You know that feeling when you’re lying in a field on a hot summer day, staring up at an impossibly blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds? And suddenly the world seems to tilt on its axis, leaving you dizzy and breathless and alive? That’s what reading Jandy Nelson’s new novel “When the World Tips Over” feels like. It’s a heady, intoxicating concoction – part magical realism, part coming-of-age tale, part family saga – that will leave you spellbound and maybe just a little bit tipsy.
A Tapestry of Love, Loss, and Longing
Set in the sun-drenched vineyards of Northern California, “When the World Tips Over” weaves together the stories of the three Fall siblings: 12-year-old Dizzy, who bakes cakes and sees ghosts; 17-year-old Miles, a sensitive beauty desperate to find love; and 19-year-old Wynton, a violin prodigy careening towards self-destruction. At the heart of their tale is an absence – their father, who mysteriously vanished years ago, leaving the family fractured.
When a mysterious girl with rainbow-colored hair enters their lives, she sets off a chain of events that will force the Falls to confront their complicated past and fight for their futures. Nelson deftly braids together multiple timelines and perspectives, creating a rich tapestry of love, loss, and longing that spans generations.
A Feast for the Senses
One of Nelson’s greatest strengths as a writer is her ability to create vivid, immersive worlds that engage all the senses. The Fall family’s vineyard comes alive on the page – you can practically feel the scorching sun on your skin, taste the sweet burst of a ripe grape on your tongue, hear the crackle of wildfire in the distance. Her lush, lyrical prose is intoxicating.
Nelson has a poet’s eye for detail and a musician’s ear for language. Her sentences sing and soar, crackling with energy and emotion. Reading this book feels like falling into a fever dream—disorienting and dizzying in the best possible way.
Complex, Messy, Lovable Characters
At the heart of any great story are its characters, and Nelson has created a cast of unforgettable misfits and dreamers. The Fall siblings leap off the page, flawed and frustrating and utterly lovable:
- Dizzy, with her passionate crush on romance novels and ability to see ghosts, had me alternately laughing out loud and getting misty-eyed. Her voice is pitch-perfect – earnest, imaginative, and charmingly dramatic.
- Miles broke my heart over and over. His struggle with his sexuality and desperate longing for connection will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.
- And oh, Wynton. Brilliant, volatile Wynton. He’s a powder keg of talent and trauma, liable to explode at any moment. I couldn’t look away.
The supporting cast is equally compelling, from the siblings’ free-spirited mother to the ghosts of long-dead ancestors who still haunt the family vineyard. Nelson has a knack for creating characters who feel startlingly real and relatable, even as they do extraordinary things.
Love in All Its Forms
At its core, this is a book about love—romantic love, familial love, and self-love. Nelson explores all the messy, complicated ways humans connect and disconnect. There are first crushes and grand passions, unrequited longing and hard-won intimacy. The Fall siblings’ relationships with each other are particularly nuanced and touching. Even when they’re fighting or drifting apart, you can feel the fierce love binding them together.
The LGBTQ+ representation is refreshingly matter-of-fact. Miles’ journey to understand and accept his sexuality feels organic and true-to-life. His tentative first romance had me grinning like an idiot and furiously turning pages.
A Touch of Magic
While firmly grounded in reality, “When the World Tips Over” is infused with touches of magic and wonder. Ghosts flit through the vineyards. An ancient family curse casts long shadows. And of course, there’s the mysterious rainbow-haired girl who may or may not be an angel.
Nelson walks a delicate tightrope between realism and fantasy. The magical elements never overshadow the very human drama at the story’s core. Instead, they enhance the dreamy, slightly surreal atmosphere and highlight the extraordinary hiding within the ordinary.
Not Just Another Coming-of-Age Tale
On the surface, this might seem like a typical YA coming-of-age story. But Nelson subverts expectations at every turn. Her characters grapple with weighty themes – grief, addiction, identity, legacy – with a maturity that belies their years. The multi-generational scope gives the story added depth and resonance.
This is a book that defies easy categorization. It’s a young adult novel that adults will devour. A family drama with elements of magical realism. A love story and a ghost story. Nelson seamlessly blends genres to create something wholly original.
A Few Minor Quibbles
If I had to nitpick, I’d say the pacing occasionally lags in the middle sections. And some readers might find the frequent perspective shifts disorienting at first. But these are minor complaints that don’t detract from the overall magic of the story.
The Verdict: A Must-Read
“When the World Tips Over” cements Jandy Nelson’s place as one of the most exciting voices in contemporary YA literature. Fans of her previous novels “I’ll Give You the Sun” and “The Sky is Everywhere” will find the same gorgeous prose and emotional depth here, but with an added layer of complexity and ambition.
This is the kind of book that demands to be devoured in one sitting, preferably on a lazy summer afternoon with a glass of wine in hand. It will make you laugh, cry, and see the world with new eyes. Days after finishing it, I’m still thinking about the Fall family and their captivating, heartbreaking, ultimately hopeful story.
So pour yourself a glass of Pinot, find a cozy spot in the sun, and let Jandy Nelson’s luminous prose carry you away. Just don’t be surprised if the world feels a little off-kilter when you emerge.
Perfect for fans of:
- “The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin
- “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender” by Leslye Walton
- “All the Crooked Saints” by Maggie Stiefvater