Review: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Title: The Way We Fall
Author: Megan Crewe
Publication date: January 24th
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Age group: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction- Dystopia
Cover rating: 3/5
Content rating: 4/5
Buy: Amazon

Description via Goodreads: 

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?

My thoughts: 

The Way We Fall is a captivating and scary novel told through letters. Kaelyn's island has fallen victim to a deadly virus that is quickly sweeping its way through the population. Kaelyn tells this story with letters to an ex-friend of hers who now lives off the island. I thought the letters were heartfelt and well told, but I didn't find Kaelyn's voice all that convincing. She just seemed so much younger than sixteen to me though this did get slightly better towards the end of the book. Other than that, I loved it! I was completely drawn in from the very first page and dying to know what was going to happen to Kaelyn and her community. There is a lot of description in the book- though not too much- and Kaelyn's world is really brought to life. I could easily picture this terrifying situation in a regular setting. This book isn't a happy one... it's quite depressing and dark, actually. But that is simply the reality of an island being destroyed by an illness. The world was very convincing. It was fascinating to watch how differently everyone reacted to the situation- some people did everything they could to help out others, and some just went crazy and prefer to take a destructive route to ending it all. There is a huge level of distrust within the island, between the islanders themselves and of the government which basically abandons them and lets them fend for themselves. The romance was believable and the friendships and family relationships very sweet! I didn't want to set this book down and was so eager to find out how everything was going to go. I'm not sure how I feel about it being series. It would be nice for a YA novel to be a standalone for once but I will certainly be reading the sequel whenever it is out!