Happy release day!
Thanks to Crown Books for Young Readers for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST by Megan Miranda (out today!)
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars!
I’ve never been disappointed with Megan Miranda’s books – I loved THE PERFECT STRANGER and ALL THE MISSING GIRLS, so when I saw FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST was coming out, I knew I had to read it! Despite this being a YA book, it definitely didn’t read like one. So those of you that tend to avoid YA novels should give this one a read.
Jessa’s ex-boyfriend, Caleb, is killed in a horrific accident and everyone is blaming her. Jessa finds herself in his room helping pack away all of his things, and as she progresses she finds traces of herself everywhere. From photos, to shirts, and even a necklace she asked him to keep safe. Despite his mother blaming Jessa, she asked her to help with his things, and Jessa sees this as an opportunity to work through her guilt about their final moments together.
Boxing up Caleb’s life is bringing back so many memories that give her a new perspective on how their relationship was – not how she remembers it. Do you ever truly know the people in our lives? What she’s really trying to figure out is what actually happened that night on the stormy bridge.
This book is told through Jessa’s perspective and we get to experience the grieving process from her point of view. We go along with her through her memories of Caleb and their relationship. I will say that the beginning of the book is slower moving, but I’m so glad I held on! Once the book was set up the ending became a crazy whirlwind! Jessa is a character that I can see readers loving – there’s no real love-hate like some characters can be. As for being considered a YA novel, I’m not really seeing why. Yes, the characters are teenagers, but there isn’t the romance element (since half of that relationship died at the beginning of the book). We don’t go through the typical YA themes in this novel.
Overall, if you want a more contemporary mystery, then I’d highly recommend this one! The beginning has a slower build, but it’s all worth it in the end. Megan Miranda did not disappoint with this one and I’ll continue to insta-buy her books.
Check back soon for the #allthebookreviews collective thoughts!
–Jess
Jessicamap Reviews 