My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

Being a parent is the toughest job in the world, I don’t think there’s any doubt in this fact. Each and every thing becomes a cause of concern, rules of parenting, protecting your children by holding them tight or giving them wings to fly, joy in their achievements , the guilt and the recriminations in their failures, there’s so much that is borne by a parent and it becomes double, triple, quadruple when one is a single parent.

Abigail Knight is a single mother to 17 year old Olivia, but Abi has it easy, Olivia is down to earth and a grounded girl focused on her studies and her swimming, hanging out with her friend Madison, and her boyfriend Taylor, always following rules and curfews imposed by her mother even though any one can see they are too stifling for a teenager to follow.
When a field trip goes horribly wrong for Olivia as Abi’s past life and lies begins to unravel and ends up with an early morning call that forces Abi to face the worst nightmare of her life. To know that your daughter is brain-dead but kept alive only for the baby she’s carrying, to know that your daughter has discovered things that you had kept hidden for her safety is beyond endurable and it becomes worse when Abi senses the police are not conducting their investigation properly.

I loved The Night Olivia Fell not for its mystery coz the reveal was not all that surprising, but for its stark portrayal of a mother’s grief in having to let go of your daughter who was the only reason for your existence, The story shows us how Abi’s past forces her to enforce rules and makes her controlling that she forgets herself as an individual. The earnest and sweet love between Olivia and Derek and the sibling love between Sarah and Abi was touching and heartfelt.

All glowing 5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 for making me teary-eyed and emotional.




View all my reviews

A search for the truth. A lifetime of lies.

In the small hours of the morning, Abi Knight is startled awake by the phone call no mother ever wants to get: her teenage daughter Olivia has fallen off a bridge. Not only is Olivia brain dead, she’s pregnant and must remain on life support to keep her baby alive. And then Abi sees the angry bruises circling Olivia’s wrists.

When the police unexpectedly rule Olivia’s fall an accident, Abi decides to find out what really happened that night. Heartbroken and grieving, she unravels the threads of her daughter’s life. Was Olivia’s fall an accident? Or something far more sinister?

Christina McDonald weaves a suspenseful and heartwrenching tale of hidden relationships, devastating lies, and the power of a mother’s love. With flashbacks of Olivia’s own resolve to uncover family secrets, this taut and emotional novel asks: how well do you know your children? And how well do they know you?