Shattered

by Sandra Madera, Susan Blevins (Editor)

After a tragic accident, Miranda is devastated by the loss her twin sister. However, it isn’t long before she begins to wonder if her twins death was an accident at all. Now, she must find out who wanted her sister dead, because she is next. (YA SHORT STORY, 2013's Yearly Novelette)


Identical twins, Miranda and Nastasia Moralez, couldn’t be more different. Being the head of the cheerleading team, Nastasia is the most popular girl in the school. Miranda is not, taking photographs in her spare time for the school paper. Life is normal until a tragic accident takes the life of one twin. Miranda quickly realizes that the car crash that took her sister’s life was no accident. It was planned. Now, Miranda has to find out who wanted her sister dead before she succumbs to the same fate.

Reviews:

"I liked [Sandra Madera's] writing style. The author used a lot of metaphor and imagery that I thought added depth to descriptions" - Emma Wolf, Emma Wolf Blog.

“From the very first page I was taken into the story. With many twists and turns I was kept at the edge of my seat. The ending did catch me by surprise. This is a story I would enjoy reading over and over” - Josie Epping, Josie’s Haven Blog.

"I really enjoyed this short story by Sandra Madera. I thought it was really well written, well put together and had a great plot.... I highly recommend this fantastic short story to anyone who likes YA Mystery and Suspense!" - Megan, Turn the Page Book Blog.

100 pages, ebook

First published April 14, 2013

About the author

Sandra Madera currently resides in New York and is a recent college grad, obtaining her bachelor's degree in science. However, her true passion has always been reading and writing. She has been writing short stories since she was a child. She recently published her first full-length YA novel entitled Restraint. For free YA short story downloads and for information on upcoming novels visit www.sandramadera.com and http://sandra-madera.blogspot.com.

Reviews

[Desert Rose Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing that attracted me to this book, was honestly the cover. It's eye-catching and unique, and mixed with a synopsis that promises a good mystery, it seemed like something worth reading.

While it is listed as a "short story," I think I would probably categorize it as a novella. There are several characters the story follows, and it definitely has some intense and suspense-filled situations. The mystery of who killed the twin is awesome, and was very well done. I had no clue who it was until the last chapter, which left me biting my nails and had my stomach in knots.

I enjoyed Sandra Madera's writing style. It was quick, and she described the characters and surroundings very well. My only complaint, was the fact that in some places, especially in the high-suspense scenes, the author took the time to detail and describe things that I didn't really need to know, and it pulled me out of the intensity that scene was supposed to have. Some readers may enjoy knowing the color of the couch at the climax of the story, but I'm more of a "get to the action" reader, which is the reason for the four stars, instead of five. For a stand-alone mystery though, it was very good, and is one I would certainly recommend.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this short story/novella completely randomly through my project to read more self-published things this year (long story). I enjoyed this. I was drawn to it because it contained subject matter similar to young adult novels I had read as a young adult. It's a mystery/suspense about a teenager who's twin sister died in a car accident, and her soon learning that the death was not so accidental as they had thought.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick, young adult read.

[Kayla Thornburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great short story with an unexpected twist in the end!

[Josie-LunarKitCatReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful short story from Sandra Madera!!

[Rosie Zayne]

Check out my review here!

[Nicole Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horribly written. Couldn't stand to even read half of it.