Contrary to all of the other reviews posted, this reader didn't find "Fractured Memories" to be the great read they did. Admittedly, Jo Schneider created a post-apocalyptic world that makes a reader feel as if this must be hell on earth and her setting details were richly descriptive. A reader could certainly visualize the various places such as the 'Den' where protagonist Wendy lives, and the 'Shelter' where she is taken to heal and recover after an attack by the Skinnies destroys her former home. Oddly, the Skinnies are somewhat zombie-like when first introduced to readers, they are victims of a disease that makes them require fresh meat to assuage their hunger for a time, although even that eventually stops working, and they slowly starve to death... yet Wendy is completely taken aback when a Skinny talks to her, as if this is something absolutely unheard of and should not be happening - yet when she hears other Skinnies talking to one another she acts as if it's commonplace. Schneider used a zombie-like comparison for her Skinnies but added the twist that they were not the mindless creatures mumbling "grr's", "argh's", and "uhnn's" that one associates with a zombie, but rather were regular people that had fallen victim to a disease that caused their gruesome and cruel eventual death. This reader found the idea intriguing, but felt better descriptors might have been used when showing the differences between a zombie and a Skinny because Wendy's reaction when one spoke to her, made this reader lose faith in her truthfulness and ability as a narrator. Wendy does not recall ever living a life outside of the life at the Den, her life is one filled with training to fight to protect her loved ones and small bits of happiness roaming in and around the heavily wooded area surrounding the Den. A fairly bleak existence that even Wendy admits she has nothing better to compare it to, so is uncertain if she is truly missing anything. At the end of the book it is revealed that the main tenet she is taught by her faither is to find a few she can trust and hold them close, that they are what is important in the world she lives in. The entire beginning of the book, Wendy makes the unjust leap of logic that Mike, the founder of the 'Shelter', trains Skinnies to attack other compounds for his own nefarious deeds - but the reader is never given anything substantial to lead one to believe that, simply it is Wendy's belief. As Wendy internally rages against 'evil Mike' and plans to kill him for her sufferings, this reader kept asking - why? Why did Wendy immediately leap to the conclusion that Mike planned and carried out the attack on her home? Why did Wendy believe everyone from the Shelter planned to use her in some way? Readers were not given clues as to why Mike would do such a thing, nor were they ever given reasons why Wendy should believe this like she did. And this lack of clues, or Wendy's illogical reasoning, is where this reader found fault in the story line as a whole. There is plenty of action, bloody fights, a kick-ass fighting machine in a tiny body - Wendy is compared to a thirteen year old in looks and stature, but is actually a sixteen year old budding woman - to keep a reader glued to the pages. Young adults that want an action-packed read but will not fault the logic of unreasonable leaps made by the protagonist, with settings that are vivid and easy to visualize, should enjoy this book. The creativity of Schneider cannot be discounted; her settings were visceral and beautifully descriptive, dialogue between characters - for the most part - was natural and believable sounding. There were very few grammar and/or spelling and punctuation errors found, not enough to toss a reader from the story-world. However, for those trained to critically read what is in front of them, the story would be slightly less satisfactory. This reader was given a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest evaulation. ** Review originally posted to Amazon reviews on July 7, 2016. **
