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All the Broken Pieces

by Cindi Madsen (Goodreads Author)

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 337 ratings · 101 reviews

What if your life wasn’t your own?

Liv comes out of a coma with no memory of her past and two distinct, warring voices inside her head. Nothing, not even her reflection, seems familiar. As she stumbles through her junior year, the voices get louder, insisting she please the popular group while simultaneously despising them. But when Liv starts hanging around with Spencer, w...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published December 11th 2012 by Entangled Teen

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May 01, 2013 Giselle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, ebook, contemporary, mystery-thriller

All the Broken Pieces reminded me a little of Slated which I had just read recently, though this one is a more contemporary, and we get answers! Reading two similar books so close together is bound to provoke comparisons, and I think because I was craving for answers that we never got in Slated, I enjoyed this stand-alone a lot more than I might have otherwise. This is not to say that the book is bad--on the contrary, its mind boggling nature sucked me in until the very end, but the ending itsel...more All the Broken Pieces reminded me a little of Slated which I had just read recently, though this one is a more contemporary, and we get answers! Reading two similar books so close together is bound to provoke comparisons, and I think because I was craving for answers that we never got in Slated, I enjoyed this stand-alone a lot more than I might have otherwise. This is not to say that the book is bad--on the contrary, its mind boggling nature sucked me in until the very end, but the ending itself, as well as some plausibility issues I had with the whole story, does make it a lower end 4 stars.

We have a girl who wakes up in a hospital with zero memories of her life, as soon as she's awake her parents pack up and leave to start over in a new town. All the while, Liv is trying to find out who she is, and in not long, what her parents are hiding from her. The mystery of it all is what keeps this book alive, no question. We get just enough bizarre visions and sporadic memories to leave us completely baffled. I would try to piece it all together, when another brick would be thrown out of nowhere to halt any and all theories I might have had. I was thrilled by this alone as I flew through this novel at wicked speeds. This leads us to the ending; every mystery will either break or make its readership during the final verdict. What we find out at the conclusion is unquestionably fascinating and unpredictable, yet I can't help but wonder at the believability of not only the final explanation, but everything leading up to it. We do live in a world where information is openly available even in the smallest of towns, after all. This is as far as I can go without spoilers. All in all, the ending is satisfactory, though not especially memorable.

Charming when he wants to be, Spencer also comes with his own secrets and mysteries to add onto the already large pile. I enjoyed how it played into the romance, making him at once someone you want to trust, and someone you feel you can't. While the romance is not necessarily original in its foreseeable nature, I found Spencer incredibly sweet and their relationship is one of the most realistic aspects of this novel.

Since the main focus of this book is the mystery, reviewing it in greater detail becomes impossible without giving away answers--which I refuse to do. As previously mentioned, if you're a fan of Slated by Teri Terry, or books that love to play with your mind, I'm just about certain you will devour this one just as eagerly!

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Nov 02, 2012 Maja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-2012, contemporary-fiction, failed-to-impress, moments-of-great-frustration, ya, reviewed-in-2012

I must have read around fifteen books about memory loss in the last two years, and 90% of them just sort of blended together after a while. I’m afraid All the Broken Pieces will join that crowd in no time. It’s been a few days and I’m already a bit hazy on the details, but I’ll do my best to make it as clear as possible for you so you can decide for yourselves. There are no major flaws I can point out, and I won’t try to convince you NOT to read it, quite the opposite, in fact. The story pulls y...more I must have read around fifteen books about memory loss in the last two years, and 90% of them just sort of blended together after a while. I’m afraid All the Broken Pieces will join that crowd in no time. It’s been a few days and I’m already a bit hazy on the details, but I’ll do my best to make it as clear as possible for you so you can decide for yourselves. There are no major flaws I can point out, and I won’t try to convince you NOT to read it, quite the opposite, in fact. The story pulls you in quickly enough, the pacing is decent and the characters are interesting so there’s no real reason not to, if a good pastime is all you’re looking for.

