Freefall

by Ariela Anhalt

Overview

Three guys from the Briar Academy fencing team went up to the cliff that night for a hazing ritual—but only two came back alive. Now Luke’s best friend, Hayden, is in jail and the pressure is on Luke to report what he saw. But what did he see? An accident—or a murder? Luke has always followed Hayden’s lead, but this is one decision he’ll be forced to make on his own. And to do it, he must face the truth about his friendship with Hayden and his own painful past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547552163
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/07/2011
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Lexile:	HL590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

ARIELA ANHALT grew up in Guilford, Connecticut. She began writing her debut novel, Freefall, when she was fourteen years old. At the time of its publication, she was a student at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

Luke Prescott stood at the top of the cliff, his toes
curled over the edge and pointing downward. Back straight
and shoulders relaxed, he let his eyes close peacefully. And
he jumped.
 A rush of power surged over him. Luke never felt so much in
control as when there was none, when all that existed was Luke and
the air and the inevitable stop at the end. It was all up to him in
those moments. He had decided that he was going to jump and that
he was going to land in the water below, and there was absolutely
nothing and absolutely nobody that could stop him. He had all
the power.
 He hit the water with a splash that, months before, had
knocked the breath out of him. Now he merely succumbed to the
water, letting it close over his head, a stream of bubbles pouring
from his mouth and nose as his feet hit the sandy bottom and
pushed him to the top. His head broke through the surface of the
water, and the solid pounding in his eardrums subsided. He floated
on his back, eyes still closed.
 His peace was broken just as quickly as it had come over him.
“If you keep doing this, you’re gonna kill yourself.”
 Luke turned sharply and choked as he accidentally inhaled
what seemed to him like the entire contents of Briar Lake. He
coughed, twisted himself around, and began to tread water. He
looked up to meet the intruder’s eyes and smiled. “Hayden. What
are you doing here?”
 Hayden stood a few yards away on the bank. He was dressed in
his pajamas and a sweatshirt, and his feet were bare. At eighteen,
Hayden had the broad-shouldered body of a much older man and
the clever, round face of a boy. “I heard you leave,” Hayden said, giving
Luke a lopsided grin, his ice-blue eyes dancing beneath a mess
of dark hair. He reached out a hand to Luke, who paddled over to
the edge of the lake.
 “I’m fine,” Luke said, though the question hadn’t been asked.
He let Hayden help him out of the water and then collapsed
onto the bank. Stretching out on his back, his wet shorts clinging to
his skin, Luke shut his eyes again. It wasn’t the same. He opened
them.
 “You should probably stop doing that,” Hayden said, nodding
toward the cliff. He shuffled his feet awkwardly in the dirt.
 Luke grunted noncommittally. I’m not hurting anyone, he thought.
 “I mean, it’s just kinda weird, Luke.”
 “Yeah, well, I’m kinda weird,” Luke said, propping himself up
on his elbows.
 “Trust me, dude, you’re more than kinda weird,” said Hayden,
squatting down next to Luke.
 “Oh, thanks.”
 Hayden grinned. “You know, I almost broke my nose trying to
get here. Tripped over a log, fell flat on my face. Naturally, I blame
you for this.”
 “Naturally,” Luke agreed.
 “Yep. Totally your fault.”
 “Of course.”
 “Couldn’t have just been me, you know,” Hayden said, leaning
conspiratorially toward Luke. “Because everyone knows I’m as
graceful as a fucking ballerina.”
 “Obviously.”
 “So don’t let it happen again.”
 “Sorry, Hayden. I’ll try to do better next time.”
 “Great. So no more jumping off cliffs in the middle of the
night?” Hayden’s tone was suddenly serious.
 “Come on,” Luke said with a short laugh, giving his friend’s
shoulder a shove. Drop it, Hayden.
 “Come on, what?” said Hayden. “It’s pointless. Why do you
keep doing it?”
 Luke shrugged. “You wouldn’t get it.”
 “Try me.”
 I don’t want to. “Just let it go,” said Luke, annoyance creeping
into his voice.
 “Is this about—”
 “No. ”
 “Because if—”
 “I don’t want to talk about that,” Luke interrupted, louder
than he’d intended.
 “Okay. I’m sorry.” Hayden looked embarrassed.
 Luke sighed. “That has nothing to do with this. I just do this
to unwind, to relax.”
 Hayden stared at him. “You know, I’ve done it, remember? I’ve
jumped. And I wouldn’t exactly call it relaxing.”
 Luke remembered that night. It had been about a year ago. It
was the week before the first fencing meet of the season. He and
Hayden and about four other guys had just made varsity on the
Briar Academy fencing team. Briar Academy, one of the more elite
private schools in California, had many sports teams, but the fencers
were the only ones that ever really won anything. Making the team
was a pretty big deal.
 That night the new varsity members and one of the team captains
had gone up to the cliff to jump off. It was a sort of initiation
process for the team, and the experience of the jump was treated almost
with reverence by the fencers. It wasn’t hazing; it was ceremony.
 Luke dug his knuckles into the dirt. “I know you have.” He exhaled
loudly. “Look, I’m tired. Let’s head back.”
 “All right, whatever.” Hayden raised his hands defensively.
“Have it your way.” They both rose up off the bank. “Keep doing it.
Break your fucking skull for all I care,” Hayden mumbled as Luke
padded off to retrieve his clothes from the end of the bank.
 They had to sneak back into the dorm quietly so as not to wake
any of the resident teachers at the school, who did not particularly
like the idea of students wandering off in the middle of the night,
especially not off toward the lake. The wooded area around the lake
was not visible from the academy, so the students mainly snuck off
into the trees to smoke pot or hook up. The school itself was built
in a circle formation, with a large green and a commons area at the
center. Surrounding that were the dormitory buildings, and encircling
them were the academic buildings. The lake hugged the east
side of campus, and the woods stretched out from the north side.
Through the woods, a five-minute hike and a sharp right turn away,
was the cliff.
 Luke and Hayden managed to get back into their room unnoticed.
Each of the four dormitories had a resident teacher, but luckily
the one in Luke’s dorm was a particularly sound sleeper. Not that
it really would have mattered if they’d been caught; Hayden could
talk his way out of anything. He’d smile, crack a joke, make the
teacher laugh, and soon he’d be off on his way with simply a warning.
If you got caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing,
Luke figured, Hayden was the guy you wanted with you.

