Review of The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Title/Author: The Way We Fall (Fallen World #1) by Megan Crewe
Publisher/Date published: Hyperion, January 24th 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "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?"

The thing that's happening inside The Way We Fall, that right there is one of my biggest fears. Seriously, I know we don't have a cure for a lot of things that should scare me, but a virus or bacteria that we cannot conquer is what creeps the heck out of me. Mostly because I know it's a viable possibility.
So now that I've tried to put the fear in you by being a prophet of DOOM, let's talk about the book.

Because for a book dealing with a subject that's most likely to keep me up at night, The Way We Fall lacked any excitement whatsoever. I mean, I expected being on the edge of my seat and being horrified and just feeling all of those things and emerging breathlessness and not being able to sleep because this is my worst nightmare. Turns out reading about it can actually be rather boring.

Maybe it's the fact that it's written in journal format and it doesn't feel as if the stuff is happening right at that moment. I didn't feel a connection to Kaelyn or any of the other characters. And this meant that although there were lots of awful things happening to her and the people around her, I didn't really feel it. I never felt that I got to know her and maybe it's because she's more of an observer than someone who takes action, but we never really delve into her emotions and character. Which is weird, because she's the one narrating it.

One other thing that bothered me: they let a teenager into the files of all the patients. I mean, hello! Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that?? That rule was broken so many times in The Way We Fall and it got really annoying.

I did think the epidemic was really interesting and I can absolutely imagine everything turning out the way it did. Because really, people get scared. And when people are scared they do things you can't even imagine sitting on your couch wrapped in warm blanket (like I am).
This wasn't a bad book, it just didn't really work for me and I'd expected a little more excitement.

My rating: 2 stars