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Kaelyn Weber's lived most of her 16 years on a small island in Canada and she's never had any real desire to leave.  Until now.  With a mysterious virus sweeping through the coastal community, felling everyone in its path, her home no longer feels safe or comforting.  It's become not just dangerous, but deadly.  Especially when the government decides to quarantine the island, blocking all residents—sick or healthy—from leaving.  Anyone who tries, the people soon find out, will be shot.  

As the crisis rages on, food supplies dwindle, medication runs out, and tempers blaze as hot as wildfire.  Before long, the island—once an idyllic vacation spot—looks like a war zone.  It's so bad that Kaelyn doesn't dare go outside without a face mask and a weapon.  The safest thing, she knows, would be to stay inside and pray for a miracle, but Kaelyn's desperate to do something.  She can't just stand by while everyone she loves dies.  She has to help her microbiologist father find a way to stop the epidemic from killing everyone on the island.  But how?  What can she do, especially when something as simple as leaving her house can mean instant death?  When the virus hits too close to home, she must risk everything to save the people she loves.

Told in letters Kaelyn writes to a friend in New York City, The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe tells a tense, harrowing tale.  The story's nothing we haven't seen before, but the setting's a little different and the characters are vivid enough to make the novel compelling.  Although it's not the most original book in the world, I enjoyed The Way We Fall and am definitely looking forward to the sequels (it's the first in a planned trilogy).     

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a lot of The Last Survivors series [Life As We Knew It; The Dead and the Gone; This World We Live In] by Susan Beth Pfeffer; the Gone series [Gone; Hunger; Lies; Plague; Fear; Light] by Michael Grant; and Empty by Suzanne Weyn)

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  R for strong language (a handful of F-bombs, plus milder invectives), violence and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Way We Fall from the generous folks at Disney/Hyperion.  Thank you!

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(Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for An Impartial Witness, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from its predecessor, A Duty to the Dead.  Novels in the Bess Crawford series stand alone better than most, but I still advise—as always—reading books in a series in order.) 

As the summer of 1917 begins, nurse Bess Crawford comes home to England with a convoy of wounded soldiers.  Among them is Lt. Meriwether Evanson, a pilot who's been severely burned.  Despite his extensive injuries, he clings to life, holding fast to the photograph of his wife that is pinned to his shirt.  The depth of Lt. Evanson's hope and love touches Bess, who knows the man will need every ounce of tenderness he can get in order to heal.  

When Bess steps off her train and spies a distraught young woman bidding a tearful goodbye to a handsome officer, she's shocked.  Not because it's an unfamiliar scene—in fact, it's an all too common one—but because the woman is Lt. Evanson's wife.  Bess has seen the pilot's photograph too many times to be  mistaken.  But what is Marjorie Evanson doing here with another man when she should be at the clinic, comforting her suffering husband?  Bess tries to shake the whole thing off, knowing such things happen often enough when men are at war and their wives are left alone and lonely, sometimes for years at a time.  With only 36 hours in England, Bess plans to spend her time resting, not sticking her nose into other people's business.

Bess returns to the trenches in France only to see Marjorie's face again, this time in a newspaper story asking for information about a murder in London.  It seems Bess may have been the last person to see Marjorie Evanson alive.  When Scotland Yard arranges for her to come back to England to help with the case, Bess becomes entangled in the dead woman's world.  As she questions Marjorie's friends and family members, creeping ever closer to the truth behind the woman's murder, Bess puts her own life in jeopardy.  If she can't figure out who the killer is—and fast—she may not live long enough to see him/her brought to justice.  And if there's one thing Bess can't abide, it's loose ends.  She'll track down Marjorie's murderer if it's the last thing she does.  And, with a cold-blooded killer on the loose, it just might be the last thing she does.  

Although I thoroughly enjoyed A Duty to the Dead, the first Bess Crawford mystery, I wasn't as impressed with the second, An Impartial Witness.  I'm not sure why, exactly, except that the cast wearied me a little.  Not Bess.  I still like her, even though she's a bit cold and she uses people (especially the long-suffering Simon Brandon) in a way that's efficient, but often callous.  Her passion makes her admirable.  Rather, it was Marjorie's cronies that bugged me.  Still, the story kept me entertained, if not enthralled.  An Impartial Witness is, so far, my least favorite installment in this series, but it was still intriguing enough to keep me wanting more Bess Crawford.  I like her—did I mention that?  And I'm pretty sure her adventures are just going to keep getting better and better.    

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Bess Crawford series, including A Duty to the Dead; A Bitter Truth; and An Unmarked Grave; also reminds me of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear)

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for mild language (no F-bombs) and violence

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of An Impartial Witness from the generous folks at Harper Collins.  Thank you! 

