Fracture Featured Hot

I completely loved this. Just loved it. The main reason is Delaney. She may not be an example of perfection or anything; she's not incredibly brave or beautiful, or imbued with some power that I desperately wish I could have. No, what I love about Delaney is how real she is.

Unlike most heroines, in YA or romance novels or mysteries or pretty much anything, Delaney is awesomely real. She mentions at one point that she has been putting on a bit of weight recently, after a sudden stop to her growth spurts (I can so identify with that; I shot up and then stopped.). Some people think she's gotten fat and some think she looks hot. Since she lacks athleticism and has no interest in working out, she watches what she eats, which she defines as eating what she wants and feeling guilty about it later. Amen, sister.

Delaney is also incredibly smart. That girl freaking loves homework. While she's in the hospital recovering, she is freaking out as much about her GPA and how she might lose the valedictorian spot as she is about her health. Another awesome thing about Delaney is that she loves libraries, like any good nerd does.

There's also something familiar in her relationships with people. The awkwardness of real connections is definitely there. Watching Decker and Delaney is imminently frustrating, but who hasn't been there or watched people not quite manage to admit to their feelings? The way that they get jealous and push one another away, avoiding the awkward dtr (defining the relationship) talk, is so true.

Even the way Delaney is swayed by guys she who express interest in her strikes me as authentic. Sure, it's not exactly role model behavior to make out with a guy you don't have any romantic feelings for just because he's looking at you a certain way does not mean it's not something a girl will do. All of those emotions are confusing and so life comes out complicated.

On top of all of that, there's also the whole vaguely paranormal plot line about death and life. Delaney's new power could be classed as paranormal, but I prefer to not class the book as fantasy and to think of it instead as her using a part of her brain humans usually do not have the capacity to.

If you love If I Stay by Gayle Foreman, you will likely adore this as well. The only thing I didn't like about this book: there's no sequel.

Note: It has since been announced that there will be a companion novel.

Wow! This is one of those books that really makes you think about life, and a lot about death. It raises questions like: How would you spend your last day? Is it better to hold on to your loved ones even though they are suffering? What is your definition of stopping someone’s suffering? Do our actions completely change the events in our lives, or are things already predetermined? Just weighing in at 272 pages, this little book packs a lot of punch!

As Delaney struggles to find out what is going on with her, she is also trying to convince everyone else she is not crazy (even if she doesn’t quite believe that herself). The reader definitely figures out what is up with Delaney before she does, but that didn’t bother me because it made me try and understand what Delaney’s problem might mean for her in the future.

It is a relief when Delaney meets Troy and finally has someone to confide in. This relief, however, is short lived. Troy soon becomes an erie and unreliable character. I found myself loving him, then being creeped out by him. I think the author did a great job of making the reader go through the same emotions as Delaney did when it came to Troy.

As there usually is in YA, there was the lifelong dependable boy/friend/maybe something more character. Decker was a character I loved from the beginning. He was always there for Delaney, even when they were fighting. He dealt with lots of guilt throughout the story as he blamed himself for what happened to Delaney. Of course he was part of the often present love triangle, but the story would have been boring without one.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It is an easy read that I finished in one day. It does have a bit of a creep factor, but the main topic of the book is death, so what else would you expect. I think this is a fantastic debut and I hope to read more by Megan Miranda in the future!

Delany Maxwell's was pulled out of icy waters of a frozen lake. Her heart had stopped beating. She was dead. But then she starts breathing. Outwardly she was fully recovered but MRI scans showed her brain to be damaged, she should be a vegetable. But she isn't. But something is wrong, she finds herself drawn to the dying, predicting death. Or is she the cause of it?
Fracture is about Delany's life after the incident. Her pain and suffering caused by her survival. It is a story about whether life was worth living after you had died, loss, pain and suffering.
Delany wants to use her luck to help other people survive, she manages to do so but was she only prolonging his suffering.

Delaney should have died. She did die. But somehow she has defied all odds to return to life seemingly unscathed. Seemingly unscathed. MRI scans show her brain to be damaged to an extent that would be fatal in any normal case, but Delaney's case isn't normal, and as the story grows, so does the abnormality of her situation. Delaney begins to feel strangely drawn to the dying.

Fracture is a story about life and death, pain and suffering, and right and wrong. With Delaney's new 'ability' comes an awareness of the constant presence of death, and she struggles with the knowledge of other people's pain, suffering and impending deaths. More troubling is the problem: is it right to 'help' ease other people's suffering? Or is it wrong to make the choice of life or death for someone else without their input?

Is their anything Delaney can ever do to help? Or must she stand helplessly by on the sidelines and watch as people suffer and die without ever being able to do anything?

If she interferes, she may be able to prolong someone's life. But she will also be prolonging their suffering. So is it right? Or is it wrong?

In Fracture, I really liked the relationship between Delaney and her best friend, Decker. Decker was so sweet, and the two of them had been best friends since when they were little and Decker promised to make Delaney smile. They were obviously very close and cared for each other deeply, but during the story complications arise with their feelings for each other, written in a way that tugged at my heartstrings.

