Fractured Tide

by Leslie Lutz

Lost meets Stranger Things in this eerie, immersive YA thriller, thrusting seventeen-year-old Sia into a reality where the waters in front of her and the jungle behind her are as dangerous as the survivors alongside her. 

Sia practically grew up in the water scuba diving, and wreck dives are run of the mill. Take the tourists out. Explore the reef. Uncover the secrets locked in the sunken craft. But this time … the dive goes terribly wrong.

Attacked by a mysterious creature, Sia’s boat is sunk, her customers are killed, and she washes up on a deserted island with no sign of rescue in sight. Waiting in the water is a seemingly unstoppable monster that is still hungry. In the jungle just off the beach are dangers best left untested. When Sia reunites with a handful of survivors, she sees it as the first sign of light.

Sia is wrong.

Between the gulf of deadly seawater in front of her and suffocating depth of the jungle behind her, even the island isn’t what it seems.

Haunted by her own mistakes and an inescapable dread, Sia’s best hope for finding answers may rest in the center of the island, at the bottom of a flooded sinkhole that only she has the skills to navigate. But even if the creature lurking in the depths doesn’t swallow her and the other survivors, the secrets of their fractured reality on the island might.

Fractured Tide:

• Is and eerie and immersive YA thriller told through journal entries from a daughter to her father
• Unfolds through the eyes of a narrator who keeps you guessing until the final pages
• Is a gripping mix of suspense and horror; perfect for readers ages 13 and up

• ISBN10: 0310770106
• ISBN13: 9780310770107
• Publish Date: 24 June 2020 (first published 5 May 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Imprint: Blink
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

Fractured Tide is a frightening and quick-paced mystery/survival story, and I kind of love those. So suffice it to say, this one quite worked for me. There are a few things that didn't as much, but as a whole this was a win! Let us divide it into the yays versus nays!

Yays:

• • Very full of action and adventure. We start out on a diving trip, which is quite routine for Sia and her family. They take people on diving excursions, but this time, things don't go as planned. First, there's the unknown sea monster. Which is bad enough.
  I imagine he looked like Jaha's sea monster, for obvious reasons. Anyway, then Sia finds herself on a deserted island and honestly at that point, the action and adventure has just begun!



• • I was excited to keep reading to figure out what the heck is going on. I mean, I needed to know! Because things aren't "right", you can tell from the start. And I had to know all the details! I am so grateful that this book delivered on some key answers. It satisfied me, no question!



• • Loved the twists and turns the story took. I did not see them coming whatsoever. And I enjoyed that the twists felt unique.



• • Definite focus on family. Obviously it's a very plot-driven book, but there's still a big focus on family. And a bit of a romance, which was fine, but I was way more invested in the family stuff. The story is told through Sia's letters to her incarcerated father, she's fiercely protective of her little brother, and there's clearly all kinds of tension to unpack between Sia and her mom. So I loved that even in the face of danger, Sia is still really concerned about her family.

Nays:

• • Sometimes the technical diving stuff was a little too technical? I found my eyes glazing over a few times when Sia started to get into the nitty-gritty of the diving, and terms, and such. I liked that it was such a huge part of who Sia was, I just had trouble following at times. Or caring to follow maybe, is more appropriate.



• • I didn't always feel particularly connected to Sia, despite enjoying her character. I liked Sia, don't get me wrong! But I think partly because she was telling her father the story perhaps, it felt like I just didn't get a feel for her as well as I'd hoped?

Bottom Line: Super exciting, I was compelled to keep reading to find out all the hows and whys of Sia and company's messy island situation!