Kaelyn lives on an island close enough so that she can see the mainland. When her friend's dad gets sick and dies, it is alarming. Then her father, who is a doctor, starts seeing more and more patients with this disease, and nothing they try is helping them get better.
Crewe does a great job with the escalation of the situation. At first, they are quarantined, but they have lots of government support. Then things start to crumble. They lose communications and eventually power. There's some violence and the government basically abandons them. At the same time, society is crumbling too. Of course there's panic, which leads to looting. People are afraid, not only of the disease, but of the gangs. Although Kaelyn discovers some kids that are doing a lot to help, and joins up with this group which is led by Gav. He's the love interest, and I enjoyed the development of this budding romance.
Also, midst all the hardship and loss, Kaelyn begins an unlikely friendship with Tessa, who she thought hated her in school (before the disease struck.) It's an interesting lesson in how our impressions of people can be so wrong, just because we make assumptions and don't really take the time to find out anything about them.
Kaelyn tells the story in a journal format. She's writing a journal to her estranged friend/boyfriend, Leo, who is on the mainland. Also interesting is the fact that Leo's new girlfriend is Tessa. The journal works OK, but at times I forgot it was a journal. But that's no big deal. We never quite figure out all the details of Kaelyn and Leo's relationship, so I guess that's something to look forward to in the second book.
The Way We Fall reminded me a bit of Sylo, although I liked this one a bit better. I felt more of a connection to the characters and the premise was more believable.
There is enough depth to the characters that we really fear for them. The disease is brutal, and Crewe doesn't hesitate to wipe out some main characters. The ending is very open. I won't say too much, but even though things seem to be calming down on the island, from what happens at the end of the book, I'm sure it's not over. The Lives We Lost, the second book of the Fallen World Trilogy, is already available. And I have it! So, hopefully I'll get to it soon.
Published by Disney-Hyperion, 2012
Copy won from the publisher during Armchair BEA
309 pages
Rating: 3.5/5
I loved this one. So glad you enjoyed it too. I'm sure you'll enjoy the sequel.
ReplyDeleteI liked this book. I don't remember much though, I need to reread it before I get the second book. I do remember I liked it. great review.
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