Page 1 begins with the prologue. Robin has made her bed and is waiting for everyone to make a circle to introduce themselves. She is at Camp Raintree for the fifth year (since she was 8, making her 12 or 13 now) and has hated it every year.

Another girl, Amelia, is tucking in her sheet, meticulously smoothing out all wrinkles. Her foot locker is neatly ordered. Robin strikes up a conversation with Amelia about their respective packing styles (messy and neat), weight (fat and skinny), and their mothers’ idiosyncrasies: Robin calls her mother Eunice because it makes them feel like girl friends, and Amelia’s mother sounds incredible strict.

After a page break on 3, Robin introduces herself, blatantly stating how much she hates this “cornball camp,” then introduces Amelia as a favor, the girl is already on the verge of a panic attack at the thought of introducing herself.

Another page break on 3 has Robin talking Amelia into sneaking out of camp after lights out. They walk to a small lake, Robin scaring Amelia with a story of the hundreds of dead bodies buried in the woods. The girls finish a previous conversation on page 7 about the other men Robin’s mother Eunice has been with, and why her father puts up with it: “‘Cause he loves her, I guess. Lots of guys go nuts over Eunice.” They cap their bottle of vodka in time to rush back to camp in time for bed checks at midnight.

The break on page 8 is another night after sneaking to the lake. Drunk on vodka, Amelia goes swimming while Robin dances on the sand. Suddenly, Amelia is screaming for help. Robin dives in to save her, reaching her quickly, but Amelia is pulling her down with all her struggling. When Robin finally breaks the surface again, the chapter ends with Robin bashing Amelia in the face, making her let go.

Chapter one begins with Robin unpacking in her father’s new apartment in Boston. Eunice says it’s to take Robin away from her, her dad says it’s to be closer to his law practice, but Robin heard her pediatrician say that the best shrinks were in Boston. Apparently Robin has been having screaming fits and nightmares.

Robin unpacks her toiletries in her new bathroom: she’s skinny with dark circles under her eyes. She feels bugs on her back, but when she checks there’s nothing there. She has chopped off all her hair, a “gesture for Amelia,” but we still don’t know if Amelia is alive or dead.

After a page break on 13, Marcus Garr, Robin’s father, is cooking spaghetti. Robin comes in and asks when school starts, why the bathtub has legs, and if he regrets leaving Eunice. He says no. The phone rings, Eunice has managed to find their new number. Marcus and Eunice start fighting: she wants them to come back, reminding Marcus of their various sexual adventures, which Marcus counters with a reminder that it was her vodka that Robin had stashed away to camp. He hangs up and finds Robin crying on her bed. He explains she’s seeing a psychologist tomorrow, which she faces with skepticism.

After the break on page 17, Marcus is scraping the burned pasta out of the pot. Eunice calls back, but they don’t pick up. It rings 22 times. They decide to go out for dinner.

After another break on 18, there’s a knock on the door before they leave for dinner. It’s their new neighbor Dorothy Cotton, who has baked lasagna, which turns out to be terrific, but Robin eats very little.

Another break on page 20 has a delivery boy delivering a box shaped for flowers. Instead it’s the black umbrella he had left in the suburbs with Eunice. A siren drives by and suddenly Robin is screaming Amelia’s name. Marcus runs in to wake her, and she twitches, smacking him on the side of the head.

Chapter two begins on page 23. Robin checks for bugs on her back before joining her dad for breakfast. She isn’t hungry, but he presses her to try a little—Robin flashes back to her pressuring Amelia to try a little vodka. He also suggests that she sleep in pajamas and to make up her bed instead of sleeping on a bare mattress. During their conversation, it finally becomes concrete that Amelia died, slipped under the water for the last time after Robin had bashed her in the face. If Robin ate any more eggs, she knew she’d puke.

After the page break on 26, Marcus and Robin are driving to the doctor’s appointment. Marcus talks to Dr. Mollie Striker for bit alone. She has a masters and doctorate from Harvard with years of experience in Boston. After reviewing the general particulars of Robin’s case, Mollie counters the jabs at Eunice’s mothering skills with, “‘So where were you all that time?’”

On the drive home after the break on page 28, Marcus asks Robin how her appointment went. She says it went fine and that they had schedules appointments for two days a week. Upon returning to the apartment building, Robin notices Dorothy Cotton watching from her window. Dialogue appears in italics about who Dorothy could be looking for, but it’s unclear who’s speaking.

A few minutes after entering their apartment, Dorothy knocks on the door asking for her casserole dish back. Marcus invites her in while he cleans it. As he’s cleaning, Dorothy helps Robin make her bed, chatting about her sister who always had problems keeping her room tidy. Her wording makes it sound like her sister is no longer around.

