Review Detail

The Lives We Lost was just as captivating as The Way We Fall. If you haven't read The Way We Fall yet, stop reading this right now and go order a copy of that book first. This isn't a series that I would suggest jumping into in the middle of it. From the moment I read the synopsis of TWWF I knew I wanted to read it. I am fascinated by the spread of deadly viruses and I enjoy reading nonfiction books like The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story and ,Virus X: Tracking the New Killer Plagues, so I was incredibly interested in reading a YA fiction book with the same topic. This series is much more realistic than many other YA books in this genre because no one turns into a zombie or monster from this disease and it could really happen. Viruses like this have taken hold of the world in the not-so-distant past, which makes these books scarier to me than any fiction horror story.

The Lives We Lost starts off right where TWWF ended. Kaelyn and her handful of friends (and her cousin) from the island that have survived the virus has also torn across the country, and probably the entire world. She finds her dad's key to the research center and discovers a vaccine he was in the process of testing when he was killed. Since there is only one doctor on the island and she is unable to test and duplicate the virus, Kaelyn and her friends decide to leave the island in search of a doctor who can help her replicate the virus. They encounter many horrific situations along the way and the worse it got, the more I found myself cheering them on and hoping that they would find the person that could help them.

Kaelyn is one of my favorite heroines. She is not naturally an outgoing person, but she is caring, selfless, and brave even when she is afraid. I have read so many books with wimpy, whiny female main characters lately so Kaelyn was an absolute breath of fresh air. She has been through so much and never gave up, not when she felt she could possibly help others out.

I waited until The Lives We Lost were out to read The Way We Fall so that I could read straight through to the second book, but now I have to wait almost a year until the third book is out! I am so bummed, I can't wait to read the third installment of this series! I would recommend this series to everyone. :)