately cave in and take that well-paying job so that we can keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies instead. Lucy learns to value her true friends, and also realizes that life will constantly shuffle people in and out of her life, no matter how much she would prefer to hold on to them and keep things unchanged.
This story takes place in 1993, in New York City., and is told in the first person P.O.V. of Lucy, who is half Jewish and half Italian - and she is definitely not your typical teenager. She is a basketball prodigy, in her senior year at a private high school, and she can "trash talk" with the worst of the guys. And yes, as her story unfolds, you suspect that she has a secret crush on her best friend, Percy - who is a stereotypical rich, good-looking playboy; and yes, you would be right in assuming that things eventually get hot and heavy between them. But there is no spoiler alert needed here, because this is NOT a standard YA trope-filled novel. Instead, you continue to read with bated breath and hope that Lucy listens to her older (artist) friends when they tell her "No one ever loves someone the way people are loved in poetry. You have to find a more realistic standard-bearer for love, otherwise you're going to spend the rest of your life very disappointed."
I felt like cheering when Lucy finally puts her failed hook-up with Percy behind her and says, "It's a sad day when you finally realize that not everyone you love has to love you back. It's a lesson I keep on forgetting I've learned before." And then, further on in the story, comes one of my favorite lines: "Dear Percy, you will always be my very favorite optical illusion."
This novel is full of beautiful gems like this:
"I didn't get a happy ending. But nothing really tragic or even vaguely sad happened either. The universe didn't punish me for having sex with a guy I knew was a jerk. There wasn't a loaded consequence. Nothing grand or important came of it. I fell in love with a boy, and he didn't love me back, and that's pretty much the whole story."
Except, of course, that it is not. The events in this story are just a small slice out of young Lucy's life: she is an intelligent, daring and life-embracing girl who chooses to have faith that there is more to life than Percy's nihilistic, anti-establishment philosophies. There is a bit of Lucy in all of us - and you will be so proud of her when you reach the final paragraph of this really excellent novel. (I know I had a huge smile on my face at the end!) Beautifully and truthfully written - what more can you ask for? Do yourself a favor and read this book!
My thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 9, 2019
Lucy Adler is a seventeen-year-old who loves basketball. And she’s talented, often outshining and out muscling those she plays against. She’s at home on the asphalt public courts of NYC, either playing as part of a team, with and against a group of boys, or one-on-one with her friend (and crush) Percy. She loves her city but she’ll most likely leave it soon to attend college and wonders whether she’ll love it from afar as much as she does right here and now.
This is a coming of age tale in which we witness this half-Jewish, half- Italian teenager wrestle with thoughts of her longing for Percy - to him she’s perceived as a friend not someone with whom he considers acts of a carnal nature – and her own ‘outsider’ status, as a non-girly girl with few female friends.
The atmosphere of New York in the 1990’s and the character of angst-ridden Lucy are well drawn here. I found myself engaged in Lucy’s struggles and really wanted her to work through her infatuation for Percy. I also found Lucy’s internal and external voice to be persuasive and convincing. There are a few sections I found somewhat rambling and out of place but on the whole I found it to be an entertaining and thought provoking story.
My thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a coming of age tale in which we witness this half-Jewish, half- Italian teenager wrestle with thoughts of her longing for Percy - to him she’s perceived as a friend not someone with whom he considers acts of a carnal nature – and her own ‘outsider’ status, as a non-girly girl with few female friends.
The atmosphere of New York in the 1990’s and the character of angst-ridden Lucy are well drawn here. I found myself engaged in Lucy’s struggles and really wanted her to work through her infatuation for Percy. I also found Lucy’s internal and external voice to be persuasive and convincing. There are a few sections I found somewhat rambling and out of place but on the whole I found it to be an entertaining and thought provoking story.
My thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 29, 2018
Sometimes a book finds me that I would not have found by myself. That is how The Falconer by Dana Czapnik came into my life--as an unexpected package from the publisher.
Reading it was about a seventeen-year-old girl in 1993 New York City whose passion was basketball and who has a crush on her best friend Percy, I wondered if I would care for the book. Sure, there was advance praise from Column McCann, Salmon Rushdie, Chloe Benjamin--but could I relate to the story?
I opened the book and started reading. The opening scene finds the protagonist, "pizza bagel" Lucy, playing basketball with Percy. I've seen basketball games. Only when the tickets were free. But the writing was so good, I found myself drawn into the scene, turning pages. There was something about this book, about Lucy's voice.
On the surface, I had nothing in common with Lucy. And yet Lucy felt familiar, her concerns and fears universal.
In telling the story of one particular girl from a particular place and time, the author probes the eternal challenges of growing up female: conformity and acceptance by one's peer group while staying true to oneself; crushes on boys who don't see you; concerns about our attractiveness; what we give up for love; is the world is chaotic and without order, or can we find joy and hope?
There was a multitude of lines and paragraphs that I noted for their wisdom, beauty, and insight. I reread sections, scenes that elicited emotion or thoughtfulness.
I felt Lucy was channeling Holden Caulfield, who I met as a fourteen-year-old in Freshman English class in 1967. The Catcher in the Rye was life-changing for me, a voice unlike any I had encountered in a novel. The New York City setting, the wandering across the city, the characters met, the rejection of the parental values and lifestyle, Lucy's misunderstanding of a song line--Lucy is a female Holden, updated to the 1990s.
Lucy tells us that in Central Park is a statue of a boy releasing a falcon. She loves this statue but resents that only boys are portrayed in the way of the statue, that girls are shown nude or as children like the Alice in Wonderland statue. She sees in the joy and hope in The Falconer.
Lucy experiences many things in the novel, including some pretty bad stuff. But she is resilient, holding to the joy and beauty she finds around her, the "the perfect jump shot" moments. She will inspire young readers and offer those of us whose choices were made long ago a journey of recollection and the affirmation of mutually shared experience.
I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Reading it was about a seventeen-year-old girl in 1993 New York City whose passion was basketball and who has a crush on her best friend Percy, I wondered if I would care for the book. Sure, there was advance praise from Column McCann, Salmon Rushdie, Chloe Benjamin--but could I relate to the story?
I opened the book and started reading. The opening scene finds the protagonist, "pizza bagel" Lucy, playing basketball with Percy. I've seen basketball games. Only when the tickets were free. But the writing was so good, I found myself drawn into the scene, turning pages. There was something about this book, about Lucy's voice.
On the surface, I had nothing in common with Lucy. And yet Lucy felt familiar, her concerns and fears universal.
In telling the story of one particular girl from a particular place and time, the author probes the eternal challenges of growing up female: conformity and acceptance by one's peer group while staying true to oneself; crushes on boys who don't see you; concerns about our attractiveness; what we give up for love; is the world is chaotic and without order, or can we find joy and hope?
There was a multitude of lines and paragraphs that I noted for their wisdom, beauty, and insight. I reread sections, scenes that elicited emotion or thoughtfulness.
I felt Lucy was channeling Holden Caulfield, who I met as a fourteen-year-old in Freshman English class in 1967. The Catcher in the Rye was life-changing for me, a voice unlike any I had encountered in a novel. The New York City setting, the wandering across the city, the characters met, the rejection of the parental values and lifestyle, Lucy's misunderstanding of a song line--Lucy is a female Holden, updated to the 1990s.
Lucy tells us that in Central Park is a statue of a boy releasing a falcon. She loves this statue but resents that only boys are portrayed in the way of the statue, that girls are shown nude or as children like the Alice in Wonderland statue. She sees in the joy and hope in The Falconer.
Lucy experiences many things in the novel, including some pretty bad stuff. But she is resilient, holding to the joy and beauty she finds around her, the "the perfect jump shot" moments. She will inspire young readers and offer those of us whose choices were made long ago a journey of recollection and the affirmation of mutually shared experience.
I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
February 19, 2019
"I watch the sky above New York turn from gray to yellow to a dark blue. I take out the blue felt pen that's been stuck in my hair and on the bottom of the page I write: 'Lucy Adler exists for no one.'" -- Lucy
Another recent random selection from the library's new release shelf that also by good chance turned out to be a real winner. I curse 'The Kirkus Reviews' for already using what I was going to write in this review - that The Falconer, the debut novel by sports journalist Dana Czapnik, was very reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye. (And I loved Catcher when reading it back in high school.)
Lucy 'Loose' Adler is a loner-ish 17 year-old (a senior "at Pendleton . . . a horrific nondenominational preparatory academy known for churning out future corrupt U.S. senators and for having the highest suicide rate of any private school in the country" she cracks in her narration) in New York City during the 1993-94 school year. She's an only child, from a comfortable but not affluent Jewish-Italian family -- dad is an attorney (who once authored a book) and mom is a college professor. Lucy loves playing basketball - she's the star on her school's team - and maybe her best male friend Percy, a former classmate (who seems unaware of her feelings) from a wealthy but dysfunctional family.
The book covers a few fleeting days during her senior year, where Lucy - opinionated, cynical, but above all human - experiences low-key drama that is common in teenage life, no matter what the decade. We meet the handful of people she allows in her social circle - a pair of twenty-something would-be bohemian artists, her best friend Alexis (who twice uses the phrase 'human construct' in conversation, which sounds too 21st century for the setting - the book's rare misstep), and her mom.
I liked the book's style and Lucy's voice / thoughts (her first-person narration steers the plot) - she didn't come off as whiny or self-absorbed, but just an interesting protagonist. When she spoke of sacrificing study time for an important test to instead see Nirvana in concert - arguing it would be said concert that she'd remember for years, and not the test - I was nodding my head in agreement.
