REVIEW: Fractured Innocence, by Julia Crane

Kaitlyn and Erik are sent on a mission to track down Vance Dasvoik, a ruthless monster. His latest thrill—abducting and selling young women.Vance's current victim: Aaliyah, a seventeen-year-old who never imagined walking her brother home from school one evening would change her life forever.The mission quickly turns personal for Kaitlyn when she finds Aaliyah beaten, her mind and soul fractured from abuse of the worst kind. Kaitlyn knows firsthand what it's like to be haunted by the past and resolves to bring justice to the elusive Dasvoik.

**This is book 2 in the IFICS series. The first book, Freak of Nature was reviewed on January 9, 2014.

Again, cover art that's actually relevant. It's a pretty miraculous thing, sometimes.

Crane delivers, again. I LOVED Freak of Nature (Who wouldn't?) and Fractured Innocence is a sequel that stands up well. Readers need to understand, though, that this story is very different from Freak.


Kaitlyn is on her first mission, and it's a tough one. Gone is the search for self-awareness story line, the struggle to balance cyborg and human. Understand, the struggles are still there, but that's not the story anymore.

It's pretty gritty. Pretty darn gritty. Aaliyah is abducted by a human sex-trafficking ring. That fact is not glossed over. You know what's happening to her even if it isn't described in specific detail. In other words, you can paint a picture in your mind very easily of the sex scenes and even more easily of the torture scenes (Dasvoik--the ringleader--is sadistic, to say the least). Nothing in those scenes is sugar-coated. Crane has done an amazing job portraying the fear and seriousness of this in the world today. She's made a connection for YAs.

I think the best part of this story is the way Kaitlyn and Aaliyah wind up relating. Don't want to give it away, but their relationship couldn't have been written any other way. I'm looking forward to more in this series, to see how this friendship plays out.

I was hooked in this story from the get go, and not simply because I enjoyed the first book so much. The romance between Kaitlyn and Lucas is still there, just played down some, as it's not central to the story. All of the characters deepen and develop (except Quess, who has a minute role in this book). It's really some masterful characterization. 

My only "cons"--- First, I can't hand this to my 9th and 10th graders. I've got some "young" 11th graders I can't hand this to. Second, the first 70% of the book (according to my e-reader) was build up--which is great. But the last of the story, from the climax to the end just went too quickly, and wrapped up a little too neatly, even knowing that there's more to come. It moved so quickly I re-read it this morning to make sure I hadn't missed something.

What do you think??

Disclosure of Material Connection: I purchased this book for my personal collection. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

REVIEW: Freak of Nature, by Julia Crane

Donate Body to Science. Check.

When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was.

Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds.


First, let me just point out that the cover actually depicts something relevant to the story. I keep running into covers on NetGalley that just don't fit the book (in my mind). This one...most definitely is depicting Kaitlyn.

Second, I'm in love with the fact that this is a cyborg novel. Not a robot, not a vampire, not a dystopian. The "science" in this one could very easily be happening now and we don't even realize it. In that respect, the premise of the book is enticing on several levels (my readers just venturing into sci-fi will pick this up and appreciate the romance bit).

Characterization can, in my experience, make or break a book. I, at first, felt like Kaitlyn was a bit stilted....until I realized she had to be, very literally. She is so limited in who can know she's more human than her caretakers think she is and even when she does let that be known, she can't really connect easily.

The dynamic between Katlyn and Lucas (one of the scientists in the lab and working on her "project") is an interesting one. It felt like the romance bit came on too easily, but then it worked as well. 

Freak of Nature was a quick-read, with a good story line, and some excellent cliff-hanging at the end. I'll definitely pick this up for my library and watch for the next book in the series.

What do you think??

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook galley from Enter Text Here through the netGalley publisher/reader connection program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.