Fragments of the Lost PAGES 1 -119

[Melissa]

I’m truly reading more and more anticipating:
Caleb?
Max?
Caleb’s family?
How all connect?
Why hard feelings?
I love mysteries and thrillers, esp recommendations from Kayla. Thanks so much😊
So far 4 stars👍🏼

[Kathryn]

1) This book is okay so far, not incredible and not terrible either. Personally I think it's really interesting to be going through different objects that help her remember different things, I've never read anything with that kind of plot device before. I'm mostly just super interested in finding out Caleb's story and feelings- he seems like quite a multifaceted person who feels very deeply, much more deeply than it seems Jessa knows him/feels about their relationship. I'm not super interested in their relationship but why they broke up could be interesting. Julien and Max are interesting characters too, I feel like they may be more involved. I have also had the thought "how crazy can any of his secrets be they're teenagers" haha... we'll see!

2) This is one of my first experiences of mystery/thriller books! I have a huge list of stuff I want to try, but I'm still finding what kind of thing I enjoy (and I'm wary of reading things that may be too scary/intense/graphic! I'm easing myself in)

3) This would be a 3 so far, it's fine, nothing too disappointing or anything, but nothing special yet either.

[Jocelyn]

1. Like everyone else has said, this is really low on thriller elements, but for some reason I am liking it a lot. The short chapters are making me feel like I am flying through it. I like the mix of present Jesse and flashbacks. It’s giving me “Normal People” vibes — real relationship with ups and downs even though they are teenagers. The family dynamics are definitely messed up in both households (Jessa and Caleb). I love slow burns like this. It doesn’t feel too cheesy like sometimes YA contemporary can.

2. Generally don’t read YA books, thriller or not. The only YA thriller I have tried was “Sadie” but it was only 3 stars for me.

3. I am leaning towards a 4/5 stars so far... I guess we’ll see what happens with the twists. It could definitely drop into a lower rating if it starts to become unrealistic.

I am starting to think Caleb has faked his death...

[Dikshita]

I got to reading this book really late and have just started the book a few hours back. The story right now is not showing up many elements of a thriller book.

But there is definitely some mystery here and there. Right now I am most intrigued by the aspect that why would Jessa blame herself for Caleb’s death? That is just not making any sense to me.

And did they really have an ugly breakup? If yes, why? The flashback shows that they had a really strong thing going. I just hope the breakup was not because Caleb was going to college. I would be really disappointed if it is going to be that simple and meh!😒

And did Caleb seriously steal Max’s money? The way the plot has developed so far doesn’t give me a vibe like that about Caleb.

And I have a lot of suspicion on Max. He seems to be a little twisted.

Caleb’s mother and sister come out as really weird now. And why would Eve ask Jessa to pack Caleb’s things when she hates her so much? Why would you even see her forget letting her into your house? That raises a lot of questions.

The synopsis said that Jessa while packing Caleb’s stuff will discover things that she didn’t know about him. I haven’t found such an element yet. The things she is finding out have a back story but that doesn’t have any element of surprise in them. Looks like she knew all of it.

It is a smooth read and I haven’t got bored of it as of now. I just hope there are some unexpected twists and turns in the upcoming chapters though.

Right now I will say it is a⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/ 5 read.

[Dikshita]

I got to reading this book really late and have just started the book a few hours back. The story right now is not showing up many elements of a thriller book.

But there is definitely some mystery here and there. Right now I am most intrigued by the aspect that why would Jessa blame herself for Caleb’s death? That is just not making any sense to me.

And did they really have an ugly breakup? If yes, why? The flashback shows that they had a really strong thing going. I just hope the breakup was not because Caleb was going to college. I would be really disappointed if it is going to be that simple and meh!😒

And did Caleb seriously steal Max’s money? The way the plot has developed so far doesn’t give me a vibe like that about Caleb.

And I have a lot of suspicion on Max. He seems to be a little twisted.

Caleb’s mother and sister come out as really weird now. And why would Eve ask Jessa to pack Caleb’s things when she hates her so much? Why would you even see her forget letting her into your house? That raises a lot of questions.

The synopsis said that Jessa while packing Caleb’s stuff will discover things that she didn’t know about him. I haven’t found such an element yet. The things she is finding out have a back story but that doesn’t have any element of surprise in them. Looks like she knew all of it.

It is a smooth read and I haven’t got bored of it as of now. I just hope there are some unexpected twists and turns in the upcoming chapters though.

Right now I will say it is a⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/ 5 read.

[Dikshita]

I got to reading this book really late and have just started the book a few hours back. The story right now is not showing up many elements of a thriller book.

But there is definitely some mystery here and there. Right now I am most intrigued by the aspect that why would Jessa blame herself for Caleb’s death? That is just not making any sense to me.

And did they really have an ugly breakup? If yes, why? The flashback shows that they had a really strong thing going. I just hope the breakup was not because Caleb was going to college. I would be really disappointed if it is going to be that simple and meh!😒

And did Caleb seriously steal Max’s money? The way the plot has developed so far doesn’t give me a vibe like that about Caleb.