Another recent random selection from the library's new release shelf that also by good chance turned out to be a real winner. I curse 'The Kirkus Reviews' for already using what I was going to write in this review - that The Falconer, the debut novel by sports journalist Dana Czapnik, was very reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye. (And I loved Catcher when reading it back in high school.)
Lucy 'Loose' Adler is a loner-ish 17 year-old (a senior "at Pendleton . . . a horrific nondenominational preparatory academy known for churning out future corrupt U.S. senators and for having the highest suicide rate of any private school in the country" she cracks in her narration) in New York City during the 1993-94 school year. She's an only child, from a comfortable but not affluent Jewish-Italian family -- dad is an attorney (who once authored a book) and mom is a college professor. Lucy loves playing basketball - she's the star on her school's team - and maybe her best male friend Percy, a former classmate (who seems unaware of her feelings) from a wealthy but dysfunctional family.
The book covers a few fleeting days during her senior year, where Lucy - opinionated, cynical, but above all human - experiences low-key drama that is common in teenage life, no matter what the decade. We meet the handful of people she allows in her social circle - a pair of twenty-something would-be bohemian artists, her best friend Alexis (who twice uses the phrase 'human construct' in conversation, which sounds too 21st century for the setting - the book's rare misstep), and her mom.
I liked the book's style and Lucy's voice / thoughts (her first-person narration steers the plot) - she didn't come off as whiny or self-absorbed, but just an interesting protagonist. When she spoke of sacrificing study time for an important test to instead see Nirvana in concert - arguing it would be said concert that she'd remember for years, and not the test - I was nodding my head in agreement.
February 18, 2019
2.5 stars. Thanks to @atriabooks for sharing The Falconer by Dana Czapnik with me! It follows Lucy Adler, a seventeen-year-old tomboy “pizza bagel” which apparently means a mix of Jewish and Italian heritage, who is a star basketball player at her school, has an unrequited crush on her best friend/rich-boy Percy, as she goes through her senior year of high school in NYC.
This book didn’t really have a plot? It just kind of follows Lucy around the streets of NYC as she goes about her life. I’m okay with this in books sometimes, but this book kind of dragged at times because of it, and I found myself losing interest.
Lucy has moments where she has all these opinions about life that came off as judgmental. There were tropes like “that’s why I have so few female friends, all they want to do is talk about their diets” and other moments where she judges girls for caring about their appearance... it felt tired. Here’s another quote: ‘“Do you ever think makeup is a signifier of our inferiority?” I ask her. “Like, we have to put all this shit on our faces to get noticed and guys don’t. Maybe this whole process devalues us as human beings.”’ ....this is coming from a 17-year-old? Maybe I was just super immature at that age but this is not what I was thinking about. Also it felt very much like if you don’t care about looks, you’re superior to those who do.
Basically, it felt like the author was trying to say too much and make this teen have so many grand epiphanies that her character felt muddled. She also has a moment where she laments big box grocery stores, she thinks that you shouldn’t eat meat unless you can kill it yourself... and so on. It was exhausting.
I felt let down by this book. It wasn’t all bad, it just felt tired and a little boring and like it was trying too hard to be alternative and feminist or something, but also was judgmental of women who weren’t as smart as Lucy. There were definitely some moments that held my interest, but overall the mixed messages and meandering plotlessness just didn’t work well for me. However, this book has received lots of praise from others, so I’d still say give it a try if it sounds like the type of book you may like!
This book didn’t really have a plot? It just kind of follows Lucy around the streets of NYC as she goes about her life. I’m okay with this in books sometimes, but this book kind of dragged at times because of it, and I found myself losing interest.
Lucy has moments where she has all these opinions about life that came off as judgmental. There were tropes like “that’s why I have so few female friends, all they want to do is talk about their diets” and other moments where she judges girls for caring about their appearance... it felt tired. Here’s another quote: ‘“Do you ever think makeup is a signifier of our inferiority?” I ask her. “Like, we have to put all this shit on our faces to get noticed and guys don’t. Maybe this whole process devalues us as human beings.”’ ....this is coming from a 17-year-old? Maybe I was just super immature at that age but this is not what I was thinking about. Also it felt very much like if you don’t care about looks, you’re superior to those who do.
Basically, it felt like the author was trying to say too much and make this teen have so many grand epiphanies that her character felt muddled. She also has a moment where she laments big box grocery stores, she thinks that you shouldn’t eat meat unless you can kill it yourself... and so on. It was exhausting.
I felt let down by this book. It wasn’t all bad, it just felt tired and a little boring and like it was trying too hard to be alternative and feminist or something, but also was judgmental of women who weren’t as smart as Lucy. There were definitely some moments that held my interest, but overall the mixed messages and meandering plotlessness just didn’t work well for me. However, this book has received lots of praise from others, so I’d still say give it a try if it sounds like the type of book you may like!
May 29, 2019
Not remotely "the new
Catcher in the Rye
" as it's been hyped.
