Book Review - Fragile Creatures

Happy Thursday, everyone! Yes, I missed my post yesterday. You all know how I am; I refuse to review a book before I finish reading it. That being said, I got done with this one late yesterday, so I'm giving you two posts today: a book review and your writing tip for the week. Since you're getting two, I'm not gonna blather on and on. Let's get going!

This review will be archived on the Time for Books 2015 Review Team page here.

Here's my TBR list one more time:

The Release Club 1 - Misty Provencher - REVIEW HERE
Dry Stories - Kate Baggot - REVIEW HERE
Moonlight - David Rose - REVIEW HERE
8 Weeks - Bethany Lopez - REVIEW HERE
Altered - Gennifer Albin - REVIEW HERE
Fragile Creatures - Kristina Circelli - REVIEW BELOW

Bound by Duty - Stormy Smith - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Shadows on Snow (A Flipped Fairy Tale) - Starla Hutchon - Amazon Kindle $2.99
From the Wreckage - Michelle G. Miller - Amazon Kindle FREE
The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge - Christine Nolfi - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Facade: A Vampire Love Story - R. M. Webb - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Siren - Jennifer Melzer - Amazon Kindle $3.99
Queen of Someday - Sherry Ficklin - Amazon Kindle $5.99
At One's Beast - Rachel Barnard - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Unseen - Stephanie Erickson - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Heart Thief - S. Lee Benedict - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Refuge - Violet Haze - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Kindling Flames-Gathering Tinder - Julie Wetzel - Amazon Kindle FREE
Kinetic: Book One of the Kinetic Trilogy - C. M. Zimmer - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Destiny Finds Her - Miranda Lynn - Amazon Kindle $2.99
To Get Me to You - Kait Nolan - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Lady of Souls - Jenn Gott - Amazon Kindle $4.99
Sticks and Stones - Shawn McGuire - Amazon Kindle $0.99
Good Luck With That Thing You're Doing: One Woman's Adventures in Dating, Plumbing and Other Full Contact Sports - Karen Yankosky - Amazon Kindle $2.99
Desprite Measures-The Caledonian Sprite - Deborah Jay - Amazon Kindle $2.99
The Last Guardian Rises - Rebecca Trogner - Amazon Kindle $0.99 

Information about the book up for review today:

Title: Fragile Creatures
Author: Kristina Circelli
Genre: YA Contemporary
Length (print): 274 Pages
Buy links: Amazon Kindle $2.99  ~  Smashwords $2.99  ~  iBooks $2.99  ~  B&N $2.99

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Evangeline Frost had a great life, until the car accident that killed her father and turned her mother into a bitter alcoholic. Unable to bear the guilt, Evangeline attempts to take her own life, saved only by the memory of her beloved father.

Left with no other options, Evangeline is enrolled in a program for troubled teens at Kindred Hides Wildlife Preserve. There she meets Caster, a keeper as annoying as he is caring; Jett and Lettie, who treat her more like a daughter than troubled teen; and Ruke, a prized giraffe in mourning for his lost mate.

Immersed in the preserve with her new friends, Evangeline finally begins to heal. But the haunting memories of the accident and her mother’s unforgiving words threaten to destroy her progress. Only her new friends and their unconditional support, along with her own special connection with Ruke, can save her.

Evangeline must learn that there is redemption for her father’s death, and that the bonds between human, animal, and life are not as fragile as she once thought.

***Will not appear in review elsewhere. Now, I don't know where in the heck Kristina got the image for the cover, but OMG it fits the story inside to a T. I only have one tinnnny critique, and that's about how difficult it is to read the author's name. It blends away into the background. How beautiful is this cover? EEK!***

On to the review.

I snagged the sample of this book when the author pitched it on my blog in December (the only month I take review requests). Even the sample made me tear up, so I had to have the rest of the story. I jaunted off to Amazon and grabbed it. Oh my, it was so worth every penny. What a wonderful story. But let's get to why.

From a Reader's Perspective:
Damaged. That's the word I think when Evangeline Frost comes to mind. So many times I wanted to slap her mother, cradle Evangeline, and shake sense into the people around her. She was so well developed through the book, and the author didn't need to use infodumps to tell me what happened. It came through natural development of the girl's healing process. There's no love triangle in this story. It's not about that, and would've cheapened the message the author is trying to send: You need to be okay with yourself. It's not about falling down; it's about rising from the ashes of your tragedy to stand strong on your own.

And, oh, the animals! They were lovely, well rounded, and personable. Yeah, even through the text. Loved them!

From an Editor's Perspective:
Pronouns were here and there, but I find a lot of that. It didn't eclipse the read. There was one place near the end where Jett is talking, and I had to read it a couple of times to understand it was misuse of a word. He says they're going to talk to the African team about raising awareness regarding conversation. I'm pretty sure it should be conservation. But it was just one error, and I'm not gonna ding the edit for it. Easy miss.

Rating:
1 Star for making me cry like a baby
1 Star for no infodumps to build backstory
1 Star for leaving out the love triangle
1 Star for getting me to connect on a deep level with every character (including Ruke the giraffe)
1 Star for editing
Overall, 5 out of 5 stars. A book worthy of your bookshelf, both digital and tangible. You'll want to read it again.

What do you think? Will you be picking it up?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo