The Lives We Lost
(Fallen World #2)
by Megan Crewe
Release Date: 12 Feb 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: Purchased
Page Count: 288
Goodreads synopsis:
First, the virus took Kaelyn’s friends. Then, her family. Now it’s taken away her home.
But she can't look back—the life she once had is gone forever.
A deadly virus has destroyed Kaelyn’s small island community and spread beyond the quarantine. No one is safe. But when Kaelyn finds samples of a vaccine in her father's abandoned lab, she knows there must be someone, somewhere, who can replicate it. As Kaelyn and her friends head to the mainland, they encounter a world beyond recognition. It’s not only the “friendly flu” that’s a killer—there are people who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the vaccine. How much will Kaelyn risk for an unproven cure, when the search could either destroy those she loves or save the human race?
Megan Crewe's second volume in the Fallen World trilogy is an action-packed journey that explores the resilience of friendship, the ache of lost love, and Kaelyn’s enduring hope in the face of the sacrifices she must make to stay alive.
There are quite a few sophomore series books releasing this year, but this was one that I was so looking forward to reading! I loved the first book in the series, The Way We Fall, so much that I had to pre-order this one. In this second book, the story focuses on Kaelyn finding samples of a possible vaccine that her father had created and venturing off the island with her friends to find someone who can reproduce it. Then hopefully the vaccine can be administered to those that have survived thus far. An innumerable amount of people have suffered the effects of the virus and eventually succumbed to their deaths. So while they are trying to find a scientist, doctor, or researcher who could do this - among the vicious population of people that are left doing what they can to survive - Kaelyn and her crew are doing what they can, themselves, to survive and avoid contracting the virus. This is all happening during the winter by the way. They're freezing cold, constantly having to find shelter and food, avoid marauders, and trek countless miles in the snow. Oh and also another thing - Kae has to ensure that the vaccine is kept at an optimum temperature in its cold storage box. It can't get too warm or too cold (that it freezes) or it could be worthless and their efforts would have been for nothing.
Talk about a survival story! I thought the amount of overwhelming challenges and obstacles they met were realistic and was glad that they weren't often presented with lucky breaks. I think their bit of naiveté in the beginning was necessary for them to quickly learn the nature of their situation and the behaviors of their fellow survivors. It hardened them and helped them to become extremely cautious, but they were still able to retain their sense of humanity. I think if you haven't read the first book in this series, you wouldn't be too lost just reading this story, but you would definitely have to read the third book if you want to know what happens in the end with Kae and the gang. I read the first book right after it came out about a year ago, so I forgot some things, but this second book had just the right amount of recap to refresh my memory and put me back into Kae's world. I would recommend that you do read the first book though since you will have more sense of the relationship between them all - Kaelyn, Leo, Gavin, Meredith, and Tessa. I freaking love the book cover. I also love the first and (pending) third book covers for this series and love how pronounced, consistent, but different they are. I love this series and I'm impatiently awaiting book three to be released!
My Rating:
♥... Heather