My biggest problem with Cindi Madsen’s second book was that I didn’t believe any of it. Olivia wakes up in a hospital room with no memory of how she got there. Her parents are there, overjoyed that she woke up from the coma and anxious to get her in a better shape so they can move across country to escape the bad memories. Liv isn’t too thrilled about moving, she’d rather stay where she is and try to remember her past, but her parents are determined to make a new start, so they do. In a matter of days, Liv finds herself in a small town in the middle of nowhere.
Her school life is exactly what you’d expect from this type of book: there’s a girl she instantly befriends, the mysterious bad boy who turns out not to be so bad after all, the prerequisite mean girl who just happens to be the bad boy’s ex, and plenty of high school drama to keep it all together. Finding a single memorable thing is an impossible task.

The love interest becomes clear very early on, and their budding relationship follows a fairly predictable pattern. While I have absolutely nothing against Spencer himself (I found him quite charming at times), their push-pull dynamic started driving me crazy after a while. He would be all kind and full of understanding one day, and completely cold and uncommunicative the next, which was fine for a while, but was taken a bit too far in the second half. His reasons for acting in such a way, once they were revealed, were pretty grave, but not convincing enough.

This is a fairly short review because there’s honestly very little to point out about this book. I was entertained, but unimpressed and it left me feeling lukewarm at best. For a second, more positive opinion, please read my friend Rachel’s review at The Readers Den.

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Dec 01, 2012 Michele (Reading Lark/CanadianTwiMom) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, ebook, reading-lark, contemporary-fiction, own-it, softcover

4.5 stars!

My review can also be found on Reading Lark: http://readinglark.blogspot.ca/2012/1...

All the Broken Pieces was a really pleasant surprise for me! After reading some stories recently where there were definitely things that would niggle at me, I can honestly say that All the Broken Pieces was a breath of fresh air with virtually flawless writing and an interesting story-line that literally kept me glued to the pages. I also wasn't sure if this was going to be a paranormal-type story or a...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Tiffany (For Those About to Read...) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From the moment I read the synopsis for All the Broken Pieces, I knew I was going to love it! I am fascinated by memory and the concept for the novel was so intriguing. I am happy to say, I wasn’t disappointed.

From the very beginning of the novel we get the sense that something isn’t quite right—and not just because the main character, Liv, is waking up from a coma. There is just something off about the whole thing. As the novel progresses, Liv becomes more and more suspicious about the events s...more From the moment I read the synopsis for All the Broken Pieces, I knew I was going to love it! I am fascinated by memory and the concept for the novel was so intriguing. I am happy to say, I wasn’t disappointed.

From the very beginning of the novel we get the sense that something isn’t quite right—and not just because the main character, Liv, is waking up from a coma. There is just something off about the whole thing. As the novel progresses, Liv becomes more and more suspicious about the events surrounding her car accident, her life before the accident (which she can’t remember), the strange dreams she’s been having, and the odd way her parents evade any of her questions about the past.

The mystery alone would have been enough to make this novel shine, but as good as it was, the romance was even better. Liv meets a boy at school named Spencer and the two quickly become friends. Watching them dance around each other was an utter delight. They are so sweet together and it is painfully obvious that there is more than friendship there. Even though the story wrapped up so nicely, part of me wants a companion novel just so that I can see more of Liv & Spencer!

My only complaint about the novel, and it is a tiny one, was the writing style. It is told in the 3rd person, and there were times when this came off as awkward. I love reading books in the 3rd person, but not every author can pull it off without taking you out of the story once in a while because of it. That said, for the most part the writing was great, and there were only a few spots where it felt jarring.

Overall, All the Broken Pieces was amazing. I devoured all but the first 20 pages in a single day. The plot was great, and even shocking at the end. All of the characters were awesome and added a lot to the story. Liv, in particular, was a great main character. She was intelligent & skeptical—always questioning, without being angsty or annoying. My favorite part, however, was definitely the Liv/Spencer scenes. Their story was just so romantic, and when coupled with the killer plot, I can guarantee that this is not a story I will be forgetting any time soon.(less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Rebecca Taylor rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Saturday, November 24. That was the day I started this book, it was also the day I finished it. Despite the fact that I had created lists for the lists of things I needed to do both for my job AND for my house and family, I was physically not capable to doing ANY of those very pressing things because I was buried deep, so deep, in this book all day.

This was not my plan.

At first, I was simply going to start this book I had promised to review. Just crack the spine. Get past the first chapter or tw...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Jana (The Book Goddess) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blog-reviewed, 2012-reads, entangled, comtemporary-challenge-2012

I was so SO excited when I got this book for blog tour review. Ever since I read Cindi's debut DEMONS OF THE SUN and found out she has a new standalone book coming out with Entangled Teen(!!) I knew it was bound to be amazing. And it was. So freaking amazing!

