Fracture (edition 2012)

Fracture is a story of life, death, guilt and retribution. Delaney Maxwell is walking across the lake to meet up with some friends on the bank when the ice shatters leaving her trapped and submerged for 11 minutes. When her friends finally pull her out and emergency services arrive she is blue and unresponsive. Upon arrival at the hospital the prognosis is bleak, if she comes out of the coma, which the doctors feel is unlikely, she will be severely brain damaged. After several days she emerges from the coma and appears to display no signs of brain damage, however, Delaney realizes that she isn't the same person. She seems to be able to sense people that are dying and is drawn to them. Although this book had some paranormal undertones it dealt with the issues of brain trauma and the stressors on not only the patient but their family and friends as well. I thought the book had an interesting premise and did a good job of keeping the reader's interest. One criticism I have is that Troy's character could have been more thoroughly developed. I wasn't sure if he was emotionally damaged because of the car accident or if he always had sociopathic tendencies. Overall, I thought the book was creative and well executed and feel it deserves 4 stars! ( )

Fracture is the debut novel from author Megan Miranda. I was intrigued by the paranormal aspects of this book and decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a solid first novel from a promising author.

After 17-year-old Delaney falls through the ice of a frozen lake and is rescued by her best friend Decker, she wakes up in the hospital to find she has been in a coma for almost a week. Her recovery is termed a miracle, since she was under water and without oxygen for eleven minutes and should be dead. After all tests show no apparent side effects, other than an unusual brain scan, Delaney is released to return to her normal life. Only she is no longer normal; Delaney is now drawn to those who later turn up dead. Is she predicting their deaths or causing them? And who is the young man who also seems to show up mysteriously at each scene?

The strength of Miranda’s debut is in the characters. I liked Delaney and Decker, although they are the typical “best friends” who should be a couple. I was especially impressed by Decker. His desperation to save Delaney and his guilt over her fall through the ice are apparent; it is easy to see that he is very much in love with her, and she is oblivious. I’m a sucker for the “best friend” as romantic interest, so I very much wanted these two to get together by the end of the book. The biggest obstacle in their path is, unfortunately, one of the most common – lack of communication. Most of the problems that occur in this novel are due to communication issues, and this is where the book lost some stars for me. It really bothers me when a simple conversation, phone call or e-mail would set things right. It seems too easy an obstacle to throw in the way of protagonists. In the case of Delaney and Decker, Miranda very carefully shows us how tight a relationship the two have and then has Delaney basically toss it out the window. It just didn’t ring true to me that she would not confide in Decker about the problems she is experiencing.

Communication issues also arise between Delaney and her mother, which stem from an incident that occurs at the hospital the night Delaney is taken off the machines that were keeping her alive. An attempt is made to kill Delaney, but since no one else saw anything everyone assumes Delaney made the attempt herself due to her brain injuries. I had problems with this, since a significant piece of physical evidence was actually left at the scene and no one had an explanation for how it got there. Her mom asked the right question, but then went along with the doctor who stated Delaney was probably just experiencing hallucinations. The instability of Delaney’s mom that arises from this incident seemed a bit extreme, and I just didn’t see what her childhood experiences had to do with why she increasingly distrusted Delaney. I mean, I understand how she could have psychological issues stemming from her past, I just didn’t get why they would cause her to react the way she does.

Delaney and Decker’s relationship is challenged even more by the appearance of Troy, a young man who apparently experiences the same draw Delaney has to those who will die soon. Troy is a very damaged character with some serious issues, and a great contrast to Decker. They are polar opposites; Decker is outgoing, bright and caring, while Troy is more introverted, dark and disconnected. It seems like it will be the standard “will good girl choose bad boy or good friend” romantic triangle (which, frankly, I have been getting a little burned out on), but then Miranda twists it and takes it on a path to a finale I didn’t anticipate.

Other than the cliché communication issues in this story and the way Delaney’s mom reacts to Delaney after the accident (which still seems a bit odd to me), I enjoyed Fracture and the characters it introduced. I especially liked that this is a stand-alone novel and not the beginning of a trilogy or series (at least as far as I know). There is an actual beginning, middle and end to the story which is a relief. While I would have liked character motivations to be a little more original, the characters themselves are well-developed. I totally fell for Decker, especially when he ended up treating Delaney to a night of musical theater with “Les Miserables.” The paranormal elements of the story were interesting and the love triangle had an unexpected darkness. Megan Miranda is an author who shows a real talent, and I look forward to seeing where she takes it next. ( )

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. ( )

Fantastic read. Well deserved 5 star rating. I will look forward to more by this author ( )

3.5 stars

When you fall through the ice in the middle of a lake, death is always a possibility. When you fall through the ice in the middle of a lake and don't resurface for 11 minutes, death should be guaranteed.

This is not the case for 17 year old Delaney, who was pulled from the icy water by her best friend Decker. Against all odds, Delaney woke up. Woke up from the coma she had been in for the last 6 days. Woke up from the coma that she was expected to be in for the rest of her life. Delaney suffered brain damage according to the MRI.....she should have been in a vegetative state. But she wasn't. And the doctor had no explanation.

Something was different inside Delaney though. Strange tugging and pulling sensations...an "itch" deep inside her brain.

Then one day while studying at the library she meets Troy. Troy knows who Delaney is. But how???? The accident was never in the paper, but the town does talk so that could be it. Troy starts to show up in all the same spots Delaney is "pulled" to by the "itch" inside her brain. Troy has the answers as to what is happening with Delaney....he understands. He was once in a coma too.

I enjoyed the premise of the book. Could someone really survive 11 minutes under the ice?? Could the icy water have protected the organs....like cryogenics? So little is really know about the human brain afterall....

The relationship between Delaney and Decker drove me nuts though. If I were Decker, I would have told her where to go. Delaney was like a sulking, weight around his ankle. I'm surprised it wasn't him that was dragged to the bottom of the lake.... She would treat him like crap on one page and be asking something of him on the next. Not an attractive quality.

Overall a solid read that kept me turning the pages. The premise alone is enough recommend this book :)

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