Book Review: The Way We Fall

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 sixteen-year-old Kaelyn lets her best friend leave for school without saying goodbye, she never dreams that she might not see him again. But then a strange virus begins to sweep through her small island community, infecting young and old alike. As the dead pile up, the government quarantines the island: no one can leave, and no one can come back. Those still healthy must fight for the island’s 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?Poignant and dizzying, The Way We Fall is the heart-wrenching story of one girl's bravery and unbeatable spirit as she challenges not just her fears, but her sense of what makes life worth living.

“You learn a lot when you know no one else is going to do things for you.” - The Way We Fall

I bought this book mainly on a whim. I was at Barnes and Noble one night for the first time in two months and I’d only brought a twenty (stupid, stupid). I was planning on buying a TFiOS shirt but the only size they had went past my knees.

I just can’t think properly when I’m at Barnes and Noble. Despite the fact that there are around two hundred books yet to be read on my to-read list, I picked up this book, a book I’d never heard of. Then I bought it, despite the mediocre ratings on Goodreads.

The reason I picked up this book was because of the cover and synopsis on the back. I’m a total sucker for the “plague-disease-in-a-society” type books and the cover really reminded me of a movie
I’d seen a while back and enjoyed, Contagion. The synopsis promised a “poignant and dizzying” book about a “deadly virus”. So I picked it up and bought it.

See the resemblance between these? I also liked the picture in the background and the meaning of the title. The Way We Fall works in a lot of ways in this book. It stands for the way people fell ill, the way society collapsed in this time of trouble, and the way people fall in love. The title is perfect for the book.

As I write this review, it’s also rather ironic that I’m sick myself. Let me tell you, being sick while writing a review about a book about being sick sucks the fun out of writing book reviews.

Anyways, the book was pretty mediocre. The writing is good and the dialogue flows naturally, but the plot is just so predictable. The problem with books about viruses is that the story can really only take several courses; either a) they find a cure or b) everyone dies.

The Way We Fall is written in a diary style format. Kaelyn, the narrator is telling everything to a friend who is not on the island, Leo. The story follows Kaelyn’s life from the first few days before everyone starts to fall ill until the cliffhanger at the end, when a ship finally arrives with a surprise that may be either good or bad.

My least favorite thing about this book was the plot. It was just so bleh. Sure, books about viruses can only go a couple of ways, but you could at least throw some spice in there. Everything I predicted from the beginning; who would die, what would happen-it all came true. yawn Really wish there were a couple of twist and turns thrown in here.

However, I liked the character development and themes in this. Kaelyn seemed like a very boring and complaining person in the beginning but she became bearable and even likeable towards the end. She became a stronger person. Tessa, who Kaelyn misjudged as unfriendly before the epidemic,, became one of her closest allies.

I also liked that the book was fairly realistic. Crewe came straight out with the horrible truth of what would very possibly happen if this epidemic hit our society. Everything that happened in this novel would probably happen if this scenario occurred in real life.

Overall, this was a quick and pretty good read. I don’t think I’ll be reading the next book though. If you like survival type novels like Life As We Knew It  or The Eleventh Plague, you might want to check this out.