After the break on 31, Marcus invites Dorothy back to the apartment that night for a drink. He promises he isn’t making a pass, but then considers that she isn’t bad to look at.

Another break on 31 focuses back on Robin rooting through boxes trying to find a nightgown. She finds a bathing suit that she had offered to Amelia at camp. The italics appear again and it becomes more like a two-sided conversation in Robin’s head. She throws the bathing suit in the back of the closet and rips the sheet off the bed. She hates top sheets and hates being compared to Dorothy’s little sister.

Dorothy returns to the apartment at nine, shortly after Robin had gone to her room. They make small talk: Dorothy is a widow, a homemaker, and childless. She had a younger sister who reminds her of Robin, but she died when Dorothy was 8. She offers to keep an eye out for Robin when Marcus is at work, mentioning that she had heard her screaming at night. The phone rings and Robin picks up in the other room—it’s Eunice and she’s drunk.

Robin returns to her bedroom and thinks with anxiety about the first day of school tomorrow, something that would have never made her nervous before. The italics return and converse about Eunice and how she had cried and pleaded that she’s going to get Robin back.

Back to Marcus and Dorothy: he quickly gets rid of Eunice and takes the phone off the hook. Dorothy congratulates Marcus on his strength as a new single father, but he refuses the compliment, saying he hasn’t exactly won any prizes either.

After Dorothy leaves, Marcus considers this admission of guilt and it reminded of the psychiatrist fishing for the same admission.

Chapter three starts on page 37 with Robin sitting alone in the cafeteria. A boy sits down next to her and tries to start up a conversation, but she recognizes him from when she was unpacking: the boy with the binoculars in the opposite apartment building. They both state they’re crazy—Robin “kills people, stuff like that”—and Calvin says he can get her some drugs if she wants. She gets rid of her cafeteria tray and walks away.

After the break on 38, Robin meets with Mollie after school. They talk about adult/child dynamics, and how Marcus doesn’t like Mollie all that much. Mollie laughs and says, “Guess I didn’t expect a test this soon.”

On the bus ride home, Robin seems impressed that Mollie had realized she was being tested. Calvin runs up once she reaches her building, but she leaves him standing outside. Then Dorothy appears once she’s inside, offering her pie, which Robin refuses before running up the stairs to her apartment. Once inside, Eunice calls, drunk again. Robin hates it when Eunice gets drunk and says all those lovey-dovey things, but it had never scared her as much as today. Robin hangs up and sits against the wall trembling. Eunice calls again and again, but Robin doesn’t pick up. The italics question each other about why she’s so scared.

Apparently it’s been Marcus calling, and he’s concerned when Robin doesn’t pick up the phone. He calls Dorothy and asks her to please check on her. She tells him that she knows Robin won’t like her interference, but concedes to check on her anyway. She gets Robin to open the door, but she slams it again quickly. Dorothy then returns to her apartment and continues to sew a pink blouse she’s making for Robin.

Robin is still breathing hard and shaking. After a few tries, she finally decides to call Mollie, who coaches her to breath into a paper bag until she starts breathing slower. Mollie asks her what about Eunice’s call made her so afraid, but Robin’s not sure. Mollie says she’d like to see her tomorrow instead of Thursday. She also tells Robin to write down everything she’s feeling and to bring it with her tomorrow. Robin reluctantly agrees.

45 minutes later, Marcus gets home early. He makes sure Robin’s fine, asks her how the call with Eunice went, and explains that he had asked Dorothy to check on her. He sees Robin’s writing on the table, but she snatches it away.

Dorothy had called earlier and invited the two of them to dinner. Robin doesn’t want to go, but Marcus keeps pressing until she agrees. He explains that Dorothy is concerned for her and that she’s a lonely woman. The chapter ends on page 51.

Down Will Come Baby is obviously a fast paced novel. The large, easy chunks of dialogue make the pages fly by and Robin’s italicized internal conversations are definitely creepy. It’s tragic to watch a 12-year-old self-destruct like Robin is from her traumatic experience at camp and the reader can’t help but empathize with her.

I loved the character of Eunice, the alcoholic, obsessive mother. Her phone dialogue is fascinating and unique in the ways she makes herself seem like the victim versus the “mean old daddy” trying to take her daughter away from her.

Calvin, the boy next door, seems to be a possible source of conflict and further self-destruction considering he offers Robin drugs in their first conversation (at middle school!).

While I have some complaints about the majority of the dialogue being basic and uninteresting and the characters of Marcus and Dorothy as being rather two dimensional in their goodwill, the novel reads very quickly. I would consider this novel being an easy sell for an agent looking for a mid-lister.