Wrecked by Anna Davies
Ever since the death of her parents, Miranda has lived on Whym Island, taking comfort in the local folklore, which claims a mysterious sea witch controls the fate of all on the island and in its surrounding waters. Sometimes it’s just easier to believe things are out of your control.
But then a terrible boating accident takes the lives of several of her friends, and Miranda is rescued by a mysterious boy who haunts her dreams. Consumed by guilt from the accident, she finds refuge in late-night swims—and meets Christian, a boy who seems eerily familiar, but who is full of mystery: He won’t tell her where he is from, or why they can only meet at the beach. But Miranda falls for him anyway…and discovers that Christian’s secrets, though meant to protect her, may bring her nothing but harm.
3 stars
Wrecked was one of those books that left me with a twisted gut, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.
It was, certainly, not what I expected. If you’re looking for a novel with a distinct focus on mermaids, look elsewhere. This one was more of a contemporary drama that happened to have mermaids in it. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but it was not what I’d thought I’d signed up for.
Personally, the pace of the plot was much slower than I like to read. I prefer novels that GOGOGO. The whole first couple of chapters, especially, are full of clunky back story that I don’t really think had much bearing on the story. After all, the synopsis TELLS you that her friends die, so why drag it out? I don’t want to sound like a horrible person, but still: if they’re going to die, KILL THEM. Don’t tell me what they all were like in kindergarten. There’s time for that later, when I feel like I care.
Miranda as a main character infuriated me. The way that her pain was written was gut wrenching and almost made me cry, but her actions didn’t DO anything. Her grandmother just told her to do things and she bowed her head and backed down. My gut twisted further with outrage and annoyance at these times. I kept bashing my head against the cover, begging her to snap out of it. But she didn’t. Ever. To this moment, I’m not sure if it was in character with all the pain she was feeling or out of it.
The romance in this book wasn’t as prevalent as I thought it would be. Of course it’s insta-love and all that, but it was really more of a short blip in the book rather than a focus. I’ll cap my rant on insta-love because you guys don’t want to hear it for the umpteenth time, but still. I do not like insta-love. I do have to say, though, that I adored Miranda’s honest ruminations about her relationship with her boyfriend Fletch, who was left in a coma after tha accident. That, at least, was real teenager thoughts that I connected with.
All in all, this was one of those books that I didn’t love or hate, mostly because it wasn’t my taste. It moves slowly and focuses a lot on Miranda’s emotions. That’s beautiful done, for sure, but … what can I say, I’m an action girl. 😛 I would certainly recommend this book to those people who like emotional books, but–again–the mermaid factor in this one is very small. If you’re a contemporary YA lover who’s looking to dip their toes into the latest mermaid fad, then this is for you!
AND I’M HERE TO HELP YOU.
I actually have TWO copies of Wrecked to giveaway. You excited? You should be. Click HERE to enter! This giveaway is US only and goes til 11:59 PM of July 31st.
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