When the World Tips Over

* An Instant New York Times Bestseller *

"Jandy Nelson is a true virtuoso . . . I am fervently in love with this brave, funny, tender, exuberant beating heart of a book." --Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Imogen, Obviously

The explosive novel that brims with love, secrets, and enchantment by Jandy Nelson, Printz Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of I'll Give You the Sun

* This stunning first printing boasts brilliant blue sprayed edges, creating a sumptuous look for this dazzling saga. *

Years ago in California wine country, where the sun pours out of the sky and the hot devil winds blow the sense right out of your head, the three Fall siblings' father mysteriously disappeared, breaking the family into pieces. Now Dizzy, age twelve, bakes cakes, sees spirits, and wishes she were the heroine of a romance novel. "Perfect Miles," seventeen, the boy no one worries about (though everyone should) is adrift, only the neighbor's dog aware that he dreams of other guys. And Wynton, nineteen, who raises the temperature of a room just by entering it, is a virtuoso violinist set on a crash course for fame . . . or self-destruction.

Then an enigmatic rainbow-haired girl shows up, tipping the Falls' world over. She might be an angel. Or a saint. Or an ordinary girl. Somehow, she is vital to each of them. But before anyone can figure her out, catastrophe strikes, leaving the Falls more broken than ever.

With rivalries, road trips, family curses, and love stories upon love stories, this era-spanning epic explores the sorrows and joys passed from one generation to the next, as a family tries to rewrite their future.

"Sumptuous . . . Captivating . . . Luscious, start to finish." --Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"Splendid and complex . . . Satisfying and soul-thrilling." --SLJ (starred review)
"Transcendently beautiful." --Nina LaCour, author of We Are Okay
"[A] multigenerational epic sprinkled with magic . . . Profound." --PW (starred review)
"Jandy Nelson is a rare, explosive talent." --Tahereh Mafi, author of the Shatter Me series
"A technicolor fever dream offering readers a sensory feast." --Kirkus
"A gloriously intricate and expansive YA/adult crossover . . . Stunningly generous." --Just Imagine
"Sublime, intricate, and dazzling." --Helena Fox, author of How It Feels to Float
"A complex, seductive YA heartbreaker." --The Guardian
"Intoxicating. [Destined to] firmly lodge itself within many, many hearts." --The Irish Times
"Magical and moving." --Common Sense Media
"Beautiful." --Booklist
"Unforgettable." --The Observer


Author: Jandy Nelson
Publisher: Dial Books
Published: 09/23/2025
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.50w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9780147516664
Audience: Young Adult

About the Author
Jandy Nelson, like her characters in I'll Give You the Sun and The Sky is Everywhere, comes from a superstitious lot. She was tutored from a young age in the art of the four-leaf clover hunt; she knocks wood, throws salt, and carries charms in her pockets. Her novels have been on multiple best of the year lists and earned many starred reviews. I'll Give You the Sun is a New York Times Bestseller, and her debut novel, The Sky Is Everywhere, was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults pick and international success. Currently a full-time writer, Jandy lives and writes in San Francisco, California--not far from the settings of her novels.