All Fall Down

Carter, Ally. ALL FALL DOWN. 2015. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 978054654746

Plot Summary

Grace Blakely is the granddaughter of a U.S. Ambassador. The daughter of an Army officer and without her mother. Grace's mother was killed and she believes that it had something to do with her grandfather and his position. Grace has spent the time since her mother's death not thinking about why someone would kill her mother until she has to go live with her grandfather in Adria. Grace hadn't visited the embassy since her mother's death and memories come rushing back about the good times but there are some memories that make Grace question what events caused her mother's death. Grace isn't happy with being in Adria and even worse, she has a "bodyguard" in Alexei, the Russian ambassador's son.  As Grace tries to get herself together and not be so angry; she wants answers about who wanted her dead and where are they now.

Critical Analysis

Ally Carter's All Fall Down is a story of diplomacy and espionage that explores the world through a teenager's perspective. Ms. Carter writes the story in a manner that will make teen readers wonder if the lives of children with family in government is one of bore and excitement. Ms. Carter does an excellent job of capturing the hurt and angst of Grace's teenage character. How the emotions come through the details as Grace recalls spending time at the embassy during the summer to remembering the tragic way her mother died. She also includes realistic details about how power countries like the United States and Russia interact with each other through the ambassadors and their staff. Although All Fall Down is considered a mystery; Ms. Carter does offer teen readers details of friendship and teen love to make it a story worth reading. 

Review Excerpt(s)

Kirkus reviews-"It rockets wildly to and fro; the setup for the inevitable second volume doesn't follow even slightly naturally from the mystery's conclusion. Still, the mix-and-match bucket of tropes creates a not-entirely-infelicitous goofy whole: Hallucinations, mean girls and kidnappings abound."

Connections

As an introduction to the story, ask students if they know what an ambassador is and the job they are responsible for doing. Then show a chart explaining ambassadors and how they are assigned to serve.

Show students a video that talks about being an ambassador: NowThisWorld

Have students take a virtual tour of Embassy Row in Washington, D.C. and write down the countries that have offices (houses). Further instruct students to complete a search if Embassy Row exists in other countries and to create a slide presentation showcasing their office and listing who the ambassador is.