Fracture by Megan Miranda
| Fracture by Megan Miranda | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Robert James
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| Summary: Excellent, thought-provoking, teen chiller. A very impressive debut for Megan Miranda. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 272 | Date: January 2012 |
| Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781408817391 | |
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Delaney Maxwell just died. Except, she didn't. After 11 minutes under the ice, she was declared officially dead, only to make a full recovery. As far as the doctors are concerned, it's a medical miracle. As far as Delaney's concerned, it's traumatic - not just for the obvious reasons, but because she came back changed. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to people who are about to die, and unable to make sense of why her life was spared. Can the mysterious Troy, who has the same ability, explain what's going on, or does he have a different reason for wanting to get close to her?
I was going to open by saying this is rather splendid for a debut novel, but if anything that's being somewhat unfair - this is rather splendid full stop. Megan Miranda conjures a genuine air of spookiness which pervades the entire book, and coupled with some beautiful writing, that makes this a very hard book to put down. She also creates a beautifully drawn, likeable and intelligent narrator who has very strong, believable relationships with the other people in her lives - particularly her parents, and her next door neighbour Decker, who saved her on the day she drowned. Troy was also an interesting character and his actions made this a very thought-provoking read. (I don't want to go into many more details than that, as I can't think of anything much to say without getting into spoiler territory, and this is definitely one where you'll benefit from not knowing too much about the plot beforehand.)
It's not quite perfect - if anything, at under 300 pages it's one of the few recent young adult books I felt could have benefitted from being a little longer, with the action towards the end seeming a tiny bit rushed. That's a very minor point, though, and while 2012 looks set to be a fantastic year for teen novels, I think this will be one of the ones which makes a lasting impact. I'll certainly be eager to get my hands on Miranda's next book!
Very strong recommendation for those looking for a well written spine-chiller. (Although it's about to turn midnight and I'm starting to think I may have been better leaving it until tomorrow morning to finish reading it - a sure sign it's had an effect on me!)
For another unsettling read by an author with a great writing style, try Entangled by Cat Clarke.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Fracture by Megan Miranda at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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