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tinumorien's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, I was fairly disappointed. I was expecting so much more after hearing good comments from friends. I was expecting a good dystopia novel with hardcore action, but it was kind of soft. I couldn't find myself connecting with the narrator much.
I also felt that the last bit of the book felt very rushed. It was like WOOSH Meredith is sick, Dad is dead, things with Gav are better and Leo is on the boat coming back. I really don't see how and why that would happen. Also, why would they all of a sudden let a ferry come back to the island if the government didn't check it out first???? I felt it wasn't planned out well. I actually threw my book across the room in frustration because of the horrible ending.
Other than that, the book is a super easy read. I read it in a day, and the language is too simple for my taste. Again, that's just my taste. Others may prefer this style much more. Kind of a 'meh' book.
I also felt that the last bit of the book felt very rushed. It was like WOOSH Meredith is sick, Dad is dead, things with Gav are better and Leo is on the boat coming back. I really don't see how and why that would happen. Also, why would they all of a sudden let a ferry come back to the island if the government didn't check it out first???? I felt it wasn't planned out well. I actually threw my book across the room in frustration because of the horrible ending.
Other than that, the book is a super easy read. I read it in a day, and the language is too simple for my taste. Again, that's just my taste. Others may prefer this style much more. Kind of a 'meh' book.
kaitrosereads's review against another edition
4.0
The Way We Fall is a book that is solidly in the middle for me. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. It definitely made me think though which I liked and I'm sure others will too.
Most of the characters in The Way We Fall fell flat. The heroine, her family, her friend Tessa, they all were pretty one-dimensional. The heroine, Kaelyn, was rather dull and I hate to say it, whiny. There was a lot going on not just with her but the whole island, but all she focused on was her own life. Even when she was trying to help it seemed like she was doing it for the wrong reasons. Her parents and her brother were the same way. They were distant and that went unexplained. They very rarely acted like a family. The only person who had a personality was Gav. He was sweet and funny at times but serious and closed off at others. He was really the only well-rounded character.
One other big flaw with The Way We Fall is that it required a lot of build-up. Nothing happened for so long and even when something did happen it wasn't all that gripping. It took about half the book to set up the story and the set up was dull. Once things finally started happening it was very gripping but definitely took too long to get to that point.
This book is also the first in a new series. Don't worry though there isn't a cliffhanger ending. In fact, everything is almost all resolved at the end. I honestly don't see the point in a sequel. Things could have been tied up in this one. I think it will leave a lot of readers questioning whether or not they will bother with the next book.
The best thing about this book was the romance and the build up of a few other relationships. The virus brings Gav and Kaelyn together but that isn't the reason why they get together. They get to know each other because of the virus but they like each other because of who they are. It was very sweet. The build-up of Tessa and Kaelyn's friendship was also very good. It was thought out and plausible. Once again these are two people brought together by the virus but that isn't what makes them friends. The relationships were some of the best I've read.
Overall, The Way We Fall is one book I recommend checking out from the library. It just needed a bit more development and it would have been fabulous. As it is, if you can make it through the first half of the book you will be enthralled with the second half.
Most of the characters in The Way We Fall fell flat. The heroine, her family, her friend Tessa, they all were pretty one-dimensional. The heroine, Kaelyn, was rather dull and I hate to say it, whiny. There was a lot going on not just with her but the whole island, but all she focused on was her own life. Even when she was trying to help it seemed like she was doing it for the wrong reasons. Her parents and her brother were the same way. They were distant and that went unexplained. They very rarely acted like a family. The only person who had a personality was Gav. He was sweet and funny at times but serious and closed off at others. He was really the only well-rounded character.
One other big flaw with The Way We Fall is that it required a lot of build-up. Nothing happened for so long and even when something did happen it wasn't all that gripping. It took about half the book to set up the story and the set up was dull. Once things finally started happening it was very gripping but definitely took too long to get to that point.
This book is also the first in a new series. Don't worry though there isn't a cliffhanger ending. In fact, everything is almost all resolved at the end. I honestly don't see the point in a sequel. Things could have been tied up in this one. I think it will leave a lot of readers questioning whether or not they will bother with the next book.
The best thing about this book was the romance and the build up of a few other relationships. The virus brings Gav and Kaelyn together but that isn't the reason why they get together. They get to know each other because of the virus but they like each other because of who they are. It was very sweet. The build-up of Tessa and Kaelyn's friendship was also very good. It was thought out and plausible. Once again these are two people brought together by the virus but that isn't what makes them friends. The relationships were some of the best I've read.
