Format: E-Galley, 205 pages
Release Date: May 20, 2015
Publisher: Just Add Peril
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Genre: Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic
Sixteen year old Wendy never knew the world before the Starvation. She’s learned to put her trust in her knives, and her confidence in her fighting ability. When the Skinnies attack her compound, she's the lone survivor.
Injured and near death, Wendy is rescued and nursed back to health by mysterious strangers. Her saviors offer her a place among them, but trust has never been one of Wendy's strengths, and suspicion soon leads to evidence that these people might be the group who killed her family.
The decision to get her revenge, and take the settlement down from the inside out is easy. Keeping her distance from those she must befriend in order to make it happen proves to be much more difficult.
Fractured Memories is the first installment in the Jagged Scars series by new to me author Jo Schneider. Schneider writes about a world where the Starvation killed off half the world's population, and turned others into Skinnies. 16-year old Wendy lives in a compound they call the Den. She's a fierce character who has been taught to fight by the best, and is in charge of scheduling the watches and patrols that go out searching for supplies. But, when a massive invasion of "Skinnies" attacks the Den, Wendy becomes the only survivor having been shoved into a crate by her mentor.
What happens next is Wendy's journey to discover who was responsible for killing everyone in the den, including her father, and sister. Wendy is saved by a group of people who arrived too late to assist. She is taken back to their underground complex and treated for her injuries. She is very suspicious of the people of the complex, especially the timing of their arrival. She truly believes these people were responsible for the Den's massacre and sets out to right things in her own way. Wendy also finds friendship with people like Matt, Jeff, Arie, Calvin, and Kevin who thinks she's the bees knees.
Let's discuss Schneider's Skinnies for a moment. Skinnies were created by the Starvation after crops like corn went bad. Starvation comes after a person eats bad food, and then slowly finds that they can't get enough food. You can, I supposed, call them zombies since they eventually find themselves eating raw meat, and humans. The Skinnies warn you when they are coming with their yelling and their moaning. Yet, in the case of the Den, it doesn't matter how prepared they were when someone betrays them.
I am grateful to Giselle @ Xpresso Book Tours for offering this story up for review. I am definitely eager to read the sequel since the ending of THIS book has left me wondering what Wendy and her new friends will do next. I love Wendy. Let me just say that she is one of the best heroines in a young adult story that I have read recently. I love her tenacity. I love her drive and her ability to kick those much taller and stronger asses. I love that people have a tendency of underestimating her desire and strength since she's always the smallest person in the room. I also want to see Wendy get revenge on those responsible for the Den's destruction.
Conclusion: Fractured Memories is a really interesting story. Could have used a bit more world building, but the explanation as to what happened to the world Schneider built doesn't necessarily have to be complex to be entertaining. Main character is kickass, hardcore, and a human wrecking ball once someone pisses her off. But I do wonder why authors write characters who are barely FIVE FEET TALL! Loved the second half of this book. Kind of blew me away with the identity of the groups betrayer. Then again, it doesn't shock me either. Hoping that Wendy doesn't fall into a love triangle in the next installment.
* I received a free copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
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