There's something about Cindi Madsen's writing that makes it very impossible to put down this book. I read this in one sitting and I don't regret a moment of it! And you may say that the plot isn't very original, that there's about 100 memo...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Luana Sirbu Blogger rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Giving the book a 5 out of 5 starts. What i love the most about this book, is how Olivia manages to make a normal and happy life out of such a tragical accident.
Is very hard to write this kind of book and turn out amazing, but this one i have no words to put it how good it is. The book is about a girl that suffers a tragic accident and get amnesia. Her parents are very protective, especially her mother, that has a hard time letting her go to normal school instead of home school. Olivia starts...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, fiction, young-adult, 2012-reading-challenge, arc-or-netgalley, on-my-nook, mystery, review, stand-alone

My Thoughts:

I have a curiosity inside when I read a synopsis like the above. Especially when it’s not going to be some sort of paranormal or fantasy element. It makes me think, “Oh, what could it possibly be?!” and I must know. So when I got the opportunity to read this, I was excited.

Liv can’t remember what happened to her or why she has two voices battling in her head. Nor can she understand why her parents are so evasive when it comes to answering questions about her life before the accident....more

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Dec 13, 2012 Trini rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You would think hearing two different voices in your head automatically makes you insane but what if it’s not just your imagination or a hallucination. What if it’s the clues you need to find out who you truly are?
Liv has woken up from a coma to a world that’s mostly fresh and new. From not knowing her own name to becoming a public high school student again this is not an easy journey. She struggles with the insecurities of her looks (because of the scars) to agoraphobia but she finds the stren...more You would think hearing two different voices in your head automatically makes you insane but what if it’s not just your imagination or a hallucination. What if it’s the clues you need to find out who you truly are?
Liv has woken up from a coma to a world that’s mostly fresh and new. From not knowing her own name to becoming a public high school student again this is not an easy journey. She struggles with the insecurities of her looks (because of the scars) to agoraphobia but she finds the strength and determination to get back into the world and become a social butterfly.
That is where she meets Spencer. A recluse it seems until Liv wiggles her way into his guilt-ridden life. It was a very bumpy start for these two. A I-can’t-help-but-accidently-running-into-your-jerky-face kind of start. He’s always so rude to her but she soon finds out he has secrets of his own and his rudeness is the way to keep people at a distance.
Their friendship begrudgingly turns into a high school romance. It’s the small things that Spencer does for her that make their relationship so sweet. But there are still skeletons in the closet for both of them until the very end.
As for the characters themselves, Olivia’s “Liv” innocents maker her so likable. I found myself feeling like I need to protector her at time because she just didn’t know about simple little things. She has to relearn almost everything. Spencer is someone you feel like you want to avoid at first. But once you get pass his wall you see that he’s fun and caring.
Throughout this whole book I was scared to get to the bottom of the whole mystery. It was kind of a dreadful feeling and I was biting on my lip the whole time worrying. I like the end but for some reason I want to know how Jace and/or Courtney moved on. I’m wondering if there would ever be a novella clearing the air about some characters and situations. I’m crossing my fingers. For a good mystery romance pick this one up guys. It will keep you on your toes!
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Dec 17, 2012 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

All the Broken Pieces leaves me with one word: WOW. This is a story wholly unlike any I've read before, and whomever says there are no original ideas anymore, is wrong.

There is so much that I want to say about All the Broken Pieces that I don't even know where to start. The story begins with a girl, in a room, with no recollection of who or where she is. The only details she can get are from her concerned, overprotective parents, and are vague at best. Liv soon realizes that there seem to be th...more All the Broken Pieces leaves me with one word: WOW. This is a story wholly unlike any I've read before, and whomever says there are no original ideas anymore, is wrong.

