"A beautiful, big-hearted book with important lessons embedded in
compelling stories of two irresistible girls. Expertly executed and
movingly realized." --New York Times Book Review
Cammie McGovern follows up her breakout young adult debut, Say What
You Will, with this powerful and unforgettable novel about learning
from your mistakes and learning to forgive.
Emily has always been the kind of girl who tries to do the right
thing--until one night when she does the worst thing possible. She sees
Belinda, a classmate with developmental disabilities, being attacked.
Inexplicably, she does nothing at all.
Belinda, however, manages to save herself. When their high school finds
out what happened, Emily and Lucas, a football player who was also there
that night, are required to perform community service at a center for
disabled people.
Soon Lucas and Emily begin to feel like maybe they're starting to make a
real difference. Like they would be able to do the right thing, if they
could do that night all over again. But can they do anything that will
actually help the one person they hurt the most?
Told in alternating points of view, A Step Toward Falling is a
poignant, hopeful, and altogether stunning work that will appeal to fans
of books by Jennifer Niven, Robyn Schneider, and Jandy Nelson.