Scan barcode
outoftheblue14's review against another edition
5.0
Fifteen-year-old Scarlett Killian has Long QT Syndrome. This means that her heart rate is not regular; basically, she can have a heart attack at any moment. For this reason, she's been in and out of hospitals her whole life, and she knows she has little chance of becoming adult. Scarlett's biological mother died shortly after she was born, and later her father remarried with the nurse of the local high school. Scarlett's mother is her primary caregiver; her father is often away because of his job.
Scarlett, however, wants to live a normal life as much as she can. She's going to attend high school, together with her defibrillator (which she calls Phil and keeps in a special backpack). At school Scarlett is placed in a peer support group together with Jordan, a handsome soccer player; shy Celina; and drama queen Nessa. Scarlett and her new friends soon attract the attention of the biggest bullies: the school quaterback and his teammates.
I found this book very compelling and almost as much disturbing. I was horrified at the ending - I haven't been this shocked by a book for a while. Scarlett is tiny and weak due to her illness, but also very strong-willed. Her mother has treated her like a baby her whole life; she's always felt a freak, living on borrowed life, between a Set Back and a Near Miss. Finally being able to attend school along with everybody else is a big step for her.
Scarlett soon befriends the other people in her peer support group, then she learns they have had big problems, too. Nessa's older sister (who was Jordan's girlfriend) committed suicide by jumping off the gym roof a few months earlier. Celina's sister is autistic, and her mother is dying of cancer. Scarlett also gets closer to Tony, a clever boy in her Biology class in whom she might be romantically interested.
The bullying in this book was hard to take - among other things, the quaterback tries to set fire to Scarlett's clothes in her first Biology lesson and he is given a slap on the wrist - but, in my opinion, the most disturbing character was Scarlett's mother. Early in the novel I was perplexed at how complete her power over Scarlett's life is. Her father does not seem to be very involved in Scarlett's daily life. It's easy that he would trust his wife because of his job and her work qualifications, yet - it's a bit too much. I felt there was something very fishy when Scarlett's mother denied her access to her own medical records.
As a thriller, Broken packs quite a punch. I never would have imagined how things turned out. The romance between Scarlett and Tony was very fresh and sweet.
Scarlett, however, wants to live a normal life as much as she can. She's going to attend high school, together with her defibrillator (which she calls Phil and keeps in a special backpack). At school Scarlett is placed in a peer support group together with Jordan, a handsome soccer player; shy Celina; and drama queen Nessa. Scarlett and her new friends soon attract the attention of the biggest bullies: the school quaterback and his teammates.
I found this book very compelling and almost as much disturbing. I was horrified at the ending - I haven't been this shocked by a book for a while. Scarlett is tiny and weak due to her illness, but also very strong-willed. Her mother has treated her like a baby her whole life; she's always felt a freak, living on borrowed life, between a Set Back and a Near Miss. Finally being able to attend school along with everybody else is a big step for her.
Scarlett soon befriends the other people in her peer support group, then she learns they have had big problems, too. Nessa's older sister (who was Jordan's girlfriend) committed suicide by jumping off the gym roof a few months earlier. Celina's sister is autistic, and her mother is dying of cancer. Scarlett also gets closer to Tony, a clever boy in her Biology class in whom she might be romantically interested.
The bullying in this book was hard to take - among other things, the quaterback tries to set fire to Scarlett's clothes in her first Biology lesson and he is given a slap on the wrist - but, in my opinion, the most disturbing character was Scarlett's mother. Early in the novel I was perplexed at how complete her power over Scarlett's life is. Her father does not seem to be very involved in Scarlett's daily life. It's easy that he would trust his wife because of his job and her work qualifications, yet - it's a bit too much. I felt there was something very fishy when Scarlett's mother denied her access to her own medical records.
As a thriller, Broken packs quite a punch. I never would have imagined how things turned out. The romance between Scarlett and Tony was very fresh and sweet.
sam_hartwig's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't know much about this book, which is the way I like it. The less I know about it, the less I can judge. The problem with that is I don't usually give books I don't know much about a lot of time if I'm not enjoying them. I started off not liking this because I thought it seemed ridiculous that an extremely sick girl who almost died would get bullied for having her heart condition. That teachers and other students wouldn't stick up for her or even do anything for her. I don't like books about bullying so I think this another reason why I wasn't enjoying it.
I also really despised the stepmother from the beginning, I thought she was weird and extremely uncool. As I read on though I soon realised why the author us (the readers) feel this way - very clever! I almost gave up because of all these things, there were only 7 CD's to listen to (which isn't very many in an audiobook) and I struggled through the first 4 CD's, then I read a few reviews online saying this is a thriller! I was thinking how could it be? I hadn't had any inkling that it was a thriller at all! I thought it was just a typical bullying/high school/sick girl story.
So I kept going and I'm glad I did because that was a pretty awesome ending! Initially this book was getting two stars, but it gets an extra star for the twist at the end. I'm glad I listened to this on audiobook instead of reading it because I would've been more likely to not finish as I have so many other books on my 'to read' list.
The last quarter really makes this book, and that is a shame because I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who may not give it that long. So a lot of people may miss this intriguing book. Hopefully you read my review before giving up!
Also on my blog
I also really despised the stepmother from the beginning, I thought she was weird and extremely uncool. As I read on though I soon realised why the author us (the readers) feel this way - very clever! I almost gave up because of all these things, there were only 7 CD's to listen to (which isn't very many in an audiobook) and I struggled through the first 4 CD's, then I read a few reviews online saying this is a thriller! I was thinking how could it be? I hadn't had any inkling that it was a thriller at all! I thought it was just a typical bullying/high school/sick girl story.
