Reviews

Fractured Tide by Leslie Lutz

Only show reviews with written explanations

True rating: 4.5 / 5

WOW. That’s what I have to say about this book. Just wow. It is SO GOOD. I’m not particularly drawn to nautical literature for some reason, but the cover looked enticing and I’ve heard nothing but praise for it, so I took the bait. I started a little slow with it, but somewhere about a third of the way through I reached a point where it just consumed me and I literally couldn’t go to sleep until I finished it. What’s more, this book has staying power; it isn’t the kind of reading experience that’s restricted to the pages, it’s the kind that lingers, that keeps you thinking about it long after the story is over. Now my brain is craving more wacky, modern time-travel mysteries!

I’m kind of a sucker for books written in a “journal” format, so that aspect excited me, but I think the dialogue and formatting make it feel like a typical first person novel; it just didn’t quite read like a journal. Still, the author does an excellent job portraying the internal struggles of a girl reaching out to her estranged father in what she thinks are the last days of her life. The plot is perfectly paced up until the last few chapters, and the diversity of the characters makes it even more interesting…a family of Greek divers living in the shadow of a murderous father; a prissy mean girl with a surprising penchant for engineering; a "tall, dark and handsome" stranger who's actually a science geek; and a teenage sailor from the 1940s. What a cast, right?

The raw emotion with which the story is written solidifies the realism of these characters as well. I found myself so often internally screaming at Sia to listen to her gut, which is a sure sign that the author wrote characters that I actually care about and root for.

The only criticism I have for this novel is the ending.

Spoiler

I think the reason it's confusing is because the mechanism of the time machine isn’t fully explained. It doesn't just put them in a time loop, it seems to create a new timeline altogether every time it resets. This would explain why Sia's final journal entry disappears after each reset. But once the time loop is broken, all of the journals from the different timelines wash up on the shore. If each journal now belongs to a separate timeline, why do they all end up here?

The inclusion of Graham's entry also confuses me. He talks about trying to find Sia's father to tell him that Sia forgives him, heavily implying that she is dead and her dying wish was for him to deliver this message. But it turns out she is alive and well, and she writes about how she is going to tell her dad everything herself, in person. Why did Graham spend so much time trying to tell him, then? I feel like it was a final effort to subvert the reader's expectations but the confusion makes it fall flat.

Overall, I absolutely recommend this book to others! I wish I could read it for the first time again so I could re-experience the epic impact!

zluvsreading's review

Go to review page

5.0

— 4.75 stars ✮

"I didn't appreciate it then, all the stuff that had made it through. No one does, I guess. Appreciate what's left, I mean, after a storm takes your life and flips it upside down."

"I needed to get away from the topside world, the heavy pull of gravity and the smell of the forest and the noise all of us made. Down in the dark, floating weightless in space, I can finally breathe."

Wow. What an amazing debut novel!! I am actually going to attempt to write a coherent review for once in my life. Here we go...

This book reminded me of so many things all at once. Manifest. 47 meters down. Before I Fall. The Do-Over (but make it scary-ocean-suspense). Our main character is a 17-year old (Greek?) girl named Tasia who loves the ocean, diving, and every single risk that comes with it. She is working as an employee for her mom, taking people on scuba diving tours. When the dive goes horrendously wrong and a weird sea creature appears, suddenly Sia's world gets upturned. Stranded on an island that is nowhere near normal, she has to work together with the remaining survivors to try to get home. Filled with mystery, suspense, and all things diving-related, this novel will mess with your mind in all the right ways. Instead of chapters, we get entry logs written to Tasia's dad who is in prison, but she is telling the story through her letters to him. It's pretty funny because we find out she doesn't have an eraser, so instead of "Shatter Me" strike-throughs, she just keeps writing and apologizes like, "Sorry if that's out of pocket, I don't have an eraser." It's my favorite thing.

The only downfall I have with this book is Phil. Enough said.

I can't wait for future works of Leslie's if they are anything like this. Go read this, I'm begging you!

bkmckown's review

Go to review page

3.0

Strange premise but the trapped in, “am I going crazy?” Feeling left the reader with a sense of unease. Something coming up from the depths of the ocean can make anyone paranoid.

n7centurion's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

sarahjackman's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

sprout_monster's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Cool plot and resolution with interesting characters. Could've seen more character development and there were a couple lines I didn't quite understand, so a solid 4 star for me.