Monday, February 06, 2012

Mini Reviews: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe and Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald

From Goodreads: 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?

My Rating: 3.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe is a book that imagines would happen if a relatively isolated community were to suffer an outbreak of a new and unknown virus. How would the government react? How would members of the community deal with the situation? What’s nice about the novel is that because the story is set on an island, quarantining people actually becomes a plausible solution. When that happens of course, emotions get heightened and the best and worst in people are brought out.

Although Crewe escalates the situation gradually to increase tension, I never felt a sense of urgency to turn the pages as quickly as possible. Part of this was because of the slow pacing and part of it was because the book was narrated in the form of diary entries to Leo, Kaelyn’s ex-best friend who we learn a little about but only appears right before the abrupt ending. The entries were written obviously after things already happened so it felt a little like I was reading about Kaelyn’s past. This sort of made it hard to completely connect with the characters, and made me feel as if I was watching the action from a distance.   

The Way We Fall was released by Disney-Hyperion in January 2012.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Disney-Hyperion) for free via NetGalley.
original image from thegate.ca
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From Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Sadie is in love: epic, heartfelt, and utterly onesided. The object of her obsession - ahem, affection - is her best friend, Garrett Delaney, who has been oblivious to Sadie's feelings ever since he sauntered into her life and wowed her with his passion for Proust (not to mention his deep-blue eyes). For two long, painful years, Sadie has been Garrett's constant companion, sharing his taste in everything from tragic Russian literature to art films to '80s indie rock - all to no avail. But when Garrett leaves for a summer literary retreat, Sadie is sure that the absence will make his heart grow fonder - until he calls to say he's fallen in love. With some other girl! A heartbroken Sadie realizes that she's finally had enough. It's time for total Garrett detox! Aided by a barista job, an eclectic crew of new friends (including the hunky chef, Josh), and a customized selfhelp guide, Sadie embarks on a summer of personal reinvention full of laughter, mortifying meltdowns, and a double shot of love. 

My Rating: 3 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: When reading Getting Over Garrett Delaney by Abby McDonald, expect a book that’s slow and doesn’t have much romance since McDonald’s latest book is more about self-discovery as Sadie attempts to find out who she is without the influence of Garrett.  

Garrett was around a little bit in the beginning part of the novel, but because he soon leaves for camp, I didn’t get as annoyed at Sadie for obsessing over Garrett as I would have normally. I mean, she falls in love with him pretty much instantly after she spots him for the first time, and immediately thinks they’re fated to be together just because she’s sitting next to the only free table in the room. Two years later, Garrett – who didn’t really leave a good first impression on me – still has no clue his best friend is in love with him because Sadie is too chicken, I guess, to tell him that she’d like to be more than friends. Once Sadie realizes that she needs to get over Garrett though, I liked her much more. It was fun seeing her twelve steps to detoxify herself of Garrett and hang out with new people who had such different personalities and backstories from each other and him. 

Getting Over Garrett Delaney was released in January 2012 by Candlewick Press 2012.

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Candlewick Press) for free via NetGalley.  

11 comments:

  1. Great reviews. I'm really interesting in the way we fall. Good to know the pace is slower bt it sounds so intriguing I still want to give it a go! :)

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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  2. I read a book similar to "Getting over Garrett" but I wished the character grew more and realized how stupid she was earlier on in the book. It's a like a bulb would flicker with light and then it would go out again. Thanks for the heads up for the slow pace and lack of romance in "Getting Over Garrett". I think I'll skip that one for now.

    p.s. I love your Pooh icon for Canadian authors. He's so adorable!

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  3. I alwys love your mini reviews my dear! they go directly to the point! =D The Way We Fall seems like a good read but not addicitve in any ways. Sometimes I dont feel the urge to turn and turn pages yet, I still enjoy them!

    great reviews my dear ^.^

    Dazzling Reads

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  4. It was odd that in The Way We Fall, we're reading Kae's personal letters, yet there is a big disconnect, huh.

    Getting Over Garrett Delaney sounds cute. I don't necessary feel the need to run out and read it, but I'm glad to know more about it.

    Thanks, Z!

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  5. I read a book before that was told from diary entries and also found it hard to connect so I'm guessing that I'll probably have the same problem with The Way We Fall.

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  6. I agree Zahida, The Way We Fall was definitely a bit slow. I just felt really heavy while reading it, and while it didn't take me long to finish, it seemed like I was reading it for much longer. Still a really fascinating premise though, definitely made me want to shower and live in a germ-free bubble after reading!

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  7. From the summary, I would never have guesed that the Way We FAll was slow. Too bad. I get bored too easy. And along with the disconnect, probably not for me.

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  8. Ohhhh, I had no idea that this book was told through diary entries before! I find that books written in those kinds of ways are always a little harder to get into, but the whole premise of the book still sounds really cool! And it's too bad that you didn't like GOGD as much as you hoped to! If I ever have the chance to read it, I'll probably be cheering for the time when Sadie decides to get over Garrett too haha! ;)

    Awesome mini-reviews, Z! I always love reading your mini ones because they get out the overall picture and major points quickly and efficiently! :) <3

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  9. Great two mini reviews!!! The Way We Fall is totally on my tbr list however the slow pace is a bit of a bummer. I didn't know it was a bunch of diary entries either! Oh well I think I'll still read this one later or borrow it. I haven't heard of the other one but it definitely doesn't fit my taste! Once again awesome mini reviews :)

    Jaskirat~SeeitORreadit

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  10. Nicely reviewed! I love the mini review thing, I keep meaning to do that, too. I usually only post short ones to GoodReads, but there's no reason why the little ones can't go on the blog, too. :D Appreciate hearing your thoughts on both those books, which are on my TBR list.

    ***

    Australian YA author Rebecca shares her favorite romantic book scene at The Midnight Garden!

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  11. I agree about The Way We Fall. I ended up DNF-ing it because I never really felt into it the way I wanted to be.

    Your Pooh icon is adorable :)

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