So I kept going and I'm glad I did because that was a pretty awesome ending! Initially this book was getting two stars, but it gets an extra star for the twist at the end. I'm glad I listened to this on audiobook instead of reading it because I would've been more likely to not finish as I have so many other books on my 'to read' list.
The last quarter really makes this book, and that is a shame because I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who may not give it that long. So a lot of people may miss this intriguing book. Hopefully you read my review before giving up!
Also on my blog
postitsandpens's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm. I liked this one, but didn't love it. Right now I'm leaning toward giving it three stars, maybe 3.5. It had nice atmosphere, but I didn't completely buy into the mystery, or story itself.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
jennuinepain's review against another edition
3.0
The story was interesting, but a lot of it didn't feel plausible and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I would have liked to see the story be fleshed out more in several places... it felt like it just started to get good when it was racing to the end.
cbattle521's review against another edition
2.0
She could have done so much more with the climax and ending plot. The climax ended quickly and I feel like it could have been more suspenseful!
leacr's review against another edition
1.0
*Spoiler*
YA
J’ai pas du tout aimé ce livre.
Très long à commencé, c’était juste long pour rien jusqu’au 50 dernières pages ou d’un coup il se passent pleins de trucs et il y a pleins de révélations.
Au début j’avais l’impression que ça aller être une histoire sur une ado atteinte d’une maladie au cœur, qui découvre à 15 ans pour la première fois le lycée, le fait d’être entouré de garçons, et d’avoir une mère overprotective qui aime tout contrôlé.
Du coup les 200 premières pages c’est que ça, c’est long, on y lit chaque seconde de sa journée (le livre se passe sur 1 semaine seulement, ce qui est pas du tout réaliste), il a beaucoup trop de drama dans son lycée, énormément de bullies, et de prof incapables.
Et à la fin on fini par découvrir, qu’elle à jamais été malade, que c’est sa mère qui la rendu malade depuis toujours, que elle avait un jumeau, qu’elle à tué aussi, enfin bref du grand n’importe quoi pas réaliste, sa mère était juste complètement folle, elle a essayé d’empoisonner et tuer d’autres élèves même (elle était l’infirmière de l’ecole).
YA
J’ai pas du tout aimé ce livre.
Très long à commencé, c’était juste long pour rien jusqu’au 50 dernières pages ou d’un coup il se passent pleins de trucs et il y a pleins de révélations.
Au début j’avais l’impression que ça aller être une histoire sur une ado atteinte d’une maladie au cœur, qui découvre à 15 ans pour la première fois le lycée, le fait d’être entouré de garçons, et d’avoir une mère overprotective qui aime tout contrôlé.
Du coup les 200 premières pages c’est que ça, c’est long, on y lit chaque seconde de sa journée (le livre se passe sur 1 semaine seulement, ce qui est pas du tout réaliste), il a beaucoup trop de drama dans son lycée, énormément de bullies, et de prof incapables.
Et à la fin on fini par découvrir, qu’elle à jamais été malade, que c’est sa mère qui la rendu malade depuis toujours, que elle avait un jumeau, qu’elle à tué aussi, enfin bref du grand n’importe quoi pas réaliste, sa mère était juste complètement folle, elle a essayé d’empoisonner et tuer d’autres élèves même (elle était l’infirmière de l’ecole).
maryam162424's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the concept of this book; however, the writing style just wasn't the best for me. I understand that Scarlet was experiencing high school for the very first time, but the way high school was portrayed was extremely stereotypical and basic. I didn't understand the need for a love interest and how instantly that happened. I liked the villain and everything but I wish I heard more from her at the end of the novel. I liked this book but it wasn't spectacular.
macyloves2read's review against another edition
3.0
WOW this book took a turn at the end. I liked the plot, but it seemed like the plot at the beginning was totally different from the end in an unrelated way. I would have NEVER seen the ending coming when reading the beginning. Not even a hint. I learned from this book yes, but the way it was done was weird. There just seemed like so much was going on at once and throwing in random problems. This book had an interesting plot, but sometimes didn't make sense. The ending was very satisfying though.
thegabecole's review against another edition
4.0
So what really drew me to this book was the combination of a disabled protagonist (which I was pretty psyched about) and the promise of a fast-paced thriller, according to the blurb on the back cover. And I’ll admit, for the first 150 pages or so, I was wondering when the thriller bit was going to kick in, because I didn’t find the first half of the book to be particularly fast-paced.
That being said, the beginning wasn’t boring. I enjoyed reading about Scarlet’s life, and her perspective as a teenager never having been to public school before was pretty fascinating—it just wasn’t the fast-paced thriller that I’d been promised.
Queue plot twist.
I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to give details, but I finished the second half of the book in a couple hours. I don’t usually stay up late to finish a book (which I know is rare for a voracious reader like myself, but I tend to be pretty self-disciplined), and yet I totally did with this book. Post plot twist, the “fast-paced thriller” promise really did live up to my expectations.
Broken features a disabled protagonist who is doing everything she can to live her life to the fullest, covers mental illness in a powerful and realistic way and definitely ends with a bang. I’m rating it 4/5 stars and giving it a definite thumbs up.
That being said, the beginning wasn’t boring. I enjoyed reading about Scarlet’s life, and her perspective as a teenager never having been to public school before was pretty fascinating—it just wasn’t the fast-paced thriller that I’d been promised.
Queue plot twist.
I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to give details, but I finished the second half of the book in a couple hours. I don’t usually stay up late to finish a book (which I know is rare for a voracious reader like myself, but I tend to be pretty self-disciplined), and yet I totally did with this book. Post plot twist, the “fast-paced thriller” promise really did live up to my expectations.
Broken features a disabled protagonist who is doing everything she can to live her life to the fullest, covers mental illness in a powerful and realistic way and definitely ends with a bang. I’m rating it 4/5 stars and giving it a definite thumbs up.