There is so much that I want to say about All the Broken Pieces that I don't even know where to start. The story begins with a girl, in a room, with no recollection of who or where she is. The only details she can get are from her concerned, overprotective parents, and are vague at best. Liv soon realizes that there seem to be three distinct personalities living in her brain, two distinct opposite, and her's, that remains somewhere in the middle, yet dominant. When Liv's family quickly uproots and she enrolls at a new school, those voices try to lead her down two very different paths, but Liv chooses her own, again, somewhere in the middle. That path leads her to Spencer, a cute, smart guy, who is also a loner. Despite his best intentions, Liv becomes becomes Spencer's friend, slowly. When she finally reveals her secret, that she has no memories, he puts them on a quest to make new memories. But the more time goes by, the more vivid Liv's dreams of another life become. And with Spencer's help, she finally decides to uncover the truth, no matter how horrific it is sure to be.

Besides the unique, horrific, and yes, sort of genius unfolding of the story, Cindi Madsen has a real talent for creating realistic, easy-to-love characters. Liv was heartbreaking. Her struggle to maintain a grip on her sanity, find out the truth, fit in at a new school, all the while keeping a wicked sense of humor, made me embrace her. Being a person who will not shut up until I have all the facts, I did at times found her reluctance to push her parents, and Spencer, for absolute truth frustrating. But when I stopped and remembered that she is a scared girl who woke up with a scar on her chest and staples in her head, I gained patience.

Spencer, a quiet, broody loner who listens to music to drown other people at school out, he reminded me a bit of Owen from Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. After an accident he (sort of) caused, Spencer shut everyone out, but when Liv comes to town, he slowly lets her into her life. As much as his silence about the past and his hot-and-cold nature bothered Liv (and me), Spencer's eagerness at helping Liv gain new, happy memories made me fall in love with him. Their relationship, full of witty jabs and smart remarks, is my favorite type to read about. I loved them as friends and I loved them as a team.

All the Broken Pieces was a beautifully written story of two broken people who help piece one another back together. The ending truly shocked me and the epilogue broke me. It's a story that I want to reread, just to see if I can grab onto more pieces that I missed the first time.

Smart, Funny, Heartbreaking, Shocking, and Unique, All the Broken Pieces is a story that I won't forget.
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Dec 21, 2012 Ida rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dang-that-cover, drooltastic, ending-with-a-bam, i-cant-even, love-it-like-theres-no-tomorrow, that-boy-is-mine

4.5 stars

A piece of advice, before you read this book, make sure that you don't have anything to do for the next few hours ~~like sitting in class trying to learn about the function of myelin sheath when your mind is going all 'I will only be interested in it if it can help me solve what the hell happened to Olivia'~~ because the plot will capture you and drive you crazy thinking about it if you stopped reading. I kid you not. I learned that the hard way.

The way Cindi Madsen handled Olivia Stein's m...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Cecilia Robert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: entangled-ya, blog-tour

Thank you Entangled Publishing for this review copy.

All the Broken Pieces is about a girl, Liv, who wakes up from a coma with no memories of who she is. On top of that, she has two voices, snarky one and one that strives to be good. Sort of the angle and the devil. :) And then her own voice.

I really enjoyed reading Liv's story, see her develop to be this wonderful girl with great ideas and opinions. Choosing not to go with the flow--the popular girls in school. And then there is Spencer, Liv's l...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Anne Eliot marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Well...I know this book is not out yet, but I was lucky enough to get to read it while it was yet unsold. Cindi Madsen...she's an amazing writer and her skills at creating fall-in-loveable HOT heroes are amazing. Couples that you root for, plots that twist, turn and surprise. I've watched a whole reading group of teen girls beg her for more pages, as do I.

Cindi has a way of combining humor, romance and unforgettable characters with some cool, dark topics that crate fast moving love stories you...more

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Apr 19, 2013 The Fictionators rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://www.fictionators.com/review/al...

All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen is so different, with such a unique concept. I loved it.

Olivia (Liv) wakes up not remembering anything about herself or how she ended up in the hospital. Her parents are hovering nearby and are ecstatic that she woke up and seems to be functioning.

"Why wouldn't I be able to talk?"

Mom sat on the foot of the bed. "Because, dear, your injuries were so sever. The brain trauma, and your heart..." She shook her head, then

...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Romancing the Book rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, suspense, ya

Reviewed by: Valerie
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

When I started reading Liv’s story, I was immediately reminded of another book, The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Both books have characters that have been involved in an accident, were both in a coma, and have big secrets being withheld from them.

