The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

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?
Megan Crewe crafts a powerful and gripping exploration of self-preservation, first love, and hope. Poignant and dizzying, this heart-wrenching story of one girl’s bravery and unbeatable spirit will leave readers fervently awaiting the next book in this standout new series.

Goodreads Summary

This book has to be one of the best dystopians of 2012.  The author writes in such a way that allows the reader to fully immerse him/herself into the novel.  The reader will love the main character, Kaelyn, for her intelligence and willingness to help others.  Kaelyn's world is turned upside down in the space of one week.  A mysterious virus sweeps through her small island town and begins to pick off the residents one by one.  The environment created by the author feels so real that the reader will be able to picture all of the events and characters and really connect with them.

Kaelyn is amazingly resilient.  Her characters endures so much loss in the novel, but she still comes up fighting.  The other characters the reader meets will intrigue him/her.  The author has a way of making the reader miss the characters who don't make it to the end, a rare quality.  The love interest, Gav, is brave and a survivalist, the reader will enjoy meeting him and getting to know him through Kaelyn.  Kaelyn's family is complex and will feel like the readers' family not long after the reader picks up the book.  Her brother and father butt heads over a few issues, Kaelyn's mother loves her children to a fault, and Kaelyn's uncle and cousin are special to them all.  If the author did not create such dynamic and likable characters, this story would not be as fantastic as it is.

The book is only about 304 pages long, but the reader will want the book to be far longer.  There is an unbelievable amount of action, suspense, and romance packed into these pages.  The characters are a delight to read about, the reader will actually care what happens to them in the novel.  The author keeps the novel within the realms of realism, the reader will not be rolling his/her eyes over the plot and events in this book.  This book is highly recommended to young adult/teen readers.

5 Stars

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