Instead, imagine every 90s cliché but Lisa Frank pencils shoehorned into one book. And while it's no threat to Salinger, it is a nice quiet YA novel about coming of age in 1990s NYC, which apparently consisted of a lot of pickup basketball games. Life was apparently simpler then.
keywords: clubbing in borrowed clothes; friend-zoned for life; unwilling makeover victim; another Xer scarred for life by watching the Challenger explosion live; but do you think he's going to call; unlikely pretentious posturing about the morality of the Vietnam War; is that all there is
Nifty original gif design by Head Like an Orange
Instead, imagine every 90s cliché but Lisa Frank pencils shoehorned into one book. And while it's no threat to Salinger, it is a nice quiet YA novel about coming of age in 1990s NYC, which apparently consisted of a lot of pickup basketball games. Life was apparently simpler then.
keywords: clubbing in borrowed clothes; friend-zoned for life; unwilling makeover victim; another Xer scarred for life by watching the Challenger explosion live; but do you think he's going to call; unlikely pretentious posturing about the morality of the Vietnam War; is that all there is
Nifty original gif design by Head Like an Orange
December 29, 2018
An absolutely beautiful coming of age novel set in Manhattan in the mid-90s. Lucy is an amazing protagonist; hopelessly in love with her best friend, an amazing athlete, learning about art, feminism, and the real world, and a character you fall in love with. Your heart will break for her, but you will also cheer on her small victories and the lessons she learns. A fabulous novel, one that will stay with me for a long time. I was sad to leave Lucy's world at the end, but excited to let her go and grow up.
March 14, 2019
I accidentally ordered two copies of this for my library and because I have a weird guilt complex and worried no one would check it out, I did. And it was really good. I do love a good coming-of-age story. And this is literary without ever feeling inaccessible. And I mean the last line...
"Where to go? Where to go?
Girl. Wherever the fuck you want."
"Where to go? Where to go?
Girl. Wherever the fuck you want."
February 23, 2019
This is the most poetic, energetic and vibrant coming of age novel I've ever read. I won't forget about this one - probably ever - and Lucy will stay with me for a long time.
She is an unapologetic teen in NYC, she's tough and observant, she's shy and insecure, but she is so wise beyond her years that it makes you want to gather her up and tell her to - just be. To not think so much. But it's her thoughts that command this dazzling debut. She sees so much beauty in NYC while simultaneously savoring it's grittiness and dark corners. She plays basketball without abandon and loves her few friends, and may just love Percy a little bit more... I didn't know if I was going to relate to Lucy. Being much younger, more "street" - a city girl, and an athlete, I thought we'd have nothing in common. But Lucy's struggles are every woman's struggles - especially in those dreaded high school years of trying to fit in and crushing on boys. Being so tiny in such a big city.
The writing is so poetic and fantastic. I savored every word. The descriptions of Manhattan were so visual and visceral - the book, is an ode to NYC. A love story of the city. The early 90's art scene was a welcome addition and I relished in the unconventional artisans and their style. I could see everything described through Lucy's eyes with extreme vividness and I envied her awareness, her adoration.
But I also felt her sadness, her trouble to fit in, feeling more like one of the boys, than a girl the boys pay attention to. To be seen -but not in that way. Your heart breaks for her as she tries to navigate life and just find her place. It's a quiet story - as not too much happens, but at the same time - SO MUCH happens.
It's beautiful, and Czapniks talent for words is unlike anything I've read before. Stunning.
She is an unapologetic teen in NYC, she's tough and observant, she's shy and insecure, but she is so wise beyond her years that it makes you want to gather her up and tell her to - just be. To not think so much. But it's her thoughts that command this dazzling debut. She sees so much beauty in NYC while simultaneously savoring it's grittiness and dark corners. She plays basketball without abandon and loves her few friends, and may just love Percy a little bit more... I didn't know if I was going to relate to Lucy. Being much younger, more "street" - a city girl, and an athlete, I thought we'd have nothing in common. But Lucy's struggles are every woman's struggles - especially in those dreaded high school years of trying to fit in and crushing on boys. Being so tiny in such a big city.
The writing is so poetic and fantastic. I savored every word. The descriptions of Manhattan were so visual and visceral - the book, is an ode to NYC. A love story of the city. The early 90's art scene was a welcome addition and I relished in the unconventional artisans and their style. I could see everything described through Lucy's eyes with extreme vividness and I envied her awareness, her adoration.
But I also felt her sadness, her trouble to fit in, feeling more like one of the boys, than a girl the boys pay attention to. To be seen -but not in that way. Your heart breaks for her as she tries to navigate life and just find her place. It's a quiet story - as not too much happens, but at the same time - SO MUCH happens.
It's beautiful, and Czapniks talent for words is unlike anything I've read before. Stunning.
