Left to Write: Fangirl Friday Review & Giveaway: VENGEANCE by Megan Miranda

Title: VENGEANCE by Megan Miranda
Pub Date: Out now!
ARC received from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books in exchange for an honest review.
Dannie says: This book is so good I'm breaking my own rules to review it.

In a gripping sequel to celebrated novel, Fracture, Megan Miranda once again straddles the line between life and death.

Nobody really believes in a curse. Until you know the people who disappear. Too much coincidence, you look for reason. Too much death, you grasp for something to blame. Carson pulled Delaney out and he died on the side of the road with her mouth pressed to his. Her air in his body. Troy. She told the cops it was suicide. Didn't matter. The lake released her and grabbed another. But when Decker's father dies in a pool of spilled water on their kitchen floor, all Decker can feel is a slow burning rage. Because he knows that Delaney knew that his dad was going to die. She knew and backed out of his house and never said a word. Falcon Lake still has a hold on them both, and Decker can't forgive Delaney until he knows why.

So I have this long standing policy that reviewing friends' books on my blog is a little silly because I'm obviously biased to love them. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Megan through my state chapter of SCBWI and I've become a total fangirl of her work. She's become a valued mentor for my own writing process and she's seriously one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

But in complete objectivity? Her new book is awesome.

WHAT I LIKED

All the suspenseful twists and turns along the way to a resolution that is out of the box and unexpected. Once I started reading I did not want to put this book down. No spoilers this time. You'll have to read and find out for yourselves!

Decker's narrative voice. It's refreshing for a female writer to write a male POV that isn't too feminine and also isn't Captain Trying Too Hard the way it is when I write male POV. Decker's voice is authentically teen boy.

Decker's POV in general--I liked getting to hang out in his head for a while. He was interesting to me as a (albeit fictional) person and I was curious to see where he would take us. And he didn't disappoint! I like how different he is as a main character from Delaney. It gives the story concept here a totally new perspective from FRACTURE.

WHAT I LOVED

The philosophy and intentional inconcreteness--the nice thing about a brilliant writer who is also a brilliant person is that there is a whole other level of cognition behind the book. Megan has this in spades. I like that the answers we get aren't easy. That this story has layers and layers to explore while re-reading.

The "what if" factor is like woah. This series is contemporary magical realism at its finest. Seriously, for writers who are uncertain about the difference between fantasy and MR, this series is a perfect example.

WHAT I WANTED MORE OF

Decker!! No really he is one of my favorite book boyfriends ever. When I found out we were going to get a companion to FRACTURE from Decker's POV, I maybe sort of squeed. Just a little.

I wanted more Delaney actually. With her being the POV character in FRACTURE I sort of missed her when she want around. But I do like that we get some answers from her in this book without overshadowing the fact that this is Decker's story.

Short story long, VENGEANCE is the perfect book to snuggle up with, since Decker isn't available. ;P It's the kind of book I will definitely re-read. At least until Megan's next book comes out. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. In the meantime, there are buy links for VENGEANCE below!!