Liv was a likable character. When her parents felt she was well enough to venture out she went to school and dealt with all the cliques and problems teens have but I...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Crystal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, for-review, 2012, read-dec-2012

I'm not sure I can do justice to this book and not give anything away. I loved this. It enthralled me, I did not want to put it down and when I had to put it down to sleep, go to work, cook, you know do all those mundane things, I could not wait to pick it back up again to find out more about Liv.

Liv is intriguing from the start. She awakes from the coma and does not recognize her Mom or her Dad and has no real memories. So of course the reader, being me, was intrigued and wanted to know more. M...more I'm not sure I can do justice to this book and not give anything away. I loved this. It enthralled me, I did not want to put it down and when I had to put it down to sleep, go to work, cook, you know do all those mundane things, I could not wait to pick it back up again to find out more about Liv.

Liv is intriguing from the start. She awakes from the coma and does not recognize her Mom or her Dad and has no real memories. So of course the reader, being me, was intrigued and wanted to know more. Ms. Madsen then proceeded to give me more in little bits and pieces through dreams and things that Liv remembers at various times, but are they true? Liv isn't sure, I wasn't sure. Thankfully to keep her from going crazy Liv has Spencer to lean on. But of course things aren't that simple. Liv is also trying to walk the line between being friends (and possibly more) with Spencer and remaining with the popular crowd that seems to have singled her out from the first day. I like how Ms. Madsen used typical high school situations as a backdrop in this book while Liv is trying to figure out who she is. It made it all the more powerful to me. Spencer is also a great character and friend for Liv because he has demons of his own and to find out more about him, you must read the book. But I will tell you I loved Spencer even though I wanted to choke him at times.

The plot speeds along with the memories, and Liv and Spencer's friendship growing against the backdrop of fitting in or not fitting in at high school. I enjoyed every page of this book. Though I felt the ending was just a bit rushed, I still felt it was a satisfactory and bombshell conclusion that was fitting of how the book was paced and plotted. When I walked away from this I was kind of sad it was over, but happy with the conclusion of the book.

All the Broken Pieces was a stellar contemporary Young Adult novel to me. It was suspenseful, it had romance (and not a love triangle) and an interesting premise. It's an interesting novel about finding yourself even beyond the amnesia angle and that's one of the reasons I loved it. The amnesia just added to it to make it suspenseful. If I read books for a second time, this would quickly go on my list to read again, it was just that good to me. So check it out if the premise interests you, I don't think you will find your time wasted while reading this one and I think you will find a new author to add to you shelf when you are done like I have.(less)

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Jan 20, 2013 Angel Leigh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-reading-challenge

So this blurb reeled me in. Not only because one of my stories I'm working on deals with losing your memory, but because it's different. It's a tough topic to write about but Cindi Madsen did it well. Really well. And I take my hat off to her. She has all the elements that I have since realized is missing in my story. Luckily I am still in the editing process.

Right from the beginning I was grabbed, hook , line and sinker. I couldn't stop reading and ended up staying up into the little hours of t...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Step Into Fiction added it · review of another edition

Shelves: saleana

First I would like to say thanks to Entangled Teen Publishing for giving me a copy of this ARC to read and review!

Because this is an ARC for the iPad I don't have a copy to drool over the cover, but it's really awesome to look at no?

Stayed up all night to read this baby! It's one of those that you can't put down when you start it.

Really awesome plot, perfect in time for Halloween! We meet Olivia, aka Liv, as she's coming out of a coma of sorts, from being in a horrible accident. As a result of...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Lindsey Rae rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was incredibly painful to read. I'm so confused on how people gave this four and five stars. I couldn't even finish this.

Olivia wakes up from a coma after having been in an accident and her parents immediately go all weird and say they're moving and want her to live in a new place, so they move. All kinds of red flags went up for me with this and I was all kinda of intrigued. I was definitely curious about what is going on with them and about Olivia's accident that I wanted to keep re...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Ajm rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advanced-readers-copy, 0_0-yeah, _-awesomeness, contemporary, young-adult, romance, mystery, i-want-more

This e-galley was provided by Elana Johnson, (Entangled Publishing) thank you!

What just happened? No really, what just happened? Never have I ever been more shocked by a book in my life. I just don’t know what I should say about All the Broken Pieces. Well I do know one thing for sure: this book was phenomenal and original. I haven’t read a book like it. All the Broken Pieces was like a fresh breath of air to me. Cindi Madsen is definitely an author I’ll be watching for future works.

