Rocks Fall Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar (review)

The secret ancient rituals performed by the Quick family are the only thing that’s preventing the Cliff from collapsing and crushing their small town of Three Peaks—at least, that’s what seventeen-year-old Aspen Quick has been told. He’s pretty good at the role he plays in the spell; he “reaches” into someone, steals something—like their ambition, their sensitivity, their grief, etc.—and offers it up to the Cliff. He also uses his gifts outside the ritual: he makes his two best friends break up, so he can finally make a move on Brandy, his longtime crush, and he relieves Theo of his jealousy. A cousin’s death a few months ago seems strange, though, and a meeting with his cousin’s friend makes Aspen realize his family is involved in a heckuva lot more than “saving” a cliff and his powers may be doing more harm than good. Aspen’s pretty much a jackass from the get go-but it’s understandable; this is a kid with the ability to manipulate others’ emotions, who has been raised by people who have no scruples about it—so neither does he. It takes Heather, a brassy, clever, and formidable force, to finally shake Aspen’s total faith in the righteousness of his family’s magic, and his belief is further broken when he realizes they’ve been using their magic on him. The mind games are acrobatic in their twists and turns, and as Aspen is revealed to be an unreliable narrator, all of the events, the flashbacks to his childhood, and any knowledge of his family’s past are brought into question. Readers who relished the black magic wielded by amoral families in Black’s Black Cat (BCCB 9/10) will find similar satisfaction here.