Falling Is Like This

Despite a vivid backdrop and some colorful supporting characters, Rockland's debut can't overcome the triteness of its heroine. All Harper Rostov knows is that she wants to be a music writer, and soon the 23-year-old has quit her job at a celebrity tabloid, broken up with her video game–addict boyfriend, and nearly moved out of their East Village apartment. But before the reality of moving back with her parents in New Jersey sinks in, she happens to run into Nick, her longtime crush and the guitarist of her favorite band, Hitchhikers Revenge. Nick's attentions are especially flattering, but she eventually has to choose between a new adventure with Nick and the band and putting her old life back together, which includes the depressed, unstable sister who needs her. The tour of dive bars and dingy studios ought to make the protagonists come alive, but the more Rockland attempts to elevate Harper's complaints to the status of profundities, the less endearing Harper becomes. An unsatisfying ending caps this muted rock and roll novel. (May)