January 9, 2019
The Falconer is a story about a girl growing up in a particular space and time, the Upper West Side of New York City in the early 1990s. Whether or not that place and time speaks to you, the novel is really for anyone whose gone through the pain of growing up and having your illusions slowly, and sometimes all at once, shattered. If you've ever had the experience of discovering that the world is not exactly as you imagine it to be and that life is more complicated than the neat boxes we try to put things into, then this book is one that you'll enjoy. It's also an interesting window into what it means to grow up as a young woman in a world that, then and now, is still very much a man's world, dominated by male ideas. I really enjoyed reading it, and I wanted to get to the end quickly to see what would happen. So quickly, in fact, that I read it in just two days. More importantly, though, the book made me think. While it was quick to read, I'll be thinking about it and talking about it for a long time to come.
January 22, 2019
Dana Czapnik has crafted a protagonist who is complex and multi-layered with a combination of heart-wrenching vulnerability and inspiring strength. Her novel draws the reader through the complexity of coming of age and the dirty and messy host of feelings and interpersonal interactions that go along with it. A superb first novel that could not be put down.
June 30, 2019
Maybe your reaction to this coming of age story depends on what you think about Lucy. Personally, I couldn’t stand her. She’s a pretentious, know-it-all teenaged girl obsessed with basketball and her friend Percy, who is not mutually obsessed. I don’t think there’s a plot, there is just a string of very strong opinions and observations of New York City. Others seem to like the book, but I didn’t get very far. Just not for me. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
November 16, 2022
Loved this. Just a really satisfying and well evoked coming of age story of a young woman in a specific location at a specific time (New York in the early 1990s). I eagerly look forward to seeing what the author does next!
August 19, 2024
I’ve just finished my new favourite book. I feel sad that I read it so quickly, but it gets worse, I’ve found out that this is the authors only book!! I related so much to the narrator of this story - Lucy - it felt like her thoughts were coming directly from my brain. I love how well Dana Czapnik was able to capture growing up as a teenage girl. The anger at the world for not being what you want it to be but at the same time loving how perfect it can be. This is one of those books that for me will make following books seem quite average for a little while until the buzz of this one has died down a bit. I don’t know what to do with myself now except hope and pray that Dana Czapnik writes another book!
May 30, 2019
This debut novel by Dana Czapnik is not easy to review as there are aspects to love, things to hate, and parts that made me feel confused.
The first thing I'm struggling with is its genre. It was offered as an ARC by the publisher in the category "General Fiction (Adult)." It's protagonist Lucy Adler is a seventeen-year-old girl from New York City who loves playing basketball and a boy who's out of reach. While I wouldn't call it a typical Young Adult novel, I'd certainly recommend it for a young female audience. It's too intellectual to be your average teenage book, but it addresses issues young women and girls will be able to identify with.
The book is set in the 1990s in New York and tells some episodes from Lucy's senior high school year. We follow her as she deals with issues such as growing up, first love, feminism, big city life, and finding her place in the world. The first person narration that also delves into stream-of-consciousness storytelling allows us to gain an insight into a teenage girl's mind, her worries, dreams, and aspirations. This book is driven by character and not so much plot. It can also be read as a portrait of teenage life of that particular era and that specific place. New York itself doesn't only serve as mere background but is a character in and of itself. Overall, The Falconer is a captivating characterization of a girl told in carefully chosen prose. It is mainly that latter point that I both like and dislike. Some passages were beautifully told and made me think a lot about what it means for a girl to grow up. On the other hand, the language sometimes impeded identification with this character since it seemed too artificial and intellectual. Lucy would have been more authentic if her relatable experiences with love, friendship, and adulting had not been tried to be analysed so much by the author.
"Because isn't it just so much easier for everybody when a girl fits into a nice little girl category - good girl slut tomboy girly girl smart girl ditz - instead of being a fully fleshed-out person who is in constant conversation and sometimes argument and sometimes war and sometimes peace with all the various factious parts of herself. I have to live in a world where the whole human being that I am will make other people uncomfortable and find a way to not be bothered." Sorry, that's just too much analysis that seems to come from outside and not something inherent to the character. And there are numerous other examples that are similar.
Other parts were confusing and felt like an exercise in coming up with the most intellectual metaphor to describe the city, for example Time Square in the small hours:
"The adrenaline-soaked desperation that usually fills the atmosphere is replaced by the last morsels of despair, the globules of oil you find lining the bottom of a Chinese take-out box. A place full of things. After my wreck of a night, I belong here."
Then again, there were moments I thoroughly enjoyed, mostly when I felt that the words truly came from Lucy. That's when she as a character came across as authentic, likable, brave, completely average and special at the same time.
"One day in the distant future, I will think about you again, and my heart will lurch in an ancient muscle memory. And the fleeting sting of the moment will have nothing to do with you and everything to do with the seventeen-year-old girl who loved you and the impossibility of unforgetting her." Yes, it also sounds a bit affected, but for some reason, I liked that part - maybe because it speaks to my teenage self.