Overall, The Way We Fall is one book I recommend checking out from the library. It just needed a bit more development and it would have been fabulous. As it is, if you can make it through the first half of the book you will be enthralled with the second half.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
3.0
The Way We Fall is a story about a small island held hostage by a deadly virus. It's told in a series of letters written by Kaelyn to her estranged best friend Leo. Kaelyn is a teenager who had front view accounts to how fast the virus ravaged a small community that already had its share of diminishing population driven by economic woes. Little by little, her small family had become victim to the disease while her father, the town's microbiologist, worked day and night to stop the contagion. First it was her Uncle Emmett, shot dead while protesting the government's quarantine orders. Then it was her mother who fell victim to the disease. Then it was Drew, her brother, who disappeared soon after Kaelyn had gotten sick. The town was also being run by a group of violent thugs, who thought the best way to get rid of the disease was to shoot anyone with the symptoms. They stole food and destroyed buildings. But amidst the seemingly hopeless situations, a new friendship blossomed and Kaelyn found herself aligning with an unlikely ally.
I was under the impression that this was going to be another dystopian read or at least, post-apocalyptic. It was actually not even close. The contagion was isolated in a small island, so all the bleakness characteristic of those two somewhat similar genres didn't really apply. Can you even consider it post-apocalyptic when the deaths were concentrated on a small island? Pandemic, yes. Dystopian? No, post-apocalyptic? Maybe. But then again, I'm hardly an expert. I have watched movies of similar story lines; a virus spreading like wildfire, killing people in a matter of days, sometimes hours. I had a lot of expectations. I expected to be disturbed by the failing human conditions associated with the chaos. But aside from the gun-toting thugs burning houses and shooting one victim right in front of our characters, I hardly flinched. The onslaught of the virus, the burgeoning spread of the disease, the need to find a cure - all lacked the much needed urgency. I think it has something to do with the way this story was told. Kaelyn's letters/journalized accounts of what was happening on the island was really focused more on her emotional state at the time of writing. It was also her way of trying to repair a damaged friendship with Leo so most of her entries were fond recollections, saturated with contrition. She didn't really have a first hand account of how her father had tried to find a cure, so it was difficult to see how helpless her father was. In the end, the cure was really simple, predictable even.
I don't really know how this story could've been done better. On the one hand, the technique used to tell the story was perfect for what Kaelyn was trying to accomplish. And on the other, the author failed to properly convey all the elemental foundation to this series. I was bogged down with the slowness of the pace and overall lack of descriptive explanations about a lot of things. Yes, I understand that this is a series (like a lot of the YA books nowadays!). But there's a lot to be said about a proper set-up, beginnings, if I may.
I just wasn't that enthusiastic about it all. I found myself straying most of the time, forcing myself to finish even though all I wanted to do was to pick up another book. I was interested enough to see it through, however. Due to its format, this book is heavy on narration. The sparse dialogues didn't alleviate the tedious litany of Kaelyn's voice. Incidentally, I was bed ridden with the flu while I was reading this book so to actually have a first-hand insight to the symptoms probably helped from flouncing mid-way through.
I'm hoping that the mysterious Leo would make an appearance on the next book. Because then perhaps, the monotonous journal entries/letters would cease and I could enjoy this series more.
I was under the impression that this was going to be another dystopian read or at least, post-apocalyptic. It was actually not even close. The contagion was isolated in a small island, so all the bleakness characteristic of those two somewhat similar genres didn't really apply. Can you even consider it post-apocalyptic when the deaths were concentrated on a small island? Pandemic, yes. Dystopian? No, post-apocalyptic? Maybe. But then again, I'm hardly an expert. I have watched movies of similar story lines; a virus spreading like wildfire, killing people in a matter of days, sometimes hours. I had a lot of expectations. I expected to be disturbed by the failing human conditions associated with the chaos. But aside from the gun-toting thugs burning houses and shooting one victim right in front of our characters, I hardly flinched. The onslaught of the virus, the burgeoning spread of the disease, the need to find a cure - all lacked the much needed urgency. I think it has something to do with the way this story was told. Kaelyn's letters/journalized accounts of what was happening on the island was really focused more on her emotional state at the time of writing. It was also her way of trying to repair a damaged friendship with Leo so most of her entries were fond recollections, saturated with contrition. She didn't really have a first hand account of how her father had tried to find a cure, so it was difficult to see how helpless her father was. In the end, the cure was really simple, predictable even.
I don't really know how this story could've been done better. On the one hand, the technique used to tell the story was perfect for what Kaelyn was trying to accomplish. And on the other, the author failed to properly convey all the elemental foundation to this series. I was bogged down with the slowness of the pace and overall lack of descriptive explanations about a lot of things. Yes, I understand that this is a series (like a lot of the YA books nowadays!). But there's a lot to be said about a proper set-up, beginnings, if I may.
I just wasn't that enthusiastic about it all. I found myself straying most of the time, forcing myself to finish even though all I wanted to do was to pick up another book. I was interested enough to see it through, however. Due to its format, this book is heavy on narration. The sparse dialogues didn't alleviate the tedious litany of Kaelyn's voice. Incidentally, I was bed ridden with the flu while I was reading this book so to actually have a first-hand insight to the symptoms probably helped from flouncing mid-way through.
I'm hoping that the mysterious Leo would make an appearance on the next book. Because then perhaps, the monotonous journal entries/letters would cease and I could enjoy this series more.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
3.0
I really hope this isn't the way we fall. But it's just so......possible.
We spend this book through the eyes of a young girl named Kaelyn. And she's writing in a journal - so this is the style of writing - to her best friend Leo. But they fought just before he left, and they haven't spoken since. And she misses him.
But it's in the journal entries, that we notice Kaelyn start to tell Leo what's going on on the island. A friend's strange dad saying crazy things and scratching uncontrollably. Then the friend, coughing and sneezing and itching....and then it really begins.
Although I found this pretty mellow in the world of apocalypse books, I like that about it. It's a lot to take in, the fall of mankind, and I like that it was more mellow than it could be. The horrors and frightening moments weren't always caught at first by Kaelyn and instead the reader is left with this sense of doom as each new scary moment unravels.
I will definitely read the rest of the series.
We spend this book through the eyes of a young girl named Kaelyn. And she's writing in a journal - so this is the style of writing - to her best friend Leo. But they fought just before he left, and they haven't spoken since. And she misses him.
But it's in the journal entries, that we notice Kaelyn start to tell Leo what's going on on the island. A friend's strange dad saying crazy things and scratching uncontrollably. Then the friend, coughing and sneezing and itching....and then it really begins.
Although I found this pretty mellow in the world of apocalypse books, I like that about it. It's a lot to take in, the fall of mankind, and I like that it was more mellow than it could be. The horrors and frightening moments weren't always caught at first by Kaelyn and instead the reader is left with this sense of doom as each new scary moment unravels.
I will definitely read the rest of the series.
haley_j_casey's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. I flew through it. But I also didn't feel like there was enough emotion in it. Because I lot of terrible things happened, things that would have broken me and kept me broken far longer than they did Kaelyn. And maybe she's just stronger than I am, and there were parts of the book I loved, and I'm eager to read the next one. But still. I would have liked it to go deeper than it did because there were so many opportunities for it to do just that.
triggerkat's review against another edition
4.0
Review to come when I'm not in a hotel on vacation with crappy internet!
bookswithlukas's review against another edition
2.0
Who knew medical disasters could be so boring?
I really hate it when the best thing I have to say about a book is that it's readable. There really should be more positives for a book than that, sadly, this is not the case with this one though. I was tempted to give it three stars, simply because I read it quite quickly, but the truth is, it's simply not that good, and I probably won't remember much at all of it in a month.
This new trilogy (oh boy) kind of fits into the dystopia/post apocalyptic genre, except this time it focuses around a medical disaster, with a new virus contaminating everyone on a small island. Sounds kind of exciting, right? THINK AGAIN. As per usual, our heroine must find a way to beat the virus and save the people she loves before it's too late.Blah blah blah blah.
My biggest issue with this story was that it doesn't really go anywhere. Our 'heroine', if you can really call her that, basically just sits around waiting as one person dies after another. The repetition of it got a little old. First her mum gets the virus and dies, then her niece gets the virus, then her dads murdered…it's all so depressing and typical to the point where when one persons coughed it, you kind of know someone else is about to be in the firing line.
The characters are also extremely flat, and I mean really really flat. I know the situation is depressing, but there is not even a tiny bit of humour here to elevate the characters personalities, or even a attempt at character development at all really. Everyone has been moulded into the typical YA moulds that you read in every book, except they've been made as uninteresting as possible.
One of my biggest issues with the book though was that these 15 year olds, do not act 15 in the slightest, and they all seem to conveniently have these specialist subjects that are somehow useful in creating their new world during the virus outbreak. Our MC is practically an encyclopaedia when it comes to animal behaviour. Her friend Tessa is some kind of gardening whiz who knows how to grow medicinal crops. Tell me of a 15 year old, who happens to be an avid gardner? I mean, seriously, pleeeease.
The whole book is also written in journal form, which is not something I usually mind, in truth I usually quite enjoy it. But in this book, the whole journal is written to this boy Leo that she used to fancy, like two years ago, and who she doesn't speak to anymore because they had a falling out….. I. JUST. DIDN'T. CARE. Also...Ick!
Overall, this was a very disappointing book, and while I did read it quite fast, I can't say I could recommend this to anyone with a good conscience. It's the definition of 'meh' for me. Will I read the sequel though? Probably, but only because I'm a masochist, who hates not knowing what happens after a cliffhanger ending, dam you Megan Crewe!
I really hate it when the best thing I have to say about a book is that it's readable. There really should be more positives for a book than that, sadly, this is not the case with this one though. I was tempted to give it three stars, simply because I read it quite quickly, but the truth is, it's simply not that good, and I probably won't remember much at all of it in a month.
This new trilogy (oh boy) kind of fits into the dystopia/post apocalyptic genre, except this time it focuses around a medical disaster, with a new virus contaminating everyone on a small island. Sounds kind of exciting, right? THINK AGAIN. As per usual, our heroine must find a way to beat the virus and save the people she loves before it's too late.
Spoiler
SPOILER: Pretty much everyone dies, she kind of sucks at saving people.My biggest issue with this story was that it doesn't really go anywhere. Our 'heroine', if you can really call her that, basically just sits around waiting as one person dies after another. The repetition of it got a little old. First her mum gets the virus and dies, then her niece gets the virus, then her dads murdered…it's all so depressing and typical to the point where when one persons coughed it, you kind of know someone else is about to be in the firing line.
The characters are also extremely flat, and I mean really really flat. I know the situation is depressing, but there is not even a tiny bit of humour here to elevate the characters personalities, or even a attempt at character development at all really. Everyone has been moulded into the typical YA moulds that you read in every book, except they've been made as uninteresting as possible.
One of my biggest issues with the book though was that these 15 year olds, do not act 15 in the slightest, and they all seem to conveniently have these specialist subjects that are somehow useful in creating their new world during the virus outbreak. Our MC is practically an encyclopaedia when it comes to animal behaviour. Her friend Tessa is some kind of gardening whiz who knows how to grow medicinal crops. Tell me of a 15 year old, who happens to be an avid gardner? I mean, seriously, pleeeease.
The whole book is also written in journal form, which is not something I usually mind, in truth I usually quite enjoy it. But in this book, the whole journal is written to this boy Leo that she used to fancy, like two years ago, and who she doesn't speak to anymore because they had a falling out….. I. JUST. DIDN'T. CARE. Also...
Spoiler
....guess who makes a surprise entrance on the very last page…..*drumroll* Oh my god! It's LEO!Overall, this was a very disappointing book, and while I did read it quite fast, I can't say I could recommend this to anyone with a good conscience. It's the definition of 'meh' for me. Will I read the sequel though? Probably, but only because I'm a masochist, who hates not knowing what happens after a cliffhanger ending, dam you Megan Crewe!
jscarpa14's review against another edition
4.0
RECEIVED FROM: Net Galley For Review
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
An unknown virus has arrived in Kaelyn’s island town in Canada. It begins with symptoms similar to the flu then progresses to victims losing their social inhibitions. After that they begin to hallucinate often becoming violent before finally they’re dead. Medical professionals are stumped, government organizations have been brought in and the island has been quarantined. Violence erupts around her as the world she’s known falls apart. Will she survive to find the cure or will the sickness and violence kill her before hope is found?
This novel was phenomenal. The way it was written was extremely original and because of the method chosen I think it was all the more gripping. Kaelyn is writing a letter/journal to her former best friend Leo. She begins the journal as way to think of some way of apologizing and reestablishing their friendship when he returns from dance school. She ends up using it to chronicle the virus from the outbreak on. I’m not usually one for deadly virus movies or books, they’ve never been my cup of tea but I think because of the way it was written, because it’s pretty much impossible not to become emotionally involved with this character I couldn’t put this book down. It’s not so much fast paced as it is gripping. A lot happens in the novel, but we’re reading the story as almost a journal entry so it’s less the action that compels you to move from page to page and more the emotion of the character writing the journal. I don’t believe I’ve ever read anything like it before and I have to say I’m counting the days until the sequel comes out to read more. While it does offer a little in the form of teen angst it’s more of a struggle to survive and overcome a virus that they cannot fight. I think the most compelling portions of the novel are those during which Kaelyn has the virus herself and you can observe her thoughts is meant for arrives. I understand why we don’t receive the closure that I wanted so desperately, it’s because it wouldn’t make sense in the format the story was written, but that doesn’t make me as her mind is falling to pieces. The only thing I can’t say I liked was the ending. Because it’s told in a journal letter format you don’t really know what happens when the ferry and the person the letter journalwant that closure any less. In a way the story offers a full story arc even though the ending doesn’t really offer the closure I personally desired. Though I did have a couple of questions such as why Kaelyn would bother to maintain a separate residence from her love interest Gav considering the circumstances they met and now live in, in a way I understood it. And it wasn’t like there weren’t any instances in the book where I was inclined to tantrum about character stupidity. Considering the ages of the characters their behavior was courageous and intelligent through each scene. The story is less action packed and more an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end that leaves you wanting more. This is a story of friendship, love and survival that is irresistibly gripping.
The character development in this novel is hard to describe. It’s a journal so it’s not only that we’re seeing this through just one character’s point of view, we’re also only seeing the parts of the characters that Kaelyn feels are worth mentioning to Leo. Considering that I don’t believe you can expect the same sort of fully developed characters you’d find in a regular novel. Despite that the numerous secondary characters in the novel are distinctive and fairly well developed. We gain an insight into each character but at the same time a lot of the other characters remain a mystery because those characters are kind of tinted through Kaelyn’s impressions which she’s filtered for Leo. Even though Leo isn’t present in the novel because of the way she’s speaking to him in her journal and reminiscing things that came before he’s a fairly well developed character that I hope we have the opportunity to actually meet in the future. Considering the way the book was written I felt the characters were exceptionally well developed. Obviously Kaelyn is the most developed character because she’s the one telling the story. What I loved about this character is that she isn’t perfect; she’s socially inept, frightened all the time and trying to figure out how to grow up long before she should because she doesn’t have any other options. She’s a believable character that’s extremely easy to relate to and become emotionally invested in.
Overall The Way We Fall is not a book to be missed. I’d most definitely recommend it to young adult readers especially those who enjoy Dystopian novels. Honestly I think it would also appeal to most adult readers as well.
***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***
An unknown virus has arrived in Kaelyn’s island town in Canada. It begins with symptoms similar to the flu then progresses to victims losing their social inhibitions. After that they begin to hallucinate often becoming violent before finally they’re dead. Medical professionals are stumped, government organizations have been brought in and the island has been quarantined. Violence erupts around her as the world she’s known falls apart. Will she survive to find the cure or will the sickness and violence kill her before hope is found?
This novel was phenomenal. The way it was written was extremely original and because of the method chosen I think it was all the more gripping. Kaelyn is writing a letter/journal to her former best friend Leo. She begins the journal as way to think of some way of apologizing and reestablishing their friendship when he returns from dance school. She ends up using it to chronicle the virus from the outbreak on. I’m not usually one for deadly virus movies or books, they’ve never been my cup of tea but I think because of the way it was written, because it’s pretty much impossible not to become emotionally involved with this character I couldn’t put this book down. It’s not so much fast paced as it is gripping. A lot happens in the novel, but we’re reading the story as almost a journal entry so it’s less the action that compels you to move from page to page and more the emotion of the character writing the journal. I don’t believe I’ve ever read anything like it before and I have to say I’m counting the days until the sequel comes out to read more. While it does offer a little in the form of teen angst it’s more of a struggle to survive and overcome a virus that they cannot fight. I think the most compelling portions of the novel are those during which Kaelyn has the virus herself and you can observe her thoughts is meant for arrives. I understand why we don’t receive the closure that I wanted so desperately, it’s because it wouldn’t make sense in the format the story was written, but that doesn’t make me as her mind is falling to pieces. The only thing I can’t say I liked was the ending. Because it’s told in a journal letter format you don’t really know what happens when the ferry and the person the letter journalwant that closure any less. In a way the story offers a full story arc even though the ending doesn’t really offer the closure I personally desired. Though I did have a couple of questions such as why Kaelyn would bother to maintain a separate residence from her love interest Gav considering the circumstances they met and now live in, in a way I understood it. And it wasn’t like there weren’t any instances in the book where I was inclined to tantrum about character stupidity. Considering the ages of the characters their behavior was courageous and intelligent through each scene. The story is less action packed and more an emotional roller coaster from beginning to end that leaves you wanting more. This is a story of friendship, love and survival that is irresistibly gripping.
The character development in this novel is hard to describe. It’s a journal so it’s not only that we’re seeing this through just one character’s point of view, we’re also only seeing the parts of the characters that Kaelyn feels are worth mentioning to Leo. Considering that I don’t believe you can expect the same sort of fully developed characters you’d find in a regular novel. Despite that the numerous secondary characters in the novel are distinctive and fairly well developed. We gain an insight into each character but at the same time a lot of the other characters remain a mystery because those characters are kind of tinted through Kaelyn’s impressions which she’s filtered for Leo. Even though Leo isn’t present in the novel because of the way she’s speaking to him in her journal and reminiscing things that came before he’s a fairly well developed character that I hope we have the opportunity to actually meet in the future. Considering the way the book was written I felt the characters were exceptionally well developed. Obviously Kaelyn is the most developed character because she’s the one telling the story. What I loved about this character is that she isn’t perfect; she’s socially inept, frightened all the time and trying to figure out how to grow up long before she should because she doesn’t have any other options. She’s a believable character that’s extremely easy to relate to and become emotionally invested in.
Overall The Way We Fall is not a book to be missed. I’d most definitely recommend it to young adult readers especially those who enjoy Dystopian novels. Honestly I think it would also appeal to most adult readers as well.
paradoxically's review against another edition
3.0
I am such a sucker for books like this. The world is falling around the characters (usually for unknown reasons, but this time it is very plainly laid out that there's this virus and it's sweeping through the island) and they need to find a way to survive. The Way We Fall is written in journal format, with the main character, Kaelyn, writing to her friend Leo, a boy she hasn't spoken to in a couple of years. She chronicles from before the very beginnings of the virus, detailing what's happening in her small island community and what's happening to her personally.
It's less what Kaelyn can do to beat the virus (which amounts to very little as, you know, no medical training) and more on how she focuses on keeping her family together, how she tries to help the other people around her even as she's terrified for herself and the people she loves. The novel shows the breakdown of society on the island, but also the way people band together.
I've never been in love with the journal format (honestly, I was so close to not even starting to read the book), but it does work out pretty well. Kaelyn is pretty dramatic at times, but then I forgive her because she's sixteen and also because everyone around her is dropping like flies. She tries though, and you can feel it, her fear and determination. It's just, thinking back, I had fun reading the book, but I was never all that emotionally involved. I liked a few characters, but when they did I just sort of shrugged and moved on (which is never a great sign when reading). The beginning is a bit slow, but it really picks up speed once the virus really gets rolling and lots of people get sick.
I think that, as enjoyable as I found the book, in the end I felt like what Kaelyn did/does doesn't matter. And that's fine, I don't need my main characters to be the hero, but for some reason, in this book, it bugged me a bit. Who knows why. It's still an interesting read though. Just not as engrossing as I may have wanted it to be. 3 stars.
It's less what Kaelyn can do to beat the virus (which amounts to very little as, you know, no medical training) and more on how she focuses on keeping her family together, how she tries to help the other people around her even as she's terrified for herself and the people she loves. The novel shows the breakdown of society on the island, but also the way people band together.
I've never been in love with the journal format (honestly, I was so close to not even starting to read the book), but it does work out pretty well. Kaelyn is pretty dramatic at times, but then I forgive her because she's sixteen and also because everyone around her is dropping like flies. She tries though, and you can feel it, her fear and determination. It's just, thinking back, I had fun reading the book, but I was never all that emotionally involved. I liked a few characters, but when they did I just sort of shrugged and moved on (which is never a great sign when reading). The beginning is a bit slow, but it really picks up speed once the virus really gets rolling and lots of people get sick.
I think that, as enjoyable as I found the book, in the end I felt like what Kaelyn did/does doesn't matter. And that's fine, I don't need my main characters to be the hero, but for some reason, in this book, it bugged me a bit. Who knows why. It's still an interesting read though. Just not as engrossing as I may have wanted it to be. 3 stars.
bookishadvocate's review against another edition
5.0
So fitting for the current situation we live in. A virus is taking over an island town too fast to get a grip on. Everyone around the protagonist is dying, and her world is thrown upside down. It's written in journal form to a friend who moved off the island, which I enjoyed. I really couldn't put this book down, devoured it in a few hours. I highly recommend it! Made me want to read more from this author and I haven't read fiction in a long time. It's like she predicted Covid.