Broken by Elizabeth Pulford

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Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers…the site that’s not afraid to try something new in a genre well loved; after all, how else are you going to find your next favorite read?

Today, we’re taking a stroll into the land of Young Adult books with an interesting contribution to the literary scene.  It’s a work of fiction and yet the events that transpire could realistically happen presenting us with a unique look at what happens, or might happen, behind the closed eyes of one with us but only just.  Confused?  Don’t be.  The book takes care of writing the perspectives beautifully and makes sure you (the reader) are up to speed on what’s happening so there will be no cries of being lost heard here.  Ready to make the acquaintance of today’s book of choice?  Coming at you in 3…2…1…

Broken

By

Elizabeth Pulford

Illustrated by

Angus Gomes

9780762450046

Running Press Teens

This is a story about familial love, lives lost both physically and in essence, and finding oneself again through the muck of life.  It’s told through an interesting perspective, that of 15 going on 16 year old Zara…who happens to be in a coma; she just doesn’t know it.  In truth, there’s a lot she doesn’t know quite yet, some of which is being withheld from her (to protect her of course), other things she has to discover the truth of on her own.

Told through both recollections of times gone by (harrowing as well as happy) and current events as they unfold, you get to know the many sides of young Zara.  From the strong willed teenager stubbornly seeking her own path to the dutiful kid sister playing her brother like a well loved guitar to get what she wants, the loved though perhaps overlooked at times daughter spinning circles with her pink sparkly scarf to the young lady laying broken before us into more pieces than can be imagined yet still fighting her way back from the brink.  It’s a hard journey filled with empty valleys of guilt, dreams shattered by sorrow and loss beyond compare, but with the support system she has in place and her own inner strength, I’d place my money on Zara.

In conclusion, a story that will appeal to both the avid and reluctant reader as it blurs the line between Young Adult Fiction and the artistry of the Graphic Novel with a well sharpened pencil.  The characters are believable even when they err on the side of the fantastical.  The events are complex yet still easy to follow.  The eventual outcome stays partially hidden like the face of Hoodman in the comics her brother Jem favorited, or for that matter, Jem himself, letting readers wander through the landscape of Zara’s mind as she seeks a path back to herself in more ways than one.  Despite the fact that some of the reviews I’m seen rated this one lower on their star scales, my own (if I used them) would reach much higher.  I not only enjoyed the read but was happily surprised by it as well and I think you will be too if you give it a chance.  Just sayin’.  ^_^

ARC for review courtesy of Seta at Running Press Teens.  (THANKS!)  For more information regarding this title as well as their full catalog, be sure to stop by their official site.  This title celebrated its book birthday a few weeks back via Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf near you.

Until next time...happy reading!