Book Blurb:
From the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls and The Perfect Stranger comes a suspenseful psychological mystery about one girl's search to uncover the truth behind her ex-boyfriend's death. Perfect for fans of We Were Liars and 13 Reasons Why.
Jessa Whitworth knew she didn't belong in her ex-boyfriend Caleb's room. But she couldn't deny that she was everywhere: in his photos, his neatly folded T-shirts, even the butterfly necklace in his jeans pocket . . . the one she gave him for safe keeping on that day.
His mother asked her to pack up his things, even though she blames Jessa for his accident. How could she say no? And maybe, just maybe, it will help her work through the guilt she feels about their final moments together.
But as Jessa begins to box up the pieces of Caleb's life, they trigger memories that make Jessa realize their past relationship may not be exactly as she remembered. And she starts to question whether she really knew Caleb at all.
Each fragment of his life reveals a new clue that propels Jessa to search for the truth about Caleb's accident. What really happened on the storm-swept bridge?
Learn more about the book on Goodreads and pick up a copy from Amazon
My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery, Teen--
Jessa has spent the last 4oish days wallowing in grief, isolating herself from her friends and world, since her ex-boyfriend Caleb died while driving off a bridge during a flash flood- and Jessa was the last seen talking to him. Tasked by his mother Eve to clean and pack his room since the house is for sale, Jessa searches his room for clues as to what happened to him, what happened to them, trying to find herself along the way.
This was very much so a character study of a book narrated by Jessa, but I feel like I don't know Jessa very well (she was more like the unbiased narrator, showing us facts with not too much judgement thrown in)- she seems like a nice, regular teen girl, feels a little lost in her family that focuses on her talented older brother, was consumed by her boyfriend as well as her boyfriends death. We learn about Caleb, the fact Jessa knew nothing about him while he was alive, but now that he is dead she learns all his secrets. And boy, was Caleb a convoluted character. We also get to know Eve, Caleb's mother, who is kind of a terrible person, forcing Jessa's hand, full of mistrust and overstepping her boundaries. Yeah, there was some crazy relationship dynamics in this story that kept me completely hooked!
To me this is the most emotional of Megan's books, and as a super fan, I have read almost all of them, be it her YA or adult mysteries. The entire duration of the story was filled with angst and depression, it was basically dripping though the pages, so almost tangible that I felt like I could reach out and feel it coming from Jessa. It was not only Jessa's depression of her first love being dead, but her grief over the unraveling of their relationship. I was just as curious as to what happened between Jessa and Caleb and Caleb's last hours as Jessa was and I was 100% engaged, but this was not a happy read, not even a little bit.
As per the norm for Megan, this was a great read, a completely new premise and delivery method (told through memories of found items and current events) that makes each layer to the story become important, a complete picture being revealed as the shell is slowly removed. Fragments of the Lost was a slow burn mystery, setting things up, getting emotional, before we start delving deeper. There were so many twists and turns, questions that had the wrong answers, lies that popped up- I will admit that I was shocked repeatedly. I had no idea what was coming next, or even what I hoped would be revealed.
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