Book Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Fracture by Megan Miranda

Publisher: Walker and Company

Publish Date: January 17, 2012

Hardcover, 272 pages 
Fiction, Young Adult
 ISBN: 978-0802723093

My Review:
First off I love stories where best friends finally figure out they love each other.  Fracture is one of these stories in a convoluted way.  But I like it that way.  This is one crazy story, but the craziness of it is what kept me hooked and kept me turning pages.  I started reading it during the afternoon, stopped long enough to start some spaghetti for supper, then started reading again.  Then I stopped long enough to field phone calls and texts from the husband and oldest son telling me the oldest son shot his first deer, then I dove back in the book (yes the deer moment was a proud moment).  But Fracture was a book that just grabbed me and sucked me in.  So I was glad that hubby and son were late getting home that night for more reasons than one!

What can I say about Fracture without giving anything away.  It's creepy, it keeps you guessing, there is romance, there is teen angst and confusion.  There are times you want to slap both Delaney and Decker, but you still love them.  They are not characters you hate.  They are just struggling and I felt their struggle.  I think Ms. Miranda does an admirable job developing the characters and making them likable and helping them to grow during the book.  I think she characterizes teenagers well, with the need to stay in a stagnant way because it is what is comfortable and there is fear to break out of what is comfortable.  I remember how that was.

The plot was stunning and mind blowing.  The fact that Delaney should be dead and that she seems to have this new gift or not really a gift, it depends how she looks at it.  The twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat and add in the teen angst and the potential romance and this book just had everything that made a great book to me.  I was hooked from page one until the very end and I honestly didn't want it to end.  But it did and now a week later I am still thinking about Delaney, Decker and even Troy.  That as I have mentioned before is a mark of a good book to me, when the characters stick with me after the book is done.  And these characters have.

If you are looking for a slightly different paranormal with a little romance then try out Fracture.  It held me spellbound and I will eagerly be awaiting more of Megan Miranda's books in the future.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0


About the Book:
By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her best friend, Decker Phillips, her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead.

But somehow Delaney survived—despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature—or something else much more frightening…

About the Author: 
Megan is a scientist - turned - teacher - turned - stay-at-home-mom - turned - writer. She is not nearly as indecisive as she sounds. She lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, where she volunteers as an MIT Educational Counselor, does the mom thing by day, and writes by night. 

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Purchase from The Book Depository and help My Reading Room earn money to continue to fund giveaways.

FTC Information: I received this book through Good Choice Reading ARC Tours an honest review. 

Giveaway: My Favorite Bible by Rondi DeBoer and Christine Tangvald

With the vibrant illustrations and engaging text in this Bible storybook, you can enjoy sharing the best-loved stories of the Bible with the children in your life and encourage a life-long love for the Word of God. My Favorite Bible is a book of exciting Bible stories and activity pages that guide children through the foundational truths of Scripture.

Each story is fully illustrated and includes a simple narrative full of things kids love: repetition, rhythm, and energy, along with a key biblical theme, a key Bible verse, and discussion questions to help adults introduce children to the Bible.

The colorful illustrations will capture the imaginations of children ages 4–8, and the stories will help adults to pass along the most important truth in life—the Gospel. Families will cherish this time as they read, listen, learn, and love, growing closer to one another even as they grow closer to God.

Thanks to the kind people at Revell I have one copy of My Favorite Bible to giveaway.  It will ship directly from the publisher and hopefully arrive in time for Christmas (if you are in the US or Canada it should, International, give it a little more time).  I will send my winners address as soon as I get it to hurry the process along for you.  This giveaway is open International.  It will end next Friday 12/9 so I can get the winner to Donna in plenty of time (her deadline is the 15th).  Please fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.  The only required entry is your name and email.

Some other notes from questions that were raised:

• If you would like to view the inside of the book, you can view it on Amazon here.
• This is not a children’s Bible. It is a Bible story book that includes key verses and parent pages called “Family Talk” and “Family Fun” to assist adults in discussing the stories with children.

Guest Blog: Is It Hard to Get Published by David W. Huffstetler (Blood on the Pen)

Is it hard to get published? 

by David W. Huffstetler

I’m not sure “hard” is the right word, maybe “darn near impossible”, but that’s a phrase, isn’t
it? Seriously, it can be very difficult and often frustrating, but I’ve found a number of things
that seem to be common among agents and publishers, and I’ll start with the process. We will
assume that you have written a terrific story, but that isn’t enough.

