Book Review: BROKEN by C.J. Lyons

Photo credit: Goodreads

I guest posted on Deanna Di Lello's blog just recently on what keeps me writing. Feel free to check out the post and say hi! :)

So I don’t usually do two book reviews in such close proximity, but after I finished reading Broken by C.J. Lyons, I knew I’d have to make an exception. Because this book deserves a boost.

As per usual, let’s start with the Goodreads summary:

“The only thing fifteen-year-old Scarlet Killian has ever wanted is a chance at a normal life. Diagnosed with a rare and untreatable heart condition, she has never taken the school bus. Or giggled with friends during lunch. Or spied on a crush out of the corner of her eye. So when her parents offer her three days to prove she can survive high school, Scarlet knows her time is now... or never. Scarlet can feel her heart beating out of control with every slammed locker and every sideways glance in the hallway. But this high school is far from normal. And finding out the truth might just kill Scarlet before her heart does.”

So what really drew me to this book was the combination of a disabled protagonist (which I was pretty psyched about) and the promise of a fast-paced thriller, according to the blurb on the back cover. And I’ll admit, for the first 150 pages or so, I was wondering when the thriller bit was going to kick in, because I didn’t find the first half of the book to be particularly fast-paced.

That being said, the beginning wasn’t boring. I enjoyed reading about Scarlet’s life, and her perspective as a teenager never having been to public school before was pretty fascinating—it just wasn’t the fast-paced thriller that I’d been promised.

Queue plot twist.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not going to give details, but I finished the second half of the book in a couple hours. I don’t usually stay up late to finish a book (which I know is rare for a voracious reader like myself, but I tend to be pretty self-disciplined), and yet I totally did with this book. Post plot twist, the “fast-paced thriller” promise really did live up to my expectations.

Broken features a disabled protagonist who is doing everything she can to live her life to the fullest, covers mental illness in a powerful and realistic way and definitely ends with a bang. I’m rating it 4/5 stars and giving it a definite thumbs up.

I'd love to read more books that cover disability and/or mental illness while still providing an exciting plot. Any recommendations? 

Twitter-sized bite: 

Writer @Ava_Jae gives BROKEN by C.J. Lyons 4/5 stars. Have you read this book? (Click to tweet)