The Book Addicted Girl: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format: ARC

Published: 5^th January 2012

Number of Pages: 272

Book: For Review*

Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Contempory, Thriller-Suspense, Action-Adventure, Mystery, YA

Recommended Age: 12+

Contains: Mild Violence, Death, Mild Swearing, Alcohol References

No Drug References

Author's Blog:

By the time seventeen-year-old Delaney Maxwell is pulled out of the icy waters of a frozen lake, her heart has stopped beating. She is officially dead. Then she starts breathing… The doctors are mystified. But Delaney knows something is very wrong, even though outwardly she has completely recovered.

Pulled by sensations she can’t control, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her brain predicting death or causing it? Then Delaney meets Troy Varga. Is Troy a kindred spirit who somehow understands her weird and frightening gift? Or are his motives chillingly more sinister…

A page-turning read that will send chills down your spine.

Review:

Delaney Maxwell was playing Manhunt with her friends, just having fun. She and her best friend Decker were crossing the lake, when snap. Just as she is declared dead, miraculously she starts breathing. Only, Delaney seems to be the only one who isn’t so sure her survival was a miracle. She has these… feelings. Ones she can’t explain. She knows something is very, very wrong with her. Delaney is now drawn to death. Without knowing why or how or by what. And then she meets Troy. He is the first and only one who knows what she’s going through. But, after all, he is just a stranger – and one who seems to be unable to stop lying. Does Troy really just want to help? Or does he just want to…

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this book up. I thought maybe there would be ghosts, spirits, something like that. But Fracture took me totally by surprise. It was emotional, powerful and it left me reeling. Everything I thought I felt about life and miracles and reviving someone blurred and changed. I was a whirlwind, a rollercoaster of emotions, from start to finish, and I still can’t get the characters out of my head.

Delaney was a girl I liked from the word go; she was clumsy, uncoordinated, snarky. Her voice was fresh, likable, relatable and funny. I just loved her! Plus: she loved books, the smell of them – something I could totally relate to! Delaney was rather awkward in social situations: she had this no-touch policy. Plus she was kind of obsessive: categorized everything (including snow and food). I just found her bonkers, brilliant and totally believable. In some ways she really reminded me of Temperance Brennan (AKA Bones), what with her love of logic and grammar and total social-awkwardness. Delaney was a good person with a good heart who only wanted to help. She had a terrible burden, but she was strong. I loved Delaney Maxwell!

Decker Phillips, Delaney’s best friend, was so sweet, too cute and really loved Delaney. (I loved him! I seriously want a Decker!) He was so caring and protective towards Delaney. And insanely funny. He would do anything for Delaney, even when they fought. He literally dropped everything for her. Again: love him!

Troy Varga was a character I just could not figure out. To begin with I decided he was a jerk. Then I found out he was studying to be a nurse, and I thought “Ok. Occasionally nice.” After that I changed my mind, settling on creepy… Then, sweet, then this, then that… All the way through the book, I just could not decide who he was. He’d been through one heck of a lot, and I really did feel sorry for him… But, in my mind, at no point did he come close to the wonderful Decker.

The relationships were just as amazing, Decker and Delaney’s being the most wonderful: they were just too cute together. Decker loved winding her up, but you could tell he loved her really. They were really close, and I could feel the connection when they were together: I just couldn’t help grinning!

The writing was also amazing. I could feel Delaney as I read, feel her like she was right there next to me, telling me the story herself. I felt everything she did: her confusion, her love, her pain, her fears. I just… felt. The writing was so simple, but it made me feel so much, which is one of my very favourite styles. There were no dull moments, no lengthy descriptions. Everything was perfect, and I loved every moment. When I read, I found that everything dropped away. All that mattered, all that existed was Fracture. Delaney, Decker, Troy, death, life. This plot, this world. I laughed, I cried (a lot), I smiled, I was terrified, I drowned. Everything possible, I felt. I was hooked from the word go, to the suspense, the characters, the writing: I couldn’t put Fracture down. It was just amazing. I have two pages worth of notes, and a third page full of quotes in my notebook right now. In my mind, that equals an amazing book.

This was a thriller that didn’t let me go from start to finish. It messed with my head, my emotions. It left me just sitting, staring at the cover. One part I didn’t see coming at all. Another, admittedly I could. But it didn’t change how I felt about it. I have a feeling I won’t stop thinking about Fracture for a while: it hasn’t gone out of my head since I finished it. I’m also certain that Megan Miranda’s next book will be equally amazing. Fracture was a stunning read, one I am over the moon to have read, and whatever comes next from her, I can’t wait!

Star Rating:
4¾ Out of 5