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msseviereads's review
4.0
Don't read this if you're coughing or have any inkling of getting a cold. I seriously don't know why I read this kind of books -- they freak me out. Everyone getting sick, a virus that spreads and wipes out the population-- what is wrong with me?
And yet, this was a great book. The characters were believable and the situations of looting and pulling together in one house were realistic.
Great read!
And yet, this was a great book. The characters were believable and the situations of looting and pulling together in one house were realistic.
Great read!
sarahbeesley's review
4.0
ack. this book was stressful! really interesting to read but I'm a little curious how they made a 3 part series... it feels essentially wrapped up w/ the 1st one.
skywalkersyd's review against another edition
4.0
This book totally did a complete turn around for me. For the first half I wasn't feeling this book at all and there were no characters I felt a connection with, but as the story developed I found that I couldn't put it down. Im not a big fan of having a pointless love interest, but the love interest for our main character is awesome, and he actually teaches her to protect herself instead of having her be a damsel in distress 25/8. This book was so extremely intriguing to read that I'm writing this at 4:30am because I couldn't put it down. I was excited to read this book and it lived up to my expectations completely.
jennilind's review
5.0
[b:The Way We Fall|8573632|The Way We Fall (Fallen World, #1)|Megan Crewe|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316718389s/8573632.jpg|13442456] gives good atmosphere.
The book has a simple overall premise: A small island, not far from the coast of Canada, is suddenly overcome with a flu-like disease that begins rapidly killing people off as the government places the island in quarantine and they lose access to be able to reach anyone outside of the island itself -- and manages to wonderfully build up what that experience could be like.
This story has a very limited viewpoint - that of a young girl named Kaelyn - who is confused about what's happening while on an island closed off from the rest of the world. Kaelyn doesn't have a god-like omni-present knowledge and she shouldn't. If this situation was to happen, and this story truly gives you a feeling that this really could happen, then you would be left in the dark just as much as she is.
So, what do you do with a story set like that then? You build atmosphere. You build survival. You build human created chaos in the face of mass hysteria due to a sickness and that aforementioned lack of information. This story has an abundance of that and I absolutely loved it.
Some favorite passages:
“This is what we do. We make tea and read books and watch people die.”
"We're on a cliff, all of us, and surviving isn't about who's the best or the brightest. It's about holding on as long as we can and trying, and failing, and trying again until we've inched a little closer to getting through this."
The book has a simple overall premise: A small island, not far from the coast of Canada, is suddenly overcome with a flu-like disease that begins rapidly killing people off as the government places the island in quarantine and they lose access to be able to reach anyone outside of the island itself -- and manages to wonderfully build up what that experience could be like.
This story has a very limited viewpoint - that of a young girl named Kaelyn - who is confused about what's happening while on an island closed off from the rest of the world. Kaelyn doesn't have a god-like omni-present knowledge and she shouldn't. If this situation was to happen, and this story truly gives you a feeling that this really could happen, then you would be left in the dark just as much as she is.
So, what do you do with a story set like that then? You build atmosphere. You build survival. You build human created chaos in the face of mass hysteria due to a sickness and that aforementioned lack of information. This story has an abundance of that and I absolutely loved it.
Some favorite passages:
“This is what we do. We make tea and read books and watch people die.”
"We're on a cliff, all of us, and surviving isn't about who's the best or the brightest. It's about holding on as long as we can and trying, and failing, and trying again until we've inched a little closer to getting through this."
helpicantread's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Just drys out
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
piperkitty81's review
4.0
I read this one quickly. It’s exciting and hard to put down. Probably not the best novel to read while dealing with a hacking cough though, since it’s one of the deadly virus symptoms. Lol!
inkygirl's review
5.0
Warning: DON'T start reading this book unless you have a solid chunk of time. Because once you start reading it, it'll be hard to stop. I bought this at the author's launch event, started reading it on the subway on the way home, ended up finishing the book late that night in bed.
I'm a fan of contagion/dystopian YA fiction, and this is one of my faves. Not only is the story thoroughly engrossing, but (unlike so many mainstream contagion stories) the characters are multilayered and the relationships intriguing (my favourite character: Tessa).
Can't wait to read the next in the series!
I'm a fan of contagion/dystopian YA fiction, and this is one of my faves. Not only is the story thoroughly engrossing, but (unlike so many mainstream contagion stories) the characters are multilayered and the relationships intriguing (my favourite character: Tessa).
Can't wait to read the next in the series!
lisaluvsliterature's review
4.0
I was unsure whether to go ahead and post a review of this since it doesn't come out until January, but saw that everyone else seemed to, so here goes.
Again, people call this a dystopian book, but to me this isn't what I consider dystopian. It is science fiction to me. There is a disease that starts to take out a whole island population, I think in Canada. Of course the government decides on a quarantine to keep it contained. This virus starts by making you feel like you have the flu, then you become really friendly and gossipy and will say whatever is on your mind. The main character is Kaelyn, and she first is introduced to this virus when her friend's father who has been sick says some really kind of prejudiced things to her when she is at their house one day. The story is told through her letters that she is writing to a boy who used to be her best friend. She is writing him because she was not nice to him right before he left the island. So we get to see the whole thing through her eyes. We get to hear about the people of the island panicking when they feel that the government has left them to die. Her father is actually a doctor who deals with this type of issue and so he is at the hosptital constantly and Kaelyn and her mother and brother must make it without him. She also has an uncle and cousin on the island, who it ends up they must take care of them as well at a point.
I like the science details, not too detailed for just anyone to read, like a teen, but enough that as someone who would have been really into the science at that age would be sucked in. Maybe it is the fact that I just saw the movie Contagion recently as well, but it was a good book, and I was hooked. Like another review on Goodreads said, it started a bit slow, but once the disease started taking over, I was at a point I didn't want to put it down. Can't wait to put it on my recommendation table at the bookstore where I work!
Again, people call this a dystopian book, but to me this isn't what I consider dystopian. It is science fiction to me. There is a disease that starts to take out a whole island population, I think in Canada. Of course the government decides on a quarantine to keep it contained. This virus starts by making you feel like you have the flu, then you become really friendly and gossipy and will say whatever is on your mind. The main character is Kaelyn, and she first is introduced to this virus when her friend's father who has been sick says some really kind of prejudiced things to her when she is at their house one day. The story is told through her letters that she is writing to a boy who used to be her best friend. She is writing him because she was not nice to him right before he left the island. So we get to see the whole thing through her eyes. We get to hear about the people of the island panicking when they feel that the government has left them to die. Her father is actually a doctor who deals with this type of issue and so he is at the hosptital constantly and Kaelyn and her mother and brother must make it without him. She also has an uncle and cousin on the island, who it ends up they must take care of them as well at a point.
I like the science details, not too detailed for just anyone to read, like a teen, but enough that as someone who would have been really into the science at that age would be sucked in. Maybe it is the fact that I just saw the movie Contagion recently as well, but it was a good book, and I was hooked. Like another review on Goodreads said, it started a bit slow, but once the disease started taking over, I was at a point I didn't want to put it down. Can't wait to put it on my recommendation table at the bookstore where I work!
kerilynnxo's review
2.0
I hate to give this such a low rating. It wasn't a BAD book. I just couldn't connect with the main character. Parts of it had me really bored. The story itself was so promising. I just didn't feel like there was enough action. And some stuff just didn't make sense.