Sunday, 18 March 2012

Fracture by Megan Miranda **Review**


Fracture by Megan Miranda
Series: No
Pages: 272
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release date: 5th January 2012
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones
Thank you to Bloomsbury for my copy of the book

Goodreads synopsis:
Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it? 

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening? 

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death. 





I think I'll start off by saying that this is an incredibly unique book. The novel opens with the protagonist, Delayney's, accident: she falls through the ice and stays submerged for eleven minutes. She should have died. She did die. But somehow she comes back to life.
The opening sentence of the novel is one of the most gripping first lines I've seen in a very long time: "The first time I died, I didn't see God."
From that moment on, I was hooked. Absolutely and utterly hooked. Just the idea of the 'first time' someone had died - meaning that something else like this was going to happen to her again. I needed to find out what was happening, and what was going to happen later on, right from that very first sentence.

The novel was written in first person, from Delaney's point of view, and this was really effective. It allows the reader to get into her head and start to understand what it must be like for her, after her near-death experience, and what it's like to feel these distinctly abnormal events afterwards.
After dying, and then coming back to life, Delaney is able to 'sense' death - she feels an itch in her head, and a tugging, that leads her to the sick and the dying. This would usually be a fairly difficult thing to imagine, but the way it's written makes it feel so real, that it's entirely believable.
I did really enjoy this subtle paranormal twist to the novel - and I say subtle, because although it was the central element to the novel, it didn't stand out too much - it felt like it belonged there. I think that's part of what makes it such a successful book. And the paranormal element was so different from most of the other things I've read before.
I also enjoyed how thrilling the novel was. I think I was on the edge of my sofa, most of the way through the book - but especially towards the final 20-30 pages - the end of the novel is some pretty intense stuff!

It wasn't just the plot that was fantastic though, but the characters too! Obviously, Delaney's character is a great one, but there are plenty of others to go around, and other characters that also help make Delaney's character more dynamic. Such as her relationships with her parents, Decker (her best friend and neighbour, Troy (the mysterious boy that keeps showing up) and some of her other school friends - they all help to create a deeper character for Delaney. These relationships also mean that the novel isn't just about the paranormal stuff, or about death, but it's also about the limits of friendship, and how far things have to go before those friendships begin to break.

I honestly can't recommend this book enough - if you've not already read it, and you don't already own it, what are you doing? Go and get yourself a copy - you won't be disappointed.



31 comments:

Chocolate Chunky Munkie said...

Great review Dani. I enjoyed it too :D xx

Irene E. Jensen said...

I can't afford to read your reviews anymore lol. I need to get this book now :D it sounds awesome

Pen to Paper said...

I'm glad my reviews go down so well, Irene :P
You absolutely do need to read this book - it was definitely awesome!

Dani :)

It's A Hardcover Life said...

Doesn't sound like something I would usually read but it definitely sounds interesting. Is it a stand alone book? Doesn't sound like a series.

Pen to Paper said...

Yes, it is a stand alone book :) And it's a really great one!

Emily said...

I'm so glad you liked this book! I just read it and really liked it. And I agree with you, it is very unique.com :)

Emily said...

whoops! Ignore the little ".com" thing at the end. That was an accident! :p

Christina said...

I totally agree that the paranormal was subtle. If it had been any stronger, I think it might have been a turn off. As it was, I loved this book soooo much.

Maya Floria Yasmin said...

nice review!

Denise Z said...

I have been intrigued by this book and you have definitely convinced me I am on the right track. Thank you for sharing with us.

Steph said...

Great review! I can't wait to read this one - I've heard so many rave reviews of it. I love the cover too!!

Evie said...

This book is already on my wishlist. I love that cover and the story seems so intense and I'm really curious about the end now.
Great review!

b_ls said...

Great review. I can't wait to read this one! I have been looking for a book with a different paranormal element that is different from whats out there.

Meg said...

I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Fractured has been on my Goodreads wishlist for a long time--your review makes me want to read it all the more. :)

The first sentence sounds amazing.

Meg @ The Book Galaxy

Veronika said...

Wow, 5 starsÁ :D I can't wait to read this book! I read both Before I Fall and If I Stay and enjoyed them! This story seems very similar, heard awesome things about it!

Amy S. said...

It would be nice to read a stand alone book for a change. Then again, when I love a book I'm usually so happy that more books are coming because I love the story arc or the characters etc. But closure is nice too. I'm looking forward to reading this one soon.

Book Passion for Life said...

So, so glad you went with this one. I LOVED IT and even though I did like Troy, Decker stole my heart. Donna xox

Timmi said...

Every review I read of this book just makes me want to read it more, what an amazing plot! Thanks so much for the review!

Carmel said...

Thanks for this review. I heard a lot of rave with If I Stay, this would be a good candidate to read.
Plus, it is on first person POV. You will know the story from the protagonist herself. :)

Lizz Neill said...

I read this book in a day and I loved it

Varjohukka said...

Great review! I have to agree with you! It's amazing book :)

Cass (Words on Paper) said...

I agree 100% with this review! I loved it too. I'll definitely be re-reading this one sometime in the future. I loved just getting to the end of the book, but the whole thing was unique through and through and I just could not put this book down.

Anindita! said...

Wow! I think it was worth reading!

Kali Skittles said...

Sounds so good! I actually won an ARC but swapped it for something. I wish I had read it but my TBR is monstrous without ARCs! I have it from the library though, so soon.

Kim said...

Argh! I saw this book at a book sale a while ago for super cheap but didn't buy it for some reason! After reading your review and hearing how much you enjoyed it though I'll add it to my to-read list. Gutted that I didn't get it on sale "/ I don't want to borrow it from the library because I like owning my books so I guess I'll have to go full price xD

PuttPutt1198Eve said...

It's really very obvious how much you enjoyed this book! I agree, that first sentence is definitely one of the best I have ever heard about! I appreciate the fact that you explained the even treatment of plot and character development in the book. I like a book better that way than if it's heavy on one or the other. Guess this is a book I should read!

Rolaa said...

love the review! i've been debating whether to read this or not, it seems as if everytime a novel is hyped up about on GR, it isnt as good as everyone makes it out to be :/ but ill think ill give this one a shot, your review makes it sound greeat.
thanks!
x rola

Felicia Sparkles Files said...

This book sounds amazing!! The relationship with Troy makes me really curious. Is he going to end up as a partner who understands or a villian? I really like when it could go either way and I have to find out!
I'm not crazy about the cover though...Something about faces I don't like on my books haha.

starryabigail said...

I was sent this book to review-it was absolutely amazing!!!
Have you read If I Stay by Gayle Forman? It's also about a girl in coma, but she's still in a coma-it's a diary of her death. A great book!
Love the review!

Ligeia Ahgony said...

Great review! I want to read this book right now!

Gaby said...

Nice review! I have been dying to read this book forever. I did win some bookmarks on a giveaway :)

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