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Monday, 9 April 2018

BOOK REVIEW | 'Fragments of the Lost' by Megan Miranda (****)

Hey guys, and happy Monday! Today I am thrilled to be sharing with you another book review, another YA novel that you can sink your teeth into during spring essays/exams/dissertation, whatever you have going on! Personally, for me, I love nothing better than a great YA novel to get totally lost in, wrapped up in someone else's life (and all the mysteries that come with it!) 
If this sounds like exactly what you need right now, then you need to read Fragments of the Lost by Megan Miranda. Fragments of the Lost is a tense, mysterious, utterly thrilling novel following Jessa, who has to come to terms with the death of her ex-boyfriend Caleb, whom she discovers after a while she did not know very well at all. Not only this, but his less-than-friendly mother has asked her to clean out his room, and every taped-up photograph and gym sock is a stark reminder that no one really knows what happened to Caleb at all. Soon enough, Jessa's mission is to not only clear out his room but find out what really happened to Caleb, once and for all.

 I was kindly sent this book by Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review :)

 Intrigued? Check out the blurb here...
From the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger comes a suspenseful psychological mystery about one girl's search to uncover the truth behind her ex-boyfriend's death. Perfect for fans of We Were Liars and 13 Reasons Why . 

Jessa Whitworth knew she didn't belong in her ex-boyfriend Caleb's room. But she couldn't deny that she was everywhere: in his photos, his neatly folded T-shirts, even the butterfly necklace in his jeans pocket... the one she gave him for safe keeping on that day.

His mother asked her to pack up his things, even though she blames Jessa for his accident. How could she say no? And maybe, just maybe, it will help her work through the guilt she feels about their final moments together.

But as Jessa begins to box up the pieces of Caleb's life, they trigger memories that make Jessa realize their past relationship may not be exactly as she remembered. And she starts to question whether she really knew Caleb at all. 


Each fragment of his life reveals a new clue that propels Jessa to search for the truth about Caleb's accident. What really happened on the storm-swept bridge?

I really enjoyed this book; it has a comforting 'YA novel writing style' that I immediately recognised and settled into. This book had a really interesting premise and I wanted to find out more about the mystery surrounding Caleb's death. However, one thing I would criticise about this book is the way in which the plot moves quite slowly at the beginning of the novel; Caleb's death is not treated as much of a mystery as to what I had read on the blurb. From the middle of the book onwards things get very complex and I couldn't wait to find out what happened at the end, however at the beginning admittedly the plot does move quite slowly. 

I thought the characters were very well crafted and I found all of them to be interesting, especially with the relations between each other. Miranda's writing and extreme attention to detail meant that for me, Caleb was a three-dimensional character and I learned so much about him, even though all we learned about him were through flashbacks and Jessa's descriptions of him. I thought Jessa herself was a thoroughly likeable character and I liked how inquisitive she was. I enjoyed her exchanges with Caleb's Mum (she gave me the absolute creeps) and also her brother Julian and Caleb's best friend and neighbour Max. They were great characters and it would have been interesting to see things from their perspective. 

I thought the ending was brilliant, and it surpassed my expectations completely. I did to a certain extent guess what might happen, but the whole thing was carried off so well, a huge credit to Miranda's writing, which kept me hanging onto every word. Altogether I loved this book, so if you enjoy mysteries and YA contemporary novels, you are sure to love this!


Check out Megan Miranda here: http://www.meganmiranda.com

 Until next time :)



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