Broken Things ~ Lauren Oliver

I recently picked up Broken Things by Lauren Oliver at my local library. Having loved a lot of her books in the past such as Panic, Before I Fall and the Delirium series I was intrigued to read a new stand alone by her. 

Broken Things follows three teenagers who five years ago killed their best friend. Before, they were just kids. Now they’re known as the Monsters of Brickhouse Lane. The child killers. But five years on that version of events has been told so many times it has just become accepted by all. But Mia, Brynn and Owen know they didn’t do it and it’s about time they found out who did. 

The concept of this book is my cup of tea in a nutshell. Summer, Mia and Brynn are so obsessed with a book called The Way into Lovelorn and the author who wrote it that they decide to write the long awaited sequel it deserves. The fanfiction element in this book gave me so much nostalgia for my hours spent reading on wattpad as a teenager. However they get so sucked into the fiction they soon lose their own reality. The alternating narrative chapters between Mia and Brynn made for a fast paced read but I felt the suspense just didn’t build how I wanted it to. 

The ending, however, I felt was rather abrupt and maybe that was homage to the ending of Lovelorn. I did figure out who the real culprit was towards the end of the book but I do feel it makes for important conversations about just who young people can and can’t trust. Although this definitely isn’t one of my favourite reads of the year I feel Oliver touched on some themes that are really apparent in teenage culture. Overall I gave Broken Things a 3.5⭐️ rating. 

M🌸