Reviewed by Dianna Geers for TeensReadToo.com
FRAGMENTS begins with all of the things a good book should: tension, problems, and many questions. Chase is a junior at a new school, recently discharged from a long hospital stay after a car accident, and struggles with the loss of his memory. His older brother sneaks into the house to see him, but Chase is told to keep his visit a secret. And that's all in the first four pages!
Readers immediately care for Chase and want him to be able to find some peace. As he deals with all of the issues and struggles to grab hold of fragments of memories as they pop into his head, you, too, want to know what happened the night of the car accident. Especially when you find out that he is suffering from "survivor guilt." You hope that the accident wasn't Chase's fault--and feel the need to know the truth.
While Chase searches his memories for bits of information, he is continually taken back to another memory of his brother when they were younger. Chase can't remember the whole situation, but it seems to haunt him, too. It's almost as though the memory of his brother will help to lead him to remembering the events of the accident. However, Chase later realizes that he has kept his own secrets which are worse than the events of the night of the accident . Can Chase handle knowing all of the truths he has tucked away inside his mind?
FRAGMENTS is a fast-paced book with continual tension and unending surprises. This is the first novel of Jeffry W. Johnston, but he is bound to become a favorite young adult author.
FRAGMENTS begins with all of the things a good book should: tension, problems, and many questions. Chase is a junior at a new school, recently discharged from a long hospital stay after a car accident, and struggles with the loss of his memory. His older brother sneaks into the house to see him, but Chase is told to keep his visit a secret. And that's all in the first four pages!
Readers immediately care for Chase and want him to be able to find some peace. As he deals with all of the issues and struggles to grab hold of fragments of memories as they pop into his head, you, too, want to know what happened the night of the car accident. Especially when you find out that he is suffering from "survivor guilt." You hope that the accident wasn't Chase's fault--and feel the need to know the truth.
While Chase searches his memories for bits of information, he is continually taken back to another memory of his brother when they were younger. Chase can't remember the whole situation, but it seems to haunt him, too. It's almost as though the memory of his brother will help to lead him to remembering the events of the accident. However, Chase later realizes that he has kept his own secrets which are worse than the events of the night of the accident . Can Chase handle knowing all of the truths he has tucked away inside his mind?
FRAGMENTS is a fast-paced book with continual tension and unending surprises. This is the first novel of Jeffry W. Johnston, but he is bound to become a favorite young adult author.
