Fracture
Seventeen-year-old Delaney Maxwell has the chance for a do-over. She survived the seemingly unsurvivable—11 minutes beneath water, before being pulled out. But her survival has come with a price: she now has the ability to sense when another person is near death. She is drawn to Troy Varga, another accident survivor, who has her same ability, but while he tries to shorten the suffering of the dying and help them towards death, Delaney is determined to save them. The unique plot would be enough to draw YA readers to Miranda’s first novel, but add multifaceted characters, a true-to-life high-school setting—complete with all the cliques—and the fearful love-hate relationship with Troy, not to mention a love affair between Delaney and the boy who saved her, and the novel has further appeal. Pair this with Cynthia Voigt’s Izzy, Willy-Nilly (2005), Wendelin Van Draanen’s The Running Dream (2011), and Davida Wills Hurwin’s A Time for Dancing (1995) for interesting reads on living life in the midst of death. Grades 8-12. --Frances Bradburn