In the end, The Falconer is a beautiful coming-of-age story young women and those who'd like to get in touch with their inner teenage girl will enjoy.
"Where to go? Where to go?
Girl. Wherever the fuck you want.
The first thing I'm struggling with is its genre. It was offered as an ARC by the publisher in the category "General Fiction (Adult)." It's protagonist Lucy Adler is a seventeen-year-old girl from New York City who loves playing basketball and a boy who's out of reach. While I wouldn't call it a typical Young Adult novel, I'd certainly recommend it for a young female audience. It's too intellectual to be your average teenage book, but it addresses issues young women and girls will be able to identify with.
The book is set in the 1990s in New York and tells some episodes from Lucy's senior high school year. We follow her as she deals with issues such as growing up, first love, feminism, big city life, and finding her place in the world. The first person narration that also delves into stream-of-consciousness storytelling allows us to gain an insight into a teenage girl's mind, her worries, dreams, and aspirations. This book is driven by character and not so much plot. It can also be read as a portrait of teenage life of that particular era and that specific place. New York itself doesn't only serve as mere background but is a character in and of itself. Overall, The Falconer is a captivating characterization of a girl told in carefully chosen prose. It is mainly that latter point that I both like and dislike. Some passages were beautifully told and made me think a lot about what it means for a girl to grow up. On the other hand, the language sometimes impeded identification with this character since it seemed too artificial and intellectual. Lucy would have been more authentic if her relatable experiences with love, friendship, and adulting had not been tried to be analysed so much by the author.
"Because isn't it just so much easier for everybody when a girl fits into a nice little girl category - good girl slut tomboy girly girl smart girl ditz - instead of being a fully fleshed-out person who is in constant conversation and sometimes argument and sometimes war and sometimes peace with all the various factious parts of herself. I have to live in a world where the whole human being that I am will make other people uncomfortable and find a way to not be bothered." Sorry, that's just too much analysis that seems to come from outside and not something inherent to the character. And there are numerous other examples that are similar.
Other parts were confusing and felt like an exercise in coming up with the most intellectual metaphor to describe the city, for example Time Square in the small hours:
"The adrenaline-soaked desperation that usually fills the atmosphere is replaced by the last morsels of despair, the globules of oil you find lining the bottom of a Chinese take-out box. A place full of things. After my wreck of a night, I belong here."
Then again, there were moments I thoroughly enjoyed, mostly when I felt that the words truly came from Lucy. That's when she as a character came across as authentic, likable, brave, completely average and special at the same time.
"One day in the distant future, I will think about you again, and my heart will lurch in an ancient muscle memory. And the fleeting sting of the moment will have nothing to do with you and everything to do with the seventeen-year-old girl who loved you and the impossibility of unforgetting her." Yes, it also sounds a bit affected, but for some reason, I liked that part - maybe because it speaks to my teenage self.
In the end, The Falconer is a beautiful coming-of-age story young women and those who'd like to get in touch with their inner teenage girl will enjoy.
"Where to go? Where to go?
Girl. Wherever the fuck you want.
December 20, 2018
Beautifully written coming of age tale about a 17 year old girl in early 90s NYC, obsessed with basketball and the unrequited love of her best friend. The praise rolling in from Salman Rushdie, Ann Pathcett and Rivka Galchen is deserved. I wish I'd had this book to give to my daughter in her teens while knowing she might enjoy it even more now, from her later perspective. Positive proof that the oldest stories in the world (e.g. coming of age) can be told with brilliance and verve countless times in the hands of debut authors whose next work we'll eagerly await.
December 24, 2018
Not a book I would have normally picked up, as it is about a young woman high school basketball player, but I saw the blurbs, gave it a try, and it won me over. I really found myself caring about the protagonist and couldn't wait to see how she grew as a person and what happened to her. Feels like it should become something of a classic. Beautifully written, absorbing, and realistic. And the New York City scenes and the relationships are not cliches, but authentic.
September 27, 2018
Great young female centered story that takes places in the 1993. Great slice of life, growing up story.
March 29, 2019
DANA CZAPNIK IS A HERO THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD
March 31, 2019
The Falconer by Dana Czapnik is an interesting take on a female high school basketball phenom (Lucy) trying to navigate her way through life. She is Italian/Jewish and often feels the only place she truly fits in is on the courts. She is in love with her best friend (Percy), a rich WASP destined for Harvard if for no other reason than his father has connections. Lucy is drawn to a statue called "The Falcon" in which a young boy is on his tip toes, reaching up with both arms and releasing a falcon. It reminds her of the beauty and anticipation she feels when playing ball.
Lucy lives in New York and her descriptions of the area when walking home are both vivid and real. My issue with the descriptions, however, is that they go on for pages at a time and take the reader (well, me at least) out of the narrative. Lucy's story is interesting and held my interest. However, her long descriptive pages of visiting the apartment/art studio used by Violet and Max seemed endless. Her interactions with Violet and Max were more interesting than backstories and explanations.
