Miracle Review

Miracle
by Elizabeth Scott
Expected Publication: 6.05.12
From Goodreads:

 Megan survived the plane crash—but can she survive the aftermath? An intense, emotional novel from the author of The Unwritten Rule and Between Here and Forever.Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn’t feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.      Scared and alone, Megan doesn’t know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved....

My Thoughts:  I've only read Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott so I haven't read her happier YA books.  I like her darker themes, and I'm a bit surprised I haven't read Grace yet, but I'm pretty sure I have it somewhere on my Kindle.  She writes about real teens in uncomfortable situations, and Megan is certainly in one as the main character of Miracle.

I found it easy to identify with Megan, how apathetic she felt towards her life after surviving the plane crash that she can't even remember.  How everyone stopped seeing her as Megan, and more as some miraculous being.  Her connection with Joe, who is also associated with events in his life rather than for anything he's ever done, felt true.  Although my favorite part of the book was Megan's friendship with Margaret, and that they both really began to see one another.  Margaret knew exactly what Megan needed, saw the trouble and despair that Megan's parents pretended not to see.

I really wish Scott had delved into Margaret's past in Vietnam, because I was interested in her character.  It's great to have a positive lesbian character in Miracle, but I just wanted her role to be a bit bigger. The fact that Margaret and her deceased partner were a devoted gay couple was not glossed over considering the small town they live in, but it's also not blown out of proportion.  Margaret's character was not a stereotype, or a token character.  I found her very compelling and would be happy to read a book about her time in Viet Nam.

There were some misses for me.  In part it's because the book is short and told from Megan's pov, we only get information as she decides to parcel it out.  I felt, at least with Joe and Megan's little brother, that certain things were too slow to be revealed, like how Joe's sister died and what was wrong with her younger brother when he was a kid.  Of course, I guess that shows how into the book I was, that I was impatient to get more information.  But it was also a bit frustrating at times.

I also had a hard time with Megan's parents.  I understood how devastating it must have been to be told your child was dead, only to be presented with a living daughter at the hospital.  It would be a miracle, and I understand their attitude toward her in the book.  But I had a struggle with their new treatment of their young son.  I think it would have been more believable if they'd continued to be overly concerned for both their children.  But that's just a minor complaint. Teensy, really.

I will definitely be reading more by Elizabeth Scott.  I find the subjects she tend to pick for her books to interesting, the books are always quick page turners (I read Living Dead Girl in one sitting at Barnes and Noble), and she always leaved me wanting just a bit more.

Miracle gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 I think it does a great job of conveying how alone Megan feels, although the girl in the picture seems a bit younger than Megan.

**Disclaimer- I briefly received the ARC of this book through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.