Margaret Lazarus Dean’s first novel, The Time It Takes to Fall, is a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the ’80s NASA space program.
Dolores Gray has wanted to be an astronaut ever since she can remember. She attends shuttle launches with her father, a technician for NASA, keeps a space journal, and follows every tidbit of news about the space program. Dolores navigates the perils of adolescence—facing family conflict, the pressures of fitting in at school, and the budding feelings of first love—amidst a tragedy that shakes her and the local NASA community to the core.
Dean has clearly done her research on the space program, weaving details about NASA and the space program through the book. She paints a compelling portrait of a young girl dealing with difficult emotional issues, but the level of Dolores’ analysis isn’t always believable. Her reactions make her seem wise beyond her years, and while that discerning insight makes for a better read, it tarnishes the credibility of her character. The story might have been more effective if it were written in the third person rather than the first.
Dean’s narrative is not without its flaws, but The Time It Takes to Fall makes for a pleasant and absorbing summertime read.
