Review- The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

 

Title – The Way We Fall

Author – Megan Crewe

Publisher – Disney-Hyperion

Date Published – January 24, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I requested The Way We Fall from NetGalley, I was under the assumption that this was another dystopian or post-apocalyptic read, this is not exactly the case. The Way We Fall is set on an island that is quarantined because of an outbreak of a dangerous flu-like virus that is killing people. It is never made clear whether this virus is world-wide or confined only to this island so I don’t know that I would describe this as either dystopian or post-apocalyptic. However, this is just the first book in what I assume will be a series, perhaps this will change in subsequent books.

With that being said, I came to really enjoy The Way We Fall. The book starts off a bit slowish and it wasn’t until almost halfway in that I really became engaged in the story. The story unfolds through a series of letters that is being written by the main character Kaelyn to a boy named Leo. It isn’t explained until much further into the book exactly who Leo is and what his significance is in Kaelyn’s life. Other than a few instances of Kaelyn mentioning Leo’s name, The Way We Fall simply reads like any other first person narrative. Kaelyn describes herself as a bit of a loner who has a difficult time making friends. Many people seem to view her as snobbish or stand offish and she makes a couple attempts to break out of her shyness a bit. During the upheaval caused by this virus, she finds herself thrown into the company of people who she had barely ever exchanged words with previously as the community tries to pull together to make sense out of the chaos. Her character learns and grows throughout the story, coming to some realizations about herself and others and changing the way she thinks and perceives the world because of it.

The romance happens a little fast, but for me it was still pretty much believable. I think that it is realistic to expect that two teenagers who may not have crossed paths before, finding themselves thrown together in a situation like this might be drawn to each other in this way. I will say there are no declarations of undying love and inability to live, breathe or otherwise function without the other, which is refreshing. I liked all of the supporting characters, Kaelyn’s mom, dad, brother, romantic interest, and friend; but I think that they were a bit one dimensional. I would have liked to have seen some more depth to them, although I recognize that this may have been difficult when I was only viewing the story via Kaelyn’s perspective through letters to her friend.

I definitely did NOT like the way it ended. I was so frustrated by the many unanswered questions and the fact that absolutely nothing seemed to be resolved by that ending. I’m not a big fan of cliffhanger endings and I feel like a story has to have at least some resolution by the end even if the story will continue.

Overall, I think that The Way We Fall is a solid and enjoyable read by Megan Crewe and I’ll be interested in seeing where she goes with the story in the next installment. I would recommend The Way We Fall to any fans of YA, Realistic Fiction, or Medical related fiction.

Rating 3