Fracture: Review

Title: Fracture

Author: Megan Miranda

Release Date: January 2012

Published By: Walker Children's

Pages: 262

Goodreads Rating: 3.98 stars

Review: Eleven minutes passed between when Delaney went under the ice and when her best friend pulled her out. When she awoke from the resulting coma, all her brain scans said she must be severely brain-damaged, and yet she was fine. Except for the fact that she's inexplicably drawn to those that are dying. Then she meets Troy, another coma victim with the same strange abilities as her. His motives are questionable, and she starts to wonder. Are their powers miraculous, freaky, or something much more frightening?

Megan Miranda opens FRACTURE with an explosive idea - what can happen in eleven minutes under? I loved this unique premise, and found myself quickly drawn into the fast-paced plot with its dark undercurrents and ability to grab on and never let go. Every page I turned (or rather button I clicked, since I read an e-book version) was accompanied by my growing desire to find out what and why her powers exist.

Unfortunately, the resolution regarding this was a bit lacking. Her ability to sense death was never truly explained, left only in vague blanket statements and nothing specific. Even a semblance of an explanation would have satisfied me, but instead it was just left hanging. Since this was such a central element to the plot, I found it to be a major let-down.

However, I do have to give the author bonus points for not falling into the typical love triangle. There was potential for her to turn Troy into a romantic contestant with Decker for Delaney's love, but instead she showed him pretty soon for what he was: a majorly creepy dude with motives that were, at best, highly questionable. Delaney is no stupid girl, and she recognized him for what he was pretty quickly as well, which I definitely appreciated.

This novel is quickly gaining a big name for itself, and with good reason. Megan Miranda brings a fascinating premise to the table, standing unique among other paranormal or supernatural books, and complete with a smart, strong protagonist and excellent writing. The only aspect that bothered me was the more or less non-existent explanation for Delaney's powers. Still, I would recommend this to anyone fed up with stereotypical paranormal novels and wants something new.
 
I received a free copy of this book for review. This in no way affected my review.