Friday 16 March 2012

Book Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda.

Product details:
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release date: January 17th 2012.
Paperback, 262 pages.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Ages: 12+
Source: Received from publisher for review.

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?


The day that should have been Delaney Maxwell’s last day on earth started out like any other day, but then a tragic accident saw her fall into the icy waters of a frozen lake, and remain under for too long to survive. Delaney was without oxygen for eleven minutes. Her death should have been a certainty at ten. But Delaney is alive, and better yet, the accident hasn’t left her with any lasting damage, at least not that anyone can see. But Delaney has changed, she’s been touched by death, and now the dead are calling to her.

A lot can change in eleven minutes…

I wanted to love Fracture, I really did, but while the premise and opening chapters of Megan Miranda’s debut novel are excellent and really piqued my interest, as I read on, I felt as though I really wasn’t connecting with this one. I know that a big part of that was due to the characters.  Delaney herself left me cold – I never really felt like I got to know what was going on with her, and what I did know of her, I didn’t really like. Her reactions to certain events and to certain people were strange to me – from her uneasy relationship with her parents, to her friendship that may be something more with best friend Decker, to her  strange association with mysterious newcomer Troy – none of these relationships seemed to ring true or sit easy with me. I’ll talk about the boys later, but don’t even get me started on Delaney’s mother and how she treated her daughter. I mean, this woman obviously has longstanding issues of her own, but lets just say those parenting skills were lacking.

When I started reading this book, I expected mystery with a supernatural slant, but that’s not really what Fracture is. Sure there is the mystery of why Delaney is drawn to the dying, but there’s never really any resolution offered to this, and I guess that’s not really the point here. While I initially thought that Fracture had its roots in the paranormal, the book instead is a study of the complexities and mysteries of the brain, of Near Death Experiences and why sometimes people walk away from accidents that should have left them dead. If I had known all this before I started my reading, then maybe I would have enjoyed this one more, but instead I just kept on waiting for that supernatural twist.

Troy initially seems to have the answers that Delaney needs. He’s the only one who really knows what Delaney is going through, having gone through a similar experience, and so she finds herself drawn to him despite the fact that he’s kind of a creep with scary stalker tendencies. Right from their first meeting Troy struck me as unhinged, so I didn’t really buy it when Delaney indulged in an impromptu make-out session with him which pretty much came out of the blue and seemed totally out of character for her.

Troy has a rival for Delaney’s affections in Decker, the boy who saved Delaney’s life, and her best friend. Now, I love best friend turned romantic interest storylines, and there’s all this tension between Delaney and Decker, but for the most part, they are just downright nasty to each other at times.  I will say though that Decker was my favourite of all the characters. He’s so obviously in love with Delaney and she just doesn’t seem to get it, so who can really blame him for hooking up with someone else…

While Fracture just didn’t work out for me, I know I’m in the minority. I’ve read a whole lot of glowing reviews for the book, but we just didn’t connect. That said, one thing I did like was Megan Miranda’s writing style, so even though I didn’t fall in love with her debut, I’ll definitely be checking out future releases from her.

18 comments :

  1. I've got this one on my shelf - it's a shame you didn't love it but it still sounds really interesting. Great review!

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  2. Wow our opinions on this one really match. I didn't like Delaney very much either she WAS cold and I just didn't get her. I did enjoy the writing itself but the book seemed to go haywire after a while. Great review Leanna! :)

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  3. I love the premise for this book, so it's so sad to see the middling reviews. You aren't the only one who seems to have mixed feelings about this! Oh, well. Thanks for the honest review. :)

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  4. I was really intrigued by FRACTURE and enjoyed the story (more in the beginning, less in the end). There were a few things that bothered me, like the unnecessary love triangle.I think if Megan Miranda had only concentrated on Delany's and Decker's relationship, the book could have been much better. Decker was my favourite character, too. Thanks for your review!

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  5. Heather@The Flyleaf Review17 March 2012 at 01:21

    Yeah,your review backs up what I was kind of already thinking about this one, think I'll take  a pass. Thanks for the informative review Leanna, and sorry it was disappointment for you. Hope your next read is better:)

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  6. I have this one but haven't read it yet, I actually haven't read many reviews on it so I didn't know what to expect but I'm glad yours mentioned the lack of paranormal aspects that the synopsis so obviously makes people think will be in the story. I would've gone into reading this one expecting exactly the same as you. Great review, when I do get to read it at least I'll have a better idea of what it will be about. =)

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  7. I'm pretty sure I remember us talking about this one a while back. I wasn't a fan either, but I did like Delaney because whilst she was strange and antisocial that made her feel real. I didn't buy Delaney's thing with Troy either, and her relationship with Decker left my cold. Only thing I really liked was the writing. Perfectly balanced and well reasoned review from you as always Leanna =]
     
    The Cait Files

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  8. Sounds interesting.

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  9. aww its a shame you didnt like this one... I really did but I couldnt get one with some of the characters either... Delanys mum and Troy were awful and it really effected my feelings towards the book! 

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  10. Sorry this one didn't live up to the hype for you, especially since you had big expectations before starting. I hate that feeling when a book just falls flat. I did really enjoy this and connected with the characters, but I can definitely understand why you didn't. I do agree with Decker being your favourite character, though, I adored him! :)

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  11. daisychainbooks17 March 2012 at 13:28

     Thanks, Giselle! Yeah, I just couldn't connect with Delaney and I was expecting the book to be something very different to what it actually was.

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  12. daisychainbooks17 March 2012 at 13:30

     I was totally expecting a paranormal element! I hope you enjoy it when you read! :)

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  13. daisychainbooks17 March 2012 at 13:32

     Yeah, I remember us talking about this one and how you said you didn't enjoy it as much as most other people. Well, I'm with you on that! I guess Delaney was a realistic character, but she was just one that I didn't like very much! Like, I doubt me and her would be BFF's, you know! Also, quite a few people told me that I'd love the relationship between Delaney & Decker because I love Jay and Vi so much in TBF, but I didn't at all. Oh well...

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  14. daisychainbooks17 March 2012 at 13:33

     Mine too. Really didn't like those characters!

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  15. Nina Happyendings17 March 2012 at 18:47

    I have read this book in the Netherlands and I really found it okay. It didn't really made me love it. Too bad, because the cover is fabulous. ;)
    Great review.

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  16. I agree with quite a lot. My least favourite part of this book was the ending, because so little was explained. I thought Troy was definitely creepy from the beginning too, I never trusted him. Decker was my favourite as well, I mostly felt sorry for him. Great review, thanks.

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  17. Mmm... you've definitely given me food for thought with this review. I have to admit that I wanted to read this book, but that was only because people have been raving about the actual settings of the book. However, I'm big on connecting with characters and Delaney sounds like a character that I wouldn't like very much. I'll probably pick  this one up at the library, but won't go out of my way to buy myself a copy. Such a fantastically written review Leanna - as always. :)

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  18. Great honest review! I thought this one was going to have a supernatural twist too. Hmm. Darn! I don't like when characters actions don't seem to ring true. Don't care for a boy with stalker tendencies either! lol

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