Fracture (Fracture #1)

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.