Editorial Reviews

Nineteen-year-old Anhalt displays some definite polish in her debut novel…Teens drawn to boarding-school-scandal dramas will find plenty to gasp about here.”—Booklist "Anhalt seems to know the boarding-school world well, creating a rich setting for this drama of family demons, school friends and rivals, and an anguishing struggle of conscience. . . . An unusually rich and layered first novel."—Kirkus Reviews  "Teens will love this title because it is full of page-turning events and is difficult to put down."—VOYA, 5Q, 5P (highest rating) "The high stakes, complex character development, and realistic dialogue and interactions will keep readers riveted—and likely have them imagining themselves in Luke’s position."—Publishers Weekly "Teens will appreciate the action and the drama, without being overwhelmed by trendy names and labels as in other books set in boarding schools. . . . Anhalt, a college sophomore, shows great promise in this debut novel."—School Library Journal "[There's] plenty of jealousy, drugs, and misplaced loyalty to keep the pot boiling."-Bulletin —

From the Publisher

Anhalt’s debut is a plainly written, thoroughly suspenseful tragedy set at the elite Briar Academy in California. Seniors Luke and Hayden are best friends, roommates, opposites (Luke is insecure, Hayden self-assured), and members of the varsity fencing team (“If you got caught doing something you shouldn’t be doing, Luke figured, Hayden was the guy you wanted with you”). When self-important Russell joins the school, shows up the fencing team, and (eventually) steals Hayden’s girlfriend, Hayden’s anger takes over and his behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Russell’s initiation for the fencing team—jumping off a cliff into Briar Lake—ends in his death on the rocks below, and Hayden winds up on trial for premeditated murder. Luke is the only eyewitness and, struggling under pressure from Hayden, his friends, lawyers, the police, and the aftereffects of a past trauma in his own life, he attempts to answer one impossible question: was it a murder or an accident? The plot is straightforward, but the high stakes, complex character development, and realistic dialogue and interactions will keep readers riveted—and likely have them imagining themselves in Luke’s position. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up—Devastated since his father's suicide, milquetoast Luke Prescott lets Briar Academy's golden boy, Hayden Applegate, dictate their friendship. Luke echoes Hayden's superior attitude and enables his poor treatment of others. When Russell, a transfer student, starts chipping away at Hayden's power base, Luke watches the rivalry grow more intense. Then drug-addled Hayden crashes a car into a tree, injuring one of their fencing teammates and freeing a spot on the team for Russell. Hayden volunteers to lead Russell's initiation to the team—a cliff dive into a small lake—and Luke reluctantly accompanies them on the ill-fated outing. Anhalt's accurate diction and sense of pace propel readers through Luke's indecision and numbness, which become tiresome. Interpersonal relationships are well realized, however, especially Luke's sputtering romance and friendship with Rachel. Though the adults in the narrative are mere tokens of responsibility, their weaknesses don't impact the overall plot. Teens will appreciate the action and the drama, without being overwhelmed by trendy names and labels as in other books set in boarding schools. Luke's witness-stand epiphany is heavy-handed, but Anhalt, a college sophomore, shows great promise in this debut novel.—Chris Shoemaker, New York Public Library

School Library Journal

A hazing ritual at the elite Briar Academy goes horribly wrong, leaving Luke Prescott to figure out what really happened. Did Russell Conrad fall from the cliff to his death, or was he pushed? Luke's best friend, Hayden Applegate, is now in jail, and Luke will soon be called to testify as the only (he thinks) eyewitness. Anhalt seems to know the boarding-school world well, creating a rich setting for this drama of family demons, school friends and rivals, and an anguishing struggle of conscience. The third-person point of view provides a necessary distance from the protagonist, keeping the story from becoming claustrophobically wrapped in Luke's troubled psyche, and the italicized interior monologue effectively juxtaposes Luke's thoughts with his spoken words, often at odds with each other. The final courtroom scene is riveting, as Luke struggles to finally do the right thing and take control of his life. An unusually rich and layered first novel. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews