Did Not Finish Explanation
Received: ARC from publisher, via NetGalley
Read pages: 210 of 309
I debated trying to stick it out until the end, but I can't bring myself to do that. It's not that The Way We Fall is a BAD book, because it's not. It's just not a good match with me.
I'm extremely picky about post-apocalyptic books (this isn't exactly post-apoc, but it's close enough). I want them to be realistic, horrifying, or exciting (or all three) with an intelligent MC. I want to really feel terrified and horrified by events (if you've read Cormac McCarthy's The Road, think the basement scene. Yikes!).
To me, The Way We Fall fell short on every marker.
Kaelyn wasn't painfully stupid, but she did make a number of questionable choices that added needless risk. If she had been plunked into a more realistic post-apoc story, then she totally would have been killed. She also struck me as much younger than she was supposed to be. I think she was supposed to be 16, but her actions, mindset, and narrative voice felt more like MG than YA.
The Way We Fall is also a VERY sanitized version of a post-apoc book. Think of it more like post-apoc lite, or post-apoc for the MG set. There is danger, and people do die, but the deaths seemed inserted more for trite shock value than realism, the disease never felt scary, and the societal collapse lacked gritty realism. It all felt like a paint-by-numbers version of a post-apoc book: all the points were hit, but everything lacked the emotion or life I want to see in a book.
The characters also felt one-dimensional. While the book is narrated in the first person using a diary entry/letter writing format, I had very little handle on the MC's personality beyond a few surface traits. Her voice was so generic that if I hadn't been told, I would have had a difficult time even guessing the sex of the MC.
The other characters are even thinner, primarily defined by simplistic labels. The boys Kaelyn meets later on were gratingly one-dimensional. The "good" guy is a paragon of virtue, while the "badness" of the other boys is stressed to the point where it felt patronizing.
My biggest complaint is probably my complete lack of emotional response to anything. People are dying! Lots of people! Kaelyn loses people she is very close to, and yet...I felt nothing. I couldn't care less. I wasn't scared. I wasn't at the edge of my seat. I wasn't anything.
The story plods along with nothing much happening and Kaelyn's dispassionate letters did nothing to engage me. It's less that the pace is slow, and more that Kaelyn is just distanced from everything. The plot is also riddled with irrelevant asides that I imagine are supposed to add depth but did little except muddy the narrative (a gay son whose sexuality is a Big Deal in one chapter in the beginning but has no relevance outside of that initial introduction. A similar conflict-that-isn't about the MC's mixed race. An aunt who left her family and the emotional damage that...never manifested in any relevant way, and so on).
The shorter page count, tiny chapters (2-7 pages on average), and simplistic voice make The Way We Fall a very easy read. The sexless quality to the narrative may help The Way We Fall appeal to boys as well as girls, making this a decent pick for the classroom. The "lite" aspects may also make this appealing to middle school classrooms, where discussion can be had over the situation without worrying about traumatizing younger readers. But, keep in mind, I didn't read the last 100 pages, so while what I did read seems more MG, I can't speak for the entire book.
This is a Disney book and the recommended age range is 12 and up, which seems about right. Unfortunately for me, I am too old and too picky for this book.
Have you read The Way We Fall?
I hope you liked it more than I did!
(hmm...I just realized now that I am scheduling this to appear on Valentine's Day. I should probably mention that this post is in no way a reflection of my feelings on Valentine's Day. I associate Valentine's Day with happy things like loads of chocolate--not death, plague, and destruction! Although, I think a little chocolate might be just the thing to brighten up a post-apocalyptic situation, don't you?)
What do you look for in a dystopian/post-apocalyptic book?
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I hope you liked it more than I did!
(hmm...I just realized now that I am scheduling this to appear on Valentine's Day. I should probably mention that this post is in no way a reflection of my feelings on Valentine's Day. I associate Valentine's Day with happy things like loads of chocolate--not death, plague, and destruction! Although, I think a little chocolate might be just the thing to brighten up a post-apocalyptic situation, don't you?)
What do you look for in a dystopian/post-apocalyptic book?
