The Way We Fall - Megan Crewe

Synopsis: 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?

Review: This book was so good! I am a zombie lover personally, and whilst this book isn’t specifically about “zombies”, it is about a killer virus that is wiping out the whole island. Which is close to zombies. Kinda.

The thing I really enjoyed about this book was that so often in these types of apocolytic stories where people get sick, and crazy and are dying, there’s always SO much focus on the sick people. This story talked of it, but really the focus was on the healthy people in Kaelyn’s life which made it really emotional, especially since it truly highlighted the acts of desperation she would go through just to make sure those close to her were safe, including putting her own health at risk.

It really made me seriously question “what would happen if this were to take place?”. And as far fetched as you may think this is, the book is written in such a real way. Think swine flu. Except with this virus, there is no cure, doctors are scratching their heads and it’s highly contageous. It’s virtually a death sentence if you catch it. Hey, it could happen!

Written in a diary format from the perspective of teenage girl Kaelyn, she is writing this diary to a friend of hers she has not seen for a long time, Leo. A guy that she actually once loved, but he didn’t recipriocate. Instead, he fell for a girl named Tessa. Who ends up being Kaelyn’s closest friend in the book. Leo is living in New York and Kaelyn writes her journal to him as a way to let him know what happened in case something ever happened to her. Seeing as all communication in and out has been hampered, it’s one way for her to get her truth out.

I really enjoyed the writing style, especially as we see Kaelyn’s mental health detiorating. It really shows in the diary entries, and I thought this was really very clever.

I loved the characters also, especially Gav who I really want to know more about. He was quite private and mysterious and not the talkative, open type. But I feel there’s more that we’ll find out about him later.

Whilst reading this I didn’t realise the book was the first in a series admitedly (as this wasn’t on Goodreads at the time), and I thought the ending was quite abrupt since I ended up with more questions and it finished us on a cliffhanger note. BUT. But. Megan Crewe has confirmed that The Way We Fall is in fact just the first book in a trilogy and I cannot express how much this makes me smile, because it’s such a fantastic story.

Highly enjoyable and easy to read!

Rating: 4 out of 5