While I'm Falling

I like Laura Moriarty. I really do. She's really, really nice and her first novel, [b:The Center of Everything 229201 The Center of Everything Laura Moriarty http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1308959653s/229201.jpg 1721240], was quite good. I had a lot of hopes for her. I scooped her second novel up right away. Huge disappointment. And when the third, While I'm Falling came out, I was slow to buy it and even slower to get around reading it. Word came out that a fourth novel was on its way, so I thought I better get to it.Anotherhugedisappointment.Did I mention I really like Laura Moriarty? ‘Cause I do. It's just that The Center of Everything was good; and The Rest of Her Life (TRoHL) and While I'm Falling (WIF) were not.Now, this review is about WIF, but it easily applies to TRoHL. And since I didn't write a review for the earlier book, this counts as a review for both. The problem with both books is that there isn't much of a story. There's potential for a story, but it just never develops into anything that should be longer than thirty pages. Another problem with both novels is that they're filled with unlikable characters. I don't mean characters that are bad human beings, because those can be fun; rather, characters that are incessantly whiny in an annoying way and bring nothing of quality to the world of literature. Imagine a book about Bella Swan having a bad week: That's the premise of WIF. WTF?Despite having been so disappointed two times in a row, I am still a fan of Moriarty's. I think she definitely has potential and I can't help but blame some outside force for the decline. I will be reading The Chaperone when it is released in June. Something tells me this will be the one that brings her out of her slump.I still believe in you, Laura.