Review: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Published by: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: January 24th, 2012

Number of Pages: 309

How I got this book: e-ARC from Netgalley

My rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads Summary:

"It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.

And then you’re dead.

When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn’t?"

My review:

First, a big thank you to Disney-Hyperion and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I will be honest, I'm having trouble coming up with something to say about this book...did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? Eh, not really. Don't get me wrong - it was an entertaining read. It held my attention, the characters were mostly likeable...but honestly, I think it's one of those books that I will forget about a month from now. It had a lot of potential, but seemed to fall a little flat for me.

There were some things in the story that really bothered me. First, the fact that Kaelyn's brother Drew was such a big part of the story in the beginning, and then he just up and left, and we know nothing about him the rest of the book. Maybe this is for a future book? I just didn't like how it was done. I also felt like the author took a lot of major issues and just sprinkled them through out the book in random places like she just wanted to be sure to cover everything: Homosexuality, racism, many different environmental issues, vaccinations, religion, ethics...It's fine to cover any of these topics. But it was the way some of them were done. It's obvious by reading the synopsis that you are going to come across topics of environmental issues and probably ethics and the vaccination issues. But the way the other topics were thrown in seemed gratuitous to me. I hope I'm making sense. I love it when the author wants to make a point with a particular message, for example - acceptance and tolerance. But just dropping things in there (and in the first 25 pages or so no less, like "oh, I'd better be sure to include this) - just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe I'm taking it completely wrong...but that's my opinion. *shrugs*

Anyway, I do really like how Kaelyn is willing to fight for her family and community. There is a moment at the end of the book, where she almost gives up, and I was about to get really, really mad...but she pulled it together. :) I also really liked Gav, the "love interest" in the story, although to be honest, the romance was not a really strong part of the book. He was a good guy though, who stuck by Kaelyn through everything.

If there is a sequel, I probably will read it because I would like to know what happens with Kaelyn's brother, Drew, and how Gav and Kaelyn's relationship develops. I would also like to know what happens with Kaelyn's little cousin, Meredith, who develops the virus at the very end of the book. Overall, despite its flaws (again, my opinion), it is an interesting, entertaining read with a good plot line.