A seductive yet chilling thriller about life after death
Megan Miranda studied Biology and Anthropology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she twice won a coveted award for research in Bioengineering. This is Megan's first novel. She lives in North Carolina, USA, with her husband and two young children.
Miranda's debut is a captivating and intelligent story of love and death with a dash of the supernatural. Seventeen-year-old Delaney Maxwell "dies" after falling into a frozen Maine lake. Rescued and revived by her best friend Decker after 11 minutes under the ice, Delaney spends six days in a coma and awakens with an itch deep in her brain that, again and again, leads her to people who are on the verge of death. Unresolved feelings and guilt over the near-drowning put tremendous stress on Delaney and Decker's relationship, which is further complicated by Troy, a secretive older boy who is also drawn toward the dying. Delaney continues to struggle in the accident's aftermath, and a devastating prediction of death only makes matters worse. Miranda's riveting plot drives to an equally tense climax as she gracefully weaves together themes of suffering, compassion, jealousy, friendship, and trust. The fluid writing, empathetic characters, and big questions raised elevate this paranormal romance into a haunting meditation on what it means to be human and to truly live. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Gr 8 Up-When Delaney Maxwell, 17, falls through the ice, her best friend, Decker, saves her, but not until 11 minutes have passed. After six days in a coma, she wakes up with few side effects. Her MRI indicates brain damage, but she seems to show no signs of it. Of course, it causes concern that her hands tremble, and she is strangely drawn to people who are about to die. Delaney meets mysterious Troy, 19, who knows all about her situation and is drawn to the same dying people. Decker is obviously in love with Delaney, and she with him, even though they are both trying to fight this change in their close friendship. With the additional tension that Troy adds to the mix, Delaney's strange attraction to people on the brink of death, and strain among their circle of friends and families, readers are never sure if the pair will ever be together. The story sometimes seems to be headed toward the supernatural, and then it suddenly makes a sharp turn toward realistic science, and then back again. The love triangle, combined with the allure of danger, will carry readers through this story that pulls them back every time they might feel ready to give up.-Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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