Editorial Content for Even If the Sky Falls

From Mia Garcia comes a new debut young adult contemporary romance novel, EVEN IF THE SKY FALLS.

Julie, a 16-year-old girl who was once blissfully happy but is now going through immense guilt and despair, finds herself on a mission trip in New Orleans to help re-build damaged houses --- and maybe even herself. Unfortunately, the trip she threw herself into happens to be nothing like she expected: the Louisiana heat is scorching and her volunteer group is suffocating, all while making her question her faith. Trying to get away from her home, her life and now these people that won’t leave her alone, Julie finally finds an opportunity to sneak away from it all.

Before she knows it, Julie is in the heart of New Orleans and is caught up in the annual mid-summer Mardi Gras celebration. All around her are people with intricate costumes and there are vibrant shades of green, yellow and purple everywhere she turns. Her attitude quickly becomes a stark contrast to how she felt back at camp and at home. While she may feel more carefree and light, her past cannot seem to stay in the shadows. She is often reminded of her brother, Adam, who suffers from PTSD from being in the military. That being one of the reasons she has tried to escape her deteriorating home life, she shakes the negative thoughts off and soon finds herself face to face with a striking boy with blue hair and a smile that is impossible to look away from.

"As a book that is fun and warming, but also deals with real life situations, EVEN IF THE SKY FALLS truly brings out what it means to be a teenager."

She discovers the banjo-playing, blue-haired boy is a musician along with his three friends who form the band Midsummer Boys. He instantly catches her attention and she finds herself utterly and embarrassingly attracted to him and his New Orleans charm. Julie soon realizes that she wants to get to know this handsome and charming boy, but she doesn’t want to be the Julie who is ridden with guilt and anger for the night. She and this charismatic stranger decide to make pact --- no names and no baggage, only what the night will bring them, even if they never see each other again. With their new codenames, Lila and Miles, the pair has a clean slate. While they spend this unplanned, yet exciting night together dancing, laughing and bonding, a storm is looming on the edge of the city. Like both of their pasts, they cannot avoid this storm, and, soon enough, they will both have to face their inner and outer demons.

EVEN IF THE SKY FALLS is an immersive novel, and Mia Garcia does a spectacular job of making the reader feel like an attendee to this Mardi Gras party taking place in New Orleans. Julie, who was slowly crumbling due to her home life, changes right before your eyes. Her passion to live and not care about what others think develops through the story as she goes on different adventures with Miles. Miles, always knowing what to say and how to say it, is easy to fall in love with. He is witty, caring and charming. It is easy to see why he draws Julie in. Their budding relationship has you rooting for them throughout the novel. These two characters, although carrying baggage with them, want nothing more than to forget about the past for one night and get to know each other all while enjoying what New Orleans has to bring to them. Who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity of being someone or something else just for one night?

The novel is beautifully written and flows so naturally. While there cannot be light without darkness, this is definitely a very fun and easy read. I often found myself not wanting to put it down due to the fast-paced, yet detailed night that Lila and Miles shared. Even during their more mundane conversations, the monologues always had meaning and purpose to them. Garcia ties in the story of Julie’s brother, Adam, through vivid and telling flashbacks, each one more heart-wrenching than the last. The author knows just how much to give to the reader, all while still making them guess what is going to happen next. While the ending was, similarly to the hurricane, a whirlwind of events that flashed before your eyes, you are still left with a feeling of content and admiration by the end of the story.

As a book that is fun and warming, but also deals with real life situations, EVEN IF THE SKY FALLS truly brings out what it means to be a teenager. Garcia delves into difficult subjects such as post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide and guilt. She makes the novel more genuine and contemporary, all while still managing to bring humor and romance to this novel. I highly recommend this book. This read is definitely a whirlwind of emotion that will bring you so high that you won’t want to come down.