Ultimately, Lucy's voice is one that the reader enjoys and gets behind. The rest is almost a disruptive noise. So, a solid 3 start for me.
Lucy lives in New York and her descriptions of the area when walking home are both vivid and real. My issue with the descriptions, however, is that they go on for pages at a time and take the reader (well, me at least) out of the narrative. Lucy's story is interesting and held my interest. However, her long descriptive pages of visiting the apartment/art studio used by Violet and Max seemed endless. Her interactions with Violet and Max were more interesting than backstories and explanations.
Ultimately, Lucy's voice is one that the reader enjoys and gets behind. The rest is almost a disruptive noise. So, a solid 3 start for me.
February 27, 2019
In my senior year of college I took a fiction writing class, and there was a girl in my workshop who had the most beautiful style of writing. Packed with sensory details and emotional appeal, her writing never felt rushed, but would establish a setting with languor. I was so envious of her talent because I lacked the patience and concentration necessary to focus on all of those tiny details.
Dana Czapnik's writing reminds me of that student's. This book is a love letter to New York in all its grime, culture, and style. It also offers a heavy dose of nostalgia for a not-so-distant past, as the story takes place 1993-1994.
I loved many aspects of this book - how it comments on gender inequality, the gritty reality of first-time sex, and the need to stand for something, whether political or artistic. The writing is beautiful. This is a character-driven story, so it meanders along with a mood reminiscent of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." If this is your reading style, then I highly recommend this book.
Dana Czapnik's writing reminds me of that student's. This book is a love letter to New York in all its grime, culture, and style. It also offers a heavy dose of nostalgia for a not-so-distant past, as the story takes place 1993-1994.
I loved many aspects of this book - how it comments on gender inequality, the gritty reality of first-time sex, and the need to stand for something, whether political or artistic. The writing is beautiful. This is a character-driven story, so it meanders along with a mood reminiscent of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye." If this is your reading style, then I highly recommend this book.
February 13, 2019
Sharp and electric debut about growing up in NYC from the POV of an Italian Jewish female basketball player who is in love with her popular but rakish male best friend. It talks about life, love, art, basketball, opportunities, and longings. It’s pitch perfect for Gen X-ers.
Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.
Thanks to the publisher for the advance reading copy.
March 31, 2019
Like Superman, seventeen-year-old Lucy Adler steps into a phone booth when she enters the basketball court and emerges transformed.
(p.5)
The basketball court is where Lucy finds herself, where she defines her place in a world of men. She regularly beats boys and older men on the court.
Lucy is in love with her best friend and classmate Percy. She finds the edges of her relationship with him on the basketball court. She can beat him in man-to-man ball if he has a handicap (he must stay out of the paint) yet they remain friends. It takes the games to know what kind of relationship they have. Does he love her as a girlfriend? Is she one of the guys? Is she just another one of his many female friends with whom he toys? This is an especially tough question because Percy doesn’t believe in love.
Czapnik, in the epigraph, takes a quote from Simone de Beauvoir and turns it into the fundamental question the novel addresses. Beauvoir says: "Today it is becoming possible for [the girl] to take her future in her hands, instead of putting it in those of the man." Is this possible for Lucy?
Lucy doesn’t fit in in high school because she doesn’t “fit in the box that makes the most sense to people.” (p.19) Others assume she’s gay because of the way she plays ball. The truth is she never wanted to be a boy, she just wants to have fun as the boys do. Admiring a statute of a young boy releasing a falcon in Central Park, she wonders why there aren’t similar statues of girls.
She has deep conversations with Percy about the moral framework surrounding the acquisition of money, something Percy has a lot of. He says his “dad thinks of business the way you and I think of snagging rebounds—get the ball at all costs.” Lucy doesn’t know what she wants to do after graduation, just that she wants to love it. She wants to be like the Falconer statue, just “a kid at the height of his powers standing on top of a mountain, commanding nature, releasing a bird into the wind without any fear.” [p.88]
Czapnik does a fabulous job of exploring the restless nature of a 17-year-old girl about to begin her life where culture favors boys and men. It’s a moving novel that brings women back to their teenage years where they thought everything was possible. Czapnik nails the feelings. Lucy reminds us of ourselves.
[The basketball] is "a big round world, with crevices and ravines slithering across tectonic plates. [She]...bounces[s] the world hard on the blacktop, and it comes back into [her]...hand covered with a fine layer of New York City diamond dust...
(p.5)
The basketball court is where Lucy finds herself, where she defines her place in a world of men. She regularly beats boys and older men on the court.