And I have a lot of suspicion on Max. He seems to be a little twisted.

Caleb’s mother and sister come out as really weird now. And why would Eve ask Jessa to pack Caleb’s things when she hates her so much? Why would you even see her forget letting her into your house? That raises a lot of questions.

The synopsis said that Jessa while packing Caleb’s stuff will discover things that she didn’t know about him. I haven’t found such an element yet. The things she is finding out have a back story but that doesn’t have any element of surprise in them. Looks like she knew all of it.

It is a smooth read and I haven’t got bored of it as of now. I just hope there are some unexpected twists and turns in the upcoming chapters though.

Right now I will say it is a⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/ 5 read.

[Laura]

I'm pretty bored, honestly. I've read from this author in the past and liked her writing so I must say I'm a little disappointed. it's not exactly what I'd call "thrilling".
if there even is much of a twist, I'm guessing Caleb isn't actually dead.
I suppose I'll keep going. I don't hate it at this point. Definitely don't really care either.

[Jess]

Not sure how I feel about this book so far. I honestly didn't realize this was a YA going into it, I didn't look too closely at the synopsis, and I'm not sure if I would have picked it up if I knew that going in. It definitely doesn't feel like a thriller so far, more like a hard-hitting YA contemporary as many people have mentioned. At this point, I'm enjoying the writing and finding it easy to read, but I'm hoping the actual mystery aspect picks up.

[Venessa]

I started Fragments back in May 5 and I’m only on page 98. It’s this all it is? I’m very bored.

I’ve read a few other ya mystery/thrillers. Most recently Good Girls Guide to Murder. I really enjoyed it.

If I had to rate Fragments right now, maybe 1⭐️. I’m considering DNFing.

[Sabrina]

I was just able to get the book now so a little late to the party to say the least. First off this is definitely not Thriller and has soft Mystery. I believe in the blurb it said "Suspenseful, psychological mystery". I would say I mildly agree with the blurb though all of those elements are very light in this book.
I'm enjoying it for what it is. I love books with short chapters, as it really encourages me to continue reading. "Oh I'll just read one more before bed." Cut to - staying up till 3am.
I'd say my main problem is with the characters. Not to speak ill of the fictional dead but Caleb seems like kind of an asshole, or at least a bad boyfriend. The spaciness, moody, not thinking of her, kinda condescending. He reminds me a bit of a stereotypical pretentious hipster in his personality if not his aesthetics.
His family is odd too. I know his mom is grieving but come on! You are asking his ex-girlfriend of 1 year who you (irrationally?!) blame his death on, to completely clear out your son's room after his accidental tragic death. I mean what mom would 1. Let someone else clean their sons room completely out and have little control on what is kept, and 2. would let his ex-girlfriend who only dated him for a year do it(I mean I know they were in love and stuff but still it was a year of his 18 year life). And why would she force that responsibility on Jessa?! Shes an 17/18 year old kid who once loved your son and whose relationship with said son had only recently ended. She lost him too, why is she torturing her? And why the hell would anyone blame her for it. It was a flood! Even caught up in grief, what adult would blame some poor young girl on that. I mean come on.
With all that said I do believe there is something to his death. Or lack there of. I believe Caleb may end up being alive and was in correspondence with his also miraculously alive father. Though it really depends if this book wants to lean more in the exploration of grief direction, or if they want to go full on suspense, mystery/thriller. With the tone of the book so far however, I feel I will end up being disappointed.

[Cindy]

I am enjoying the book so far... I like how she talks about the memories behind each item as she packs it. This helps to understand her and Caleb’s relationship better. Not too much of a mystery with packing up an ex boyfriends room. Would like to find out why Max feels Caleb stole his money. Also if Caleb did take the money what did he do with it.

I do not traditionally read YA Mystery/Thrillers. The one thing I love about this book club is I am reading books outside of my comfort zone.

If I had to rate this book on what has happened so far I would give it 3 stars.

[Megan]

Very grateful that I have the ability to listen to this at 2x speed. The issue with slow burn mysteries is they have to be exceptionally well written to hold my interest - Celeste Ng, for example, slowly unfurls the plot, but her writing and characters are so fascinating that I don't mind being drip-fed information. I'm not bored enough to give up on this, but I reeeeeeally want to get to the point.

Right now, I think this is around 2 stars. I'm hoping something darker or more gritty kicks in to raise the stakes.

[Cora]

The first 60 pages were interesting but after that I completely lost interest in the book. It's too slow for me personally and I was getting bored with seeing Jessa clean up Caleb's room and reliving memories. I just feel like this type of thriller isn't for me personally. So I'm gonna DNF it due to it not being my cup of tea.

This is my first YA mystery/thriller. Even though I'm not a fan of this one, I'm still wanting to read more YA mystery/thriller.