Liv is lit...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Jess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advanced-reviews, kindle-editions

Donna asked me to review this for her as she didn't have the time. It's the second memory loss-car accident-YA book that I've read in the past two weeks. This one was pretty good overall. As a story it's pretty gripping from the get go, the pacing wasn't too bad and I was interested all the way through.

Liv is a pretty awesome character. She has no memory of the car accident, nothing before it anyway, but she seems to be recovering well apart from the flashes of what she feels are dreams, and wha...more Donna asked me to review this for her as she didn't have the time. It's the second memory loss-car accident-YA book that I've read in the past two weeks. This one was pretty good overall. As a story it's pretty gripping from the get go, the pacing wasn't too bad and I was interested all the way through.

Liv is a pretty awesome character. She has no memory of the car accident, nothing before it anyway, but she seems to be recovering well apart from the flashes of what she feels are dreams, and what her mother claims is her brain making things up to deal with having no memory. She's a strong character although she finds it hard to deal with social situations now, she gets through it. I pretty much liked Liv from the start and I got pretty involved in everything she did which made the book easier to like and enjoy.

I have no major gripes with the book, except for this. It takes an extremely long time for everything to be revealed. Nothing much happens except for Liv starting school, trying to please the popular crowd but hating them too,dealing with Spencer blowing hot and cold. There just didn't seem to be much action involved, and I generally like YA books to be full of it. It's not until around the 84% mark that everything comes to light, even then. Nothing much happens. I just felt that it very much lacked action in places. That however didn't take much away from the enjoyment of the book, but I think I was expecting more.

There's a great element of mystery in this book, and that's great if you enjoy that. I do, most of the time if it's not too heavy on information etc. All The Broken Pieces has enough element of mystery and intrigue to keep the reader entertained, It just lacks action. That's where the star dropped for me slightly. It just lacked the 'shock factor', that's what I'm trying to say.

Overall it's not a bad story at all. It's not even a bad book, apart from lacking any action and things being revealed too late in the story I enjoyed it. I believe this is Cindi Madsens second book, so I will pick up another book of hers absolutely.

It's intriguing and mysterious, but lacks oompf! But it's definitely worth a read :)(less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Christine-Chioma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Very well written. The dialogue was realistic and the plot kept me captivated! I really loved this book. The characters and their relationships felt real and genuine. It was an enjoyable read. Some language but not gratuitous. I especially loved the interactions between Spencer and Liv--very relatable. I also liked the allusions to a classic book...

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Oct 28, 2012 Saleana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Stayed up all night to read this baby! It's one of those that you can't put down when you start it.

Really awesome plot, perfect in time for Halloween! We meet Olivia, aka Liv, as she's coming out of a coma of sorts, from being in a horrible accident. As a result of the accident she doesn't remember anything from her past. Nothing comes back to her, not how to ride a bike, or whether or not she can swim, or if she's ever been to a movie.

Her parents start to act weird and Liv wants to get to the...more

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May 06, 2013 Tiffany Bock rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Could you imagine one day waking up and not remembering anything about the life you were living?
Liz wakes up from being in a coma, not remembering anything that has happened in the past. All memories gone, and she doesn’t even recognize her own reflection. As she is recovering, a constant set of voices flood her brain. Making her way through her junior year in high school, the voices seem to get louder and louder. When Liv starts hanging out with a guy named Spencer, who has a mysterious past of...more

