REVIEW: The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell

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I feel like The Last Leaves Falling is a friend I’ve watched grow up. I’m so incredibly excited for Sarah and the release of it because I loved it and I know so many of you will too!

The Last Leaves Falling tells the story of Sora, a boy with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that means he is going to die. The novel is so much more than that though – it’s a tale of friendship and discovery, as well as acceptance.

Whilst I loved The Last Leaves Falling, I found some scenes very painful for me to read because of personal experience. It did bring back some hard memories, but something I think people will be able to relate to is the experience of death and illness that everyone has to go through in their lifetime.

My favourite thing when reading Benwell’s debut novel was the major involvement of Internet culture, which, surprisingly, isn’t something I see a lot of in YA fiction, despite how huge the Internet is in our daily lives.

Something I noticed throughout reading was that this book made me realise exactly what is important to me. In places, it’s deeply philosophical and I began to understand what should be valued.

I enjoyed The Last Leaves Falling a lot and can’t wait to see what Benwell writes next.