The ending, especially, I thought, was beautifully written. I was left with tingles as I finished the book. Seriously, I loved the ending. It was so beautiful. So beautiful that, yes I know, I just had to repeat myself to make sure I get the point across.

All in all, Fracture really was a thought-provoking, sweet and spine-tingling story, and yes, I completely recommend it to all of you!

Delaney is out in the snow and ice with her friend Decker. While crossing the frozen pond, she falls in and is under for 11 minutes. She should be dead and yet she's not. The story begins with Delaney waking up in the hospital (although not yet able to move or show that she in conscious). As Delaney gets better and tries to go back to her old life she realizes something strange. She is now drawn to those that are dying.

I liked Delaney. She was smart and easy to relate too. She was also very brave and yet still realistic. She has breakdowns and emotions that are riding a roller coaster at times but she is a teen who has come back from a traumatic event. I really enjoyed her and Decker and their relationship! They have always been good friends but after Delaney comes back from her accident there is tension and more than just friendship.

Troy has a lot in common with Delaney. He has also been in a coma and is also drawn to people who are dying. I did not like Troy however. Troy is the dark "bad boy" in this book and he fits it well! He was so creepy with how he was always around Delaney. I liked how Delaney was attracted to Decker but didn't like it that she was attracted to Troy too. I think he could have been added into the book without adding the attraction triangle.

I really enjoyed this book! It has some paranormal aspects to it but that isn't what the whole book is about. I liked the relationship interactions with Delaney and Decker and Troy made for a creepy character. I was slightly disappointed by how the ending seemed a little rushed but I can honestly say that this book gave me the creeps!

I read an ARC.

The premise intrigued me first. A girl drowns in a frozen lake. Eleven minutes later, she’s alive again. How? And then she’s drawn to dying people? FASCINATING.

Obviously, I was really looking forward to this book, hoping I’d love it.

I did.

FRACTURE is written in this smart, sparse style with sharp details that always fit exactly right. Seemingly effortlessly, the narrative brings Delaney’s world to life, revealing her town, hangouts, friends — and Falcon Lake, where she drowns. It reflects Delaney’s thoughts and emotions — even uncomfortable ones — with crystal clarity.

“The wrongness made them seem not quite human. Even the fish knew it. They hid inside rock caves and studied the pebbles like they held the meaning of life. They wouldn’t look at us.” (page 141, advance reader edition)

While there were some things that made me wince for her, I loved Delaney’s character. She’s smart, loyal, and a rule-follower. And the truth is, we all have some not-so-nice thoughts, or thoughts we later regret. Delaney is no exception, but it didn’t stop me from liking her, or understanding her. With a posse of wonderful friends she’s grown up with — friends who helped save her life — and a history in her town, Delaney is a compelling character. She’s the kind of person who, she senses someone is about to die, tries to help, even at great personal risk.

To me, FRACTURE wasn’t so much about a girl who could sense the dying after an accident, but a hard look at life and death and choice. It’s about how even the living can be dead inside. It’s about how even miracles can destroy friendships and families if you let them.

If I think too hard about this book, my brain kind of starts to hurt. I'm not going to say that's a bad thing, because in all honesty, it isn't. But Fracture is one of those books you really have to think about before you can understand what's going on.

Fracture is more of a tortured contemporary, if you ask me. There's only one paranormal aspect - if it's even paranormal and not something entirely crazy - and while it's a huge focus of the book, I don't think most would really consider it paranormal.

Delaney should be dead. She spent 11 minutes under freezing water, but her best friend Decker saved her, and somehow she survived. She's a miracle - y'know, supposedly.

Most of the time, I thought the way Delaney felt and reacted to things was very realistic. I mean, honestly, if you had died and came back perfectly fine even when you shouldn't have, you would have felt pretty weird, too. One aspect I really liked about Delaney was that she refused to take pills. Why would you want even more reasons to feel crazy?

Decker was the best part of Fracture for me, even though he was an idiot. But he handled how he felt about Delaney the way a lot of guys handle it - tried to ignore it and make out with someone else. No matter how much I hated that part, I loved how Decker would always drop everything and come to the rescue if Delaney needed him. And there were times when he actually *gasp* confessed his emotions. I don't see that very much YA anymore, so I got really excited when that happened.

Troy was another great part, just because he was so messed up, but at the same time, I could see where he was coming from. I can't say I would have done the same if I'd been in his shoes, but I can understand why he did it and why he thought he was doing good instead of harm.

The writing is where I really fell in love. Megan Miranda did such an amazing job at capturing Delaney's emotions and describing what was going on. Delaney's fear felt so real.

My biggest problem, and only problem, really, was that there are still so many questions. I still don't know why Delaney survived. Why she could tell when people were going to die. Why she and Troy could tell. And the thing is, the ending is that kind that ends perfectly for a stand-alone, but you can't help but question EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED. At the end of the book this was basically me: o_o Wut? Even though it wasn't like there was a cliffhanger or anything.

Overall: Fracture is a compelling novel that gripped me once I got into it. And while it might be about Delaney and her struggle to figure out what happened, I like to think that it's a novel about friendship, too. 4 stars.