Fracture

Megan Miranda
By the time 17-year old Delaney Maxwell is pulled out of the icy waters of a frozen lake, her heart has stopped beating. she is officially dead. Then Delaney starts breathing…The doctors are mystified. But Delaney knows something is very wrong, even though outwardly she has completely recovered.
Pulled by sensations she can’t control, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her brain predicting death or causing it? Then Delaney meets Troy Varga. Is Troy a kindred spirit who somehow understands her weird and frightening gift? Or are his motives chillingly more sinister…
Having received this copy of Fracture as an ARC from an event, and thinking it to not be the sort of book I’d naturally pick up for myself, I was very interested to see if it would be my cup of tea. After a couple of false starts, I found a nice chunk of time to snuggle up on the couch and get stuck in and found that I couldn’t put it down! I loved this book!
Fracture tells the story of 17 year old Delaney, a high school senior who is hardworking and wants to do well for herself. When out with her best friend Decker, they cross a frozen lake to go and meet friends. Decker goes on ahead and the unthinkable happens. The ice cracks and Delaney falls through the ice. She stopped breathing for eleven minutes. She should be dead. She was medically dead. And yet she is very much alive. She is discharged from hospital and physically, everyone is confident that she is well. But Delaney knows different. She feels different, and that something is very wrong. She can’t ignore the tugging pulling sensations that seem to take over and control her body. They begin to lead her to places and she starts to feel that death is all around her. Everything is changing in her world and her relationships, those with her parents and her friends, are changing too. How do you start living again after you were dead and everything is different?
This is Megan Miranda’s first book, but you would never know it. You are drawn in to Delaney’s world and the scene is set well. I could imagine and feel the bleakness of the cold and frigid Maine winter and the ‘deadness of everything under the snow’, as Delaney describes it. As Delaney tries to figure out what is going on with her, she finds herself keeping Decker at arm’s length. I enjoyed the relationship between Delaney and Decker, the familiarity and closeness of a long held childhood friendship with all the shared memories and experiences and now that they are older I could feel the awkwardness when it was clear that Delaney or Decker wanted to say something but held back. It reminded me of those teenage days of potential first love and the angst that comes with it! Assumptions about each of their relationships with others doesn’t help and then Delaney then meets the dark and sexy Troy Varga which causes further distance between her and Decker.
Troy is the only one who can shed some understanding about her circumstances. She finds herself drawn to him as he can explain what is going on with her somewhat, and yet he is a disturbing character. He scares Delaney and she can sense his presence even when she can’t see him. I didn’t know how to feel about Troy. My emotions were certainly conflicted as Delaney’s were and I didn’t know how Delaney and Troy would resolve their relationship. Once I found out, I found myself both sad and relieved at the outcome. I enjoyed the feeling of suspense that you just didn’t know what was going to happen with Troy around- would it be good, or bad?
Delaney’s mother was an interesting character. As you begin to discover her history and how it affected her dealings with and reactions to her daughter it was quite sad and poignant in places. I very much enjoyed reading this. I liked and connected with the characters and found myself rooting for them and for peace and closure for all those that were suffering due to this one event. Occasionally it felt a little creepy and tense and I don’t normally like anything scary but I couldn’t stop myself from turning the pages to see what happened next. You are left pondering the question if you only had one day to live, what would you do? I will be keeping an eye out for Megan Miranda’s next book for sure!
Verdict: A dark but very enjoyable gripping and unique read.
Reviewed by Lesley