The dilemma we face with major publishing houses is that they only accept submissions
from an agent, and agents seldom want to represent someone who has not already been
published. It may sound unfair, but you just have to accept that as the world we live in. So,
for an unpublished author, you can approach agents and/or you can submit your work to
independent publishers. I found the website Preditors and Editors to be very helpful. It lists
and rates publishers and agents, as well as offering links to help with things like query letters.
Remember, you can always get an agent, but you may wish you hadn’t. There are those who
will represent you if you pay them a fee, and there are subsidy presses that will print your
book, if you pay them. Take care or you can find yourself with a closet full of books, trying to
sell them to your friends and family. If you’re considering self publishing, I suggest looking at
Amazon (Kindle) and Createspace.com (paperback). Their services are free, and they list your
book on Amazon.com; however, they don’t promote it.

If you choose traditional publishing, then the first communication is the query letter, and it
must be perfect, no typos and no errors in grammar. The one-page synopsis of your story
needs to be just as perfect. If they spark the interest of the agent or publisher, then they
will ask for a partial manuscript, probably the first 50 pages. Did I mention that needs to be
perfect? If it isn’t, you’ll never get past the gate keepers.

Now, you have thrilled them with your partial, and they ask for the full manuscript. Of course,
you want it to be error free too, but the first half is particularly important. By the time an
editor has read that far, he or she has probably decided if this is a story they want. There is
much more to say about the content of your manuscript and the craft the editors look for, but
I am running out of words. I am writing another blog to address that, and you can find the
schedule for this blog tour at bloodonthepen.blogspot.com. I hope to see you there.

*****

Book Summary
Jack Harden is a modern-day Texas Ranger haunted by his wife's death a year ago.

But when a murderer strikes, he is called into duty. Now he must battle the urge to kill the drunk driver responsible for her death and the hunger to kill himself as he hunts for a serial killer who wants him dead.

Elsie Rodriguez is assigned to report on the murders for her newspaper and ordered to stay with Jack Harden. He's old school, tough, and doesn't want her there, but, despite his gruff manner, the big Ranger triggers something inside her. Something more than just her Latin temper.

Can she pull him back from the edge of sanity? Or will death win again?

David Huffstetler's Bio:
Educated in Dallas, North Carolina, David Huffstetler holds degrees in Engineering and Business Administration. He has worked in the area of human relations and spent fourteen years weaving through the maze of politics, including participating in a Federal Law suit as Chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Commission, with a sitting governor over issues of separation of powers. David has served on Boards of Directors for numerous professional organizations including Crime Stoppers, SC Workers’ Compensation Educational Association, SC Safety Council, the SC Fire Academy, and the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Workers’ Compensation. He has advised governors and legislators on matters of public policy and legislation. His wealth of experience is broad and brings deep insight to his writing.

David’s work as a senior manager with a major industrial concern took him to international venues and exposures that helped feed his urge to write Disposable People, a dramatic expose of the working conditions and politics that engulf undocumented workers. Disposable People is a top-ten “Suggested Book” at Tufts University in Boston, MA.

He turned the frustrations and rejection that plagues thousands of yet-to-be-published authors into the heralded mystery/thriller Blood on the Pen, with a serial killer disposing of literary agents. David, an avid history buff, led him to write Dead in Utah, the story of Joe Hill, the controversial musician and union organizer accused of a double murder in 1914.

His books receive praise from mystery readers across the globe.

As an editor, David edited a treatise on the South Carolina workers’ compensation laws, as well as, Shannon Faulkner’s novel Fire and Ice. Shannon was the first female cadet at the Citadel. She received national publicity for her federal lawsuit and was a guest on Good Morning America.

As an editor, public speaker, and seasoned professional, David has appeared on television and radio, and has lectured on the East Coast, California, Canada and Mexico.

David currently lives in Lexington, South Carolina with his wife, Trudy.

eBook
Price: $5.95
Amazon ASIN: B0041G6JC2
BN ID: 2940012599278
Release: August 2010

Amazon buy link ($5.95)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041G6JC2/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes&Noble.com buy link ($5.95)
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=QzmqkDfF8Ig&offerid=239662.2940012599278&type=2&subid=0

Wild Child Publishing buy link ($5.95)
http://www.wildchildpublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=76&products_id=319

Book Lover's Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Book Lover's Holiday Hop sponsored by I Am A Reader, Not a Writer and Kid Lit Frenzy.  This is simply a Book Lover's Hop for the Holidays!  Up for grabs is a book of the winners choice at The Book Depository up to a $10 value.  It's open international (if The Book Depository ships to your country).  Just fill out your name and email so I can contact the winner in the Rafflecopter below and you are entered. The three other entries are optional.

Make sure you check out the other 200+ blogs participating and enter those giveaways as well!


Note:  If you see the wrong Rafflecopter Entry (it should say Book Lover's Holiday Hop), click on this post, sometimes if you scroll through the blog to get to this post it screws up the Rafflecopter, but if you come directly to the post it works fine.  Email me (crystalfulcher(at)ec.rr.com) if you have any problems.