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A review by thepetitepunk
Broken Things by Lauren Oliver
5.0
ARC provided by a Goodreads giveaway
4.5 stars
I had a hard time putting Broken Things down. This is one of those books where after reading the first sentence, you just know it's going to be good.
Quite a few elements made me fall in love with Broken Things. First and foremost, the cover is amazing. When I first saw it, I didn't even care what the book was about—I just knew I wanted to read it. And then there was the first scene of the book, which is violent, mysterious, and unexpected, serving its purpose of pulling the reader in very well. Lauren Oliver has a flowery, simile-filled way of writing that may not sit well with everyone, but I actually enjoyed it; the imagery is vivid, which works well for a book about girls with a strong imagination. The other part I really liked about Broken Things is the characters.
I'll admit, not everyone will fall in love with them. The two main characters, Brynn and Mia, are accused of murdering their best friend Summer after their obsession with the novel The Way into Lovelorn gets out of hand. When the five year anniversary of the murder approaches, the two girls finally set out to discover the truth behind it. Even though Brynn and Mia did not commit the murder, they are not perfect. Summer was far from perfect too. Although Brynn, Mia, and Summer were young when tragedy struck, they were far from innocent, flawless kids. But that's what I loved so much about them. Just from personal experience, Lauren Oliver perfectly captures what it's like to be a part of a trio of lonely, middle school girls. There were quite a few moments where I had to stop reading because Broken Things hit way too close to home. I may not have experienced the murder of one of my closest friends, but based off of their personalities and interactions, I could have easily replaced Brynn, Mia, and Summer's names with my name and my two friends from middle school's names. I know that these characters will rub many people the wrong way. I know, because I was once a part of a group like theirs, and I know that they're on the sidelines for a reason. But still, I could empathize with them, even though they weren't the best people.
The only other thing I have to say is that the ending was a bit disappointing. I don't read a lot of mysteries so I didn't figure it out by myself, but I had such high hopes for the ending that I was let down. The ending was more of a 3 stars for me, but I loved every other part of the book so much that it didn't really matter to me (even though it's the ending that makes a mystery good). Overall, Broken Things is fantastic. Just be warned though, it is pretty graphic, and some of the images and topics might be a bit unsettling.
4.5 stars
I had a hard time putting Broken Things down. This is one of those books where after reading the first sentence, you just know it's going to be good.
Quite a few elements made me fall in love with Broken Things. First and foremost, the cover is amazing. When I first saw it, I didn't even care what the book was about—I just knew I wanted to read it. And then there was the first scene of the book, which is violent, mysterious, and unexpected, serving its purpose of pulling the reader in very well. Lauren Oliver has a flowery, simile-filled way of writing that may not sit well with everyone, but I actually enjoyed it; the imagery is vivid, which works well for a book about girls with a strong imagination. The other part I really liked about Broken Things is the characters.
I'll admit, not everyone will fall in love with them. The two main characters, Brynn and Mia, are accused of murdering their best friend Summer after their obsession with the novel The Way into Lovelorn gets out of hand. When the five year anniversary of the murder approaches, the two girls finally set out to discover the truth behind it. Even though Brynn and Mia did not commit the murder, they are not perfect. Summer was far from perfect too. Although Brynn, Mia, and Summer were young when tragedy struck, they were far from innocent, flawless kids. But that's what I loved so much about them. Just from personal experience, Lauren Oliver perfectly captures what it's like to be a part of a trio of lonely, middle school girls. There were quite a few moments where I had to stop reading because Broken Things hit way too close to home. I may not have experienced the murder of one of my closest friends, but based off of their personalities and interactions, I could have easily replaced Brynn, Mia, and Summer's names with my name and my two friends from middle school's names. I know that these characters will rub many people the wrong way. I know, because I was once a part of a group like theirs, and I know that they're on the sidelines for a reason. But still, I could empathize with them, even though they weren't the best people.
The only other thing I have to say is that the ending was a bit disappointing. I don't read a lot of mysteries so I didn't figure it out by myself, but I had such high hopes for the ending that I was let down. The ending was more of a 3 stars for me, but I loved every other part of the book so much that it didn't really matter to me (even though it's the ending that makes a mystery good). Overall, Broken Things is fantastic. Just be warned though, it is pretty graphic, and some of the images and topics might be a bit unsettling.