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After being at the Front for so long, nurse Bess Crawford should welcome an easy week's journey aboard the hospital ship Britannica.  With no wounded soldiers on board, she's free to rest, enjoy the fresh sea air and catch up on her letter writing.  All of which equal a very boring journey, indeed.  As the ship steams toward Greece, Bess is lounging on deck, searching for something—anything—interesting to write home about, when an explosion knocks her off her feet.  Britannic plunges into the sea and Bess, who has just narrowly escaped her death, is sent home to England to recover from her injuries.

Unable to sit still for long, especially not knowing when next she'll have leave, Bess decides to make efficient use of her time at home.  She's waited long enough to fulfill Arthur Graham's dying wish; it's high time she kept her promise to deliver a message to his family.  Bess can't make heads or tails of the cryptic lines—Tell Jonathan I lied.  I did it for Mother's sake.  But it has to be set right.—she's only hoping it means something to the Graham Family.

And it does.  At least Bess thinks it does.  The more time she spends with the Grahams, the less she understands them.  It's obvious, though, that they're hiding something, a family secret so devastating that it haunted Arthur until his dying day.  Bess knows she shouldn't stick her nose in someone else's tragedy, but she can't help herself.  Before she knows it, she's so entangled in the doings of the Graham Family that she can't break away.  Even though a murderer is on the loose.  Even though she's next on his/her list.  The no-nonsense Bess Crawford will not fail to do her duty to the dead, even if it kills her.  And it just might.  

A Duty to the Dead is the first book in the Bess Crawford mystery series by mother-son writing team, Charles Todd.  I don't read a lot of historical mysteries, but this one intrigued me with its compelling characters, atmospheric setting, and absorbing plot.  It didn't have the most original of premises, true, and yet, the story sucked me right in.  Bess' forthright personality does get a little annoying—besides that, though, I enjoyed this one a great deal.  It's clean, it's interesting and, most of all, it kept me entertained.  You can't go wrong with a series that does that, now can you?  

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Bess Crawford series, including An Impartial Witness; A Bitter Truth; and An Unmarked Grave; Also reminds me of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear)

Grade:  B

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG for mild language (no F-bombs) and violence

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find 

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In the not-so-distant future, a crippled U.S. fights for survival.  

In desperation, American scientists create an army of "engineered organic beings" to battle the country's enemies.  

These "Partials" look like humans, but are, in fact, super soldiers.  Super fast.  Super strong.  They don't love, don't hate, don't reproduce.  They are nearly indestructible.

When the Partials turn on their creators, a bloody war ensues.  

Only 40,000 humans survive.

Crammed together on Long Island, the people who remain live in fear of the next Partial attack.   

The super soldiers have not been seen in 11 years, but everyone knows they're out there.  Just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

That moment is now.  

The human world is already in chaos.  Women are being forced to bear children at ever younger ages.  Not that it matters.  Babies don't survive in this new world.  Every one of them is born with RM, the deadly virus the Partials unleashed during their war with the humans over a decade ago.  And yet, the so-called "Hope Act" demands that women do their civic duty, birthing as many children as possible in the hope that a healthy new generation will emerge.

As the Voice—a group of rebels fighting for their right to procreate only when and if they want—sows discontent among the law-abiding citizens of East Meadow, the threat of civil war looms. 

Between the Partial menace, the dying babies and the in-fighting, extinction is only a matter of time for what's left of the human race.  

A very short amount of time.  

Kira Walker, a 16-year-old medic-in-training, can't let her people die.  She must find a solution.  But how?  How can she possibly succeed when so many others have failed?  Only by trying something that's never been tried before.  Something crazy.  Something dangerous.  Something impossible.   

No, it's not Battlestar Galactica (although I have to agree that the plots are a little too similar), it's Partials, the first book in a new YA dystopian series by horror writer Dan Wells.  As you can probably tell, the story speeds along, with plenty of action to keep it moving.  An exciting, entertaining ride, for sure.  Wells does take the time to build his dystopian world, fleshing it out with enough historical and political detail to bore some readers.  Not this one.  To me, all the background information makes Kira's world more believable.  It helped me not just to understand the society, but also to care about its salvation.     

Although it's not the most original series in the world, I enjoyed Partials.  Sure, it could use more surprises (the plot gets pretty predictable), better character development (especially of the guys), and something different to really distinguish it from other stories (thankfully, the humans don't take to space or it would have been a complete Battlestar Galactica ripoff).  Overall, though, it's an absorbing read.  And, truthfully, if you handed me the sequel right now (which isn't actually possible since Wells is still writing it, but whatever), I would clear my schedule to make room for it.  Today.  Right now.  Yeah, I totally would.       

(Readalikes:  Reminded me of other YA dystopians like Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver and Matched by Ally Condie)

Grade:  B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated:  PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence and sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Partials from the generous folks at Balzer and Bray (an imprint of Harper Collins).  Thank you!