Lucy is in love with her best friend and classmate Percy. She finds the edges of her relationship with him on the basketball court. She can beat him in man-to-man ball if he has a handicap (he must stay out of the paint) yet they remain friends. It takes the games to know what kind of relationship they have. Does he love her as a girlfriend? Is she one of the guys? Is she just another one of his many female friends with whom he toys? This is an especially tough question because Percy doesn’t believe in love.
Czapnik, in the epigraph, takes a quote from Simone de Beauvoir and turns it into the fundamental question the novel addresses. Beauvoir says: "Today it is becoming possible for [the girl] to take her future in her hands, instead of putting it in those of the man." Is this possible for Lucy?
Lucy doesn’t fit in in high school because she doesn’t “fit in the box that makes the most sense to people.” (p.19) Others assume she’s gay because of the way she plays ball. The truth is she never wanted to be a boy, she just wants to have fun as the boys do. Admiring a statute of a young boy releasing a falcon in Central Park, she wonders why there aren’t similar statues of girls.
Statues of girls are always doing something feminine or unfun, like lounging half-naked by a spring, gently dipping elegant fingertips in the water, or standing stone-faced for Justice or Liberty or some other impossible human ideal.
She has deep conversations with Percy about the moral framework surrounding the acquisition of money, something Percy has a lot of. He says his “dad thinks of business the way you and I think of snagging rebounds—get the ball at all costs.” Lucy doesn’t know what she wants to do after graduation, just that she wants to love it. She wants to be like the Falconer statue, just “a kid at the height of his powers standing on top of a mountain, commanding nature, releasing a bird into the wind without any fear.” [p.88]
Czapnik does a fabulous job of exploring the restless nature of a 17-year-old girl about to begin her life where culture favors boys and men. It’s a moving novel that brings women back to their teenage years where they thought everything was possible. Czapnik nails the feelings. Lucy reminds us of ourselves.
January 9, 2024
I think I subconsciously picked this for myself as my first read of 2024 because the final line is: “Where to go? Girl. Wherever the fuck you want.”
August 2, 2020
Beautiful writing and a hugely likeable protagonist. Unique coming of age story. Highly recommend.
January 23, 2019
We all have a period in our life, many of us in high school, where we think we’ve figured the whole thing out. (Or, at least, the part that doesn’t include relationships.) We see ourselves apart from the squares (or worse) that “run things” and wish only that they had our clarity of vision, for if they did, the world would be such a better place.
“The Falconer,” reminiscent of another famous back-pocket book, tells the story of that period of a young woman’s life as new experiences, triumphant and otherwise, intervene in her worldview. All along, main character Lucy Adler navigates the city she loves, the family and friends she loves and the game she loves.
Debut author Dana Czapnik’s characters are distinct, lived-in and speak with voices informed by the streets, parks and prep schools of mid-90s Manhattan. They live, breath, bleed and grow in the subtle manner of actual human beings, avoiding the lightbulbs and lightning strikes that plague lesser prose. And while their references are of a particular time, their experiences and emotions are timeless.
Czapnik’s love for New York and basketball and her ear for the poetry in both is evident and unique, but it is her love for these characters that that formative period of life she describes that elevates her novel and offers such promise for her future works.
I can’t recommend this book more strongly for anyone who’s ever thought deeply about the world in which they live and was open minded enough to learn something new when they least expected it.
“The Falconer,” reminiscent of another famous back-pocket book, tells the story of that period of a young woman’s life as new experiences, triumphant and otherwise, intervene in her worldview. All along, main character Lucy Adler navigates the city she loves, the family and friends she loves and the game she loves.
Debut author Dana Czapnik’s characters are distinct, lived-in and speak with voices informed by the streets, parks and prep schools of mid-90s Manhattan. They live, breath, bleed and grow in the subtle manner of actual human beings, avoiding the lightbulbs and lightning strikes that plague lesser prose. And while their references are of a particular time, their experiences and emotions are timeless.
Czapnik’s love for New York and basketball and her ear for the poetry in both is evident and unique, but it is her love for these characters that that formative period of life she describes that elevates her novel and offers such promise for her future works.
I can’t recommend this book more strongly for anyone who’s ever thought deeply about the world in which they live and was open minded enough to learn something new when they least expected it.
June 16, 2019
Set in Manhattan in the early 90s, this is a beautifully written coming of age story about a high school senior and a star basketball player on the street courts, and at school, trying to figure out where and with whom she fits, and what opportunities and limits her future holds. She’s a memorable character both vulnerable and fierce. I did skim a little toward the end as the book at times meandered into stream of consciousness story telling.
May 20, 2019
Felt like this book broke my heart a zillion times. Hated myself for wanting Percy and Lucy to work out. (What does that even mean?? Marriage? Babies?! Woof.) I’m grateful to Lucy for reminding me that I don’t need to have it all figured out all the time, and that it’s OK to be sweaty and angry and corny and sweet and smoke Js and wear crushed velvet dresses. It’s OK to want to be one of the boys and one of the girls at the same time. It’s normal to wish that neither category existed.
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