Mar 27, 2015 By Jeremy Farbman 3 min read

Think of a young boy and you probably imagine a child who plays outside, meets other kids and explores his neighborhood. This image is examined in Michael Christie’s new novel, “If I Fall, If I Die.” Will is an 11-year-old boy who hasn’t been Outside (Christie makes it a proper noun because of the terror it brings) in years. He lives in a small Canadian town with his mother, who regularly experiences panic attacks if she is not inside. Since Will only has his mother, he wants to be by her side at all times, forcing him to stay indoors with her. Eventually, though, Will’s curiosity gets the best of him, and he ventures Outside. Will starts to behave more like a normal boy his age, which worries his mother because she thinks Outside is dangerous. Despite her worries, Will is undeterred, and he, along with his new friend Jonah, begins looking for a missing boy who inspired Will to go Outside in the first place.

Occasionally, the reader is shown the view of Will’s mother. This is a very important element of the plot because these chapters develop the backstory. Yes, Will’s mother deprives her son of what normal boys should enjoy, but she has understandable reasoning behind her decisions and condition. By way of the flashbacks to her childhood in the same town, the reader sees that they live in a very dangerous environment with no hope for escape. Her son is the most important thing in the world to her, so she is overprotective and constantly worries about him. This context really makes the reader empathize with her and makes the world very fleshed-out.

While I am a fan of Christie’s writing style and the premise, the plot gets somewhat distracted in the latter half of the book. Will and Jonah, in their search for the boy, get wrapped up in mob activity and encounter an insane old man who knew Will’s mother when she was young. The pace slows heavily, which is disappointing, considering how much of the book is left. While attempts are made to integrate the two arcs with each other, it never quite reaches that balance. It almost feels like the author had two separate stories in mind, but decided to put them both in one book. Only the occasional allusions to the beginning reminded me that I was reading the same story.

Despite this problem, readers of “If I Fall, If I Die” will be treated to both an incredible tale of the relationship between a mother and her son and a decent plot about a terrible town. The overall package is a good execution of a great concept, and it’s worth taking a look whether you’re inside or Out.

Jeremy Farbman is a sophomore at Mt. Lebanon High School.