YA Novel Review: Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Lauren Oliver’s novel Broken Things is a back and forth novel between the past and the present as it’s main characters, Mia and Brynn, deny the

existence of a fictional world that they were obsessed with as kids and whether or not it had anything to do with the murder of Summer Marks, their best friend. The murder they were accused of. The story shows the girls not only facing harsh truths and their traumatic pasts, as well as trying to

prove their innocence and uncover the truth about the fictional world, Lovelorn and their supposed best friend, who wasn’t who they thought she was.

The novel is a murder mystery mixed with coming of age as the girls are drawn back together through a mix of the past and present through the five year anniversary of the unsolved murder, they are forced to rekindle their friendship and recover from the painful coping mechanisms they used to hide from a world that hates them.

I read the 400-page book in one day, unable to put it down. The story is not only consuming, but it’s fastpaced and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I highly recommend this read for anyone looking for a book that shocks them with each page turn and keeps them guessing about who is Summer Marks and what really happened to her.