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Oct 23, 2012 J.A. Belfield rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Goodness, where to start? Well, I supposed the best way forward is to tell you that I genuinely loved this book. I picked it up—doing my famous trick of not reading the blurb first—and pretty much didn’t want to put it down.
Sure, the whole internal dialogue deal took a little getting used to, but once I kinda grasped what that was all about, it ceased to stumble me and within no time I was breezing past them without any hitch.
We have Liv as MC. She’s likeable. She’s not portrayed as a stunningly...more Goodness, where to start? Well, I supposed the best way forward is to tell you that I genuinely loved this book. I picked it up—doing my famous trick of not reading the blurb first—and pretty much didn’t want to put it down.
Sure, the whole internal dialogue deal took a little getting used to, but once I kinda grasped what that was all about, it ceased to stumble me and within no time I was breezing past them without any hitch.
We have Liv as MC. She’s likeable. She’s not portrayed as a stunningly attractive lass who only has to flick her hair to have the boys noticing. I don’t want to say too much because to do so would spoil it for any who haven’t read it yet, but the multi-faceted personality of Olivia goes a long way to keeping her real, keeping her relatable to definitely more than one type of reader (person)—and on top of that, ‘she’ was seriously well handled.
Admittedly, in the opening of the book, it was a little confusing because the reader is given all of these tidbits of what’s happening and expected to follow along or just go with the flow, but that honestly didn’t bother me in the slightest. I loved the slow unfolding of the mystery. Even though I figured it out pretty early in—waaaaaaaaaaay sooner than poor Liv—it still didn’t bother me reading on and trailing her in story whilst waiting for her to catch up.
Another bonus to the book? Spencer. This dude is awesomesauce. Yep, he initially comes across as a jerk (Liv’s words), but even then I knew he’d turn out to be great and was just waiting for the turning point where he proved as such. Though the gradual way in which exactly that happened was so subtly done that the reader barely even realises they’re falling for yet another fictional guy until, bam!, they’re already there. His angst, his character, his story—every aspect of him is totally believable.
And before I go, I’ve just got to try mentioning the ending without spoilers. To begin, her decision kinda surprised me—and it almost left me feeling a whole lot of ‘what ifs’ on her behalf. But then we get that nice little wrap up of an epilogue—and whilst I was a little bit thrown with the way that section was narrated, because it seemed a lot more distanced/detached than the rest of the book, I loved, loved, loved, that closing paragraph that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
So final thoughts: connected very well with Olivia; loved Spencer; enjoyed the plot despite it being slightly predictable. Though I will say, as I read, I couldn’t help but wonder how this one would have read in 1st person pov, instead of 3rd.
Other than that?
A cracking read with compelling characters and a driving need to discover the truth.(less)

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Apr 11, 2013 John Clark rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a truly fun and satisfying read. Even though I could sense part of the answer to Liv's conflicting visions and memories well before the end of the book, the way everything was set up still made the finale a nice surprise and the final plot element that under normal circumstances might be hard to accept, really works because of all the foundation laid out as the book progressed. Liv and Spencer are extremely endearing characters, while all the supporting ones are put together so neatly, e...more

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May 08, 2013 Tara-lee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads

Okay, while I was reading this, I thought it was like a modern day Frankenstein. Olivia doesn't have any memories when she wakes up from her coma, talk about a rude wake-up call. We follow her story of readjusting to life and figuring out who she is through glimpses of her past, of course she thinks she's hallucinating and might be schizophrenic. During this she meets and befriends Spencer and their relationship develops into a romance. Throw in the drama of high school life and trying to confor...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Julie G rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Olivia Francesca Stein came out of the coma with staples in her head, a scar down her chest, her memories gone - and battling voices in her mind. Mom and Dad explain that she was in an serious accident; that she is a miracle. But Liv isn't so sure.

In fact, the only thing of which she is sure? Everything feels wrong.

And it certainly doesn't help that, the minute she's out of bed, her parents move her across the country - from Rochester, Minnesota to Cottonwood, Arizona.

Smothered by her mother and...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Cyndi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was leery about this book because of the whole "voices in her head" premise, but I'm glad I gave it a chance because I ended up really liking it. I think the story would have been just as good if it had solely been about a girl who lost her memories in an accident and a boy with no friends and a troubled past. The love story in this book was so sweet and compelling that the mystery behind her accident wasn't all that important to me. The author definitely took a chance with this one and I'm st...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Janny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: snooze-fest, realistic-fiction

Every so often I get hit by cosmic radiation and feel the need to try a chick book. They're not my thing, but I've read a couple before and enjoyed them if the characterization is alright. So I figure I'd try and broaden my reading horizons since this thing seems to have such positive reviews. And you know what? Hell hath frozen over. A chick book didn't make me cringe as much as I expected.

So, the novel? Mostly typical high school drama. But it's not all that bad (2/5 doesn't mean it's bad, jus...more

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About Cindi Madsen

Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She...more

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Falling For Her Fiance (Accidentally in Love, #1)

Act Like You Love Me (Accidentally in Love, #2)

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