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Broken
Ash Perrault can explain why she's so upset: her dad's fiance is moving into their house, her best friend Mouse is hiding a secret from her, she has detention on the school dance committee, and her relationship with her boyfriend, Seth, is confusing and often hurtful. But Ash can't explain why the glass around her keeps breaking without her touching it. Her power to break glass is not only eerie, it's dangerous. Can she find a way to control it?
- GenresFictionYoung Adult
165 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
About the author
Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry
4 books2 followersAlyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry also writes as Alyxandra Harvey
Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.
Among her favourite books are 'The Wood Wife' by Terri Windling, 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte, and of course, 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennet is her hero because she’s smart and sassy, and Mr. Darcy is, well, yum.
Aside from the ghosts, she also lives with three dogs and her husband.
Alyxandra Harvey lives in a stone Victorian house in Ontario, Canada with a few resident ghosts who are allowed to stay as long they keep company manners. She loves medieval dresses, used to be able to recite all of The Lady of Shalott by Tennyson, and has been accused, more than once, of being born in the wrong century. She believes this to be mostly true except for the fact that she really likes running water, women’s rights, and ice cream.
Among her favourite books are 'The Wood Wife' by Terri Windling, 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte, and of course, 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen. Elizabeth Bennet is her hero because she’s smart and sassy, and Mr. Darcy is, well, yum.
Aside from the ghosts, she also lives with three dogs and her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 20, 2014
Absolutley amazing. A great love story family story for teens to read. I had so much to relate to while reading this
December 3, 2009
Everyone has felt broken at one point in their lives, some more broken than others, but broken none the less. Ash Perrault has felt that way since her mother died, but now her world is changing and she has every reason to be angry.
Her father’s fiancee, Ella, is moving in, with her two daughters, Katie and Julia; Ash’s best friend, Mouse, is keeping a secret from her; and Seth, the guy she is “seeing,” is embarrassed to be seen with her. But on top of all that, she has the problem of glass breaking around her when she’s not even near it.
Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry has tried to make Broken a modern-style Cinderella story, but that attempt wasn’t quite successful. The only character that was well developed was Ash, and the only character that was even enjoyable was Mouse. The rest just seemed like people to fill in holes of chaos in Ash’s world.
Even Ash is kind of a cliche, aside from purple hair and 90s clothes, she is the outcast, art student who is misunderstood and gets in trouble. Seems like the typical teen angst novel. The writing is average at best and jerky at worst. Seth is the normal high school jock, at the top of the school, cheerleader ex-girlfriend. Ella gets called her stepmother, while Katie and Julia are called her stepsisters, even though the marriage hasn’t take place yet (that just irked my nerves).
The storyline isn’t even all that original, the outcast girl, she gets the football player (why are they always football players??), and she’s tormented by the cheerleading mean girls. It seemed like the author watched Mean Girls (Lindsay Lohan/Rachel McAdams, movie we’ve all watched more than once, even if we won’t admit it) and Clueless (Alicia Silverstone/Brittany Murphy, a movie every 90’s kid has seen 100 times) way to many times. Honestly, who really says “as if” anymore?
I like the cover, the idea, and the fact that it was a really quick read, but the story was pretty bland and typical. Plus the fact that there wasn’t really a resolution or even an explanation to the breaking glass thing, just really irks my nerves too. If there had been a resolution and better character development, then I could have gotten past the mediocre writing, but there was none of that.This may be something that other people like, but personally it’s not my thing. I would rather count ceiling tiles than sit through reading Broken again…and that in my opinion is just bad.
Her father’s fiancee, Ella, is moving in, with her two daughters, Katie and Julia; Ash’s best friend, Mouse, is keeping a secret from her; and Seth, the guy she is “seeing,” is embarrassed to be seen with her. But on top of all that, she has the problem of glass breaking around her when she’s not even near it.
Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry has tried to make Broken a modern-style Cinderella story, but that attempt wasn’t quite successful. The only character that was well developed was Ash, and the only character that was even enjoyable was Mouse. The rest just seemed like people to fill in holes of chaos in Ash’s world.
Even Ash is kind of a cliche, aside from purple hair and 90s clothes, she is the outcast, art student who is misunderstood and gets in trouble. Seems like the typical teen angst novel. The writing is average at best and jerky at worst. Seth is the normal high school jock, at the top of the school, cheerleader ex-girlfriend. Ella gets called her stepmother, while Katie and Julia are called her stepsisters, even though the marriage hasn’t take place yet (that just irked my nerves).
The storyline isn’t even all that original, the outcast girl, she gets the football player (why are they always football players??), and she’s tormented by the cheerleading mean girls. It seemed like the author watched Mean Girls (Lindsay Lohan/Rachel McAdams, movie we’ve all watched more than once, even if we won’t admit it) and Clueless (Alicia Silverstone/Brittany Murphy, a movie every 90’s kid has seen 100 times) way to many times. Honestly, who really says “as if” anymore?
I like the cover, the idea, and the fact that it was a really quick read, but the story was pretty bland and typical. Plus the fact that there wasn’t really a resolution or even an explanation to the breaking glass thing, just really irks my nerves too. If there had been a resolution and better character development, then I could have gotten past the mediocre writing, but there was none of that.This may be something that other people like, but personally it’s not my thing. I would rather count ceiling tiles than sit through reading Broken again…and that in my opinion is just bad.
January 31, 2012
A great YA novel, full of teenage angst and frustration. When Ash's dad announces that his fiancée Ella and her two daughters Katie and Julia, were to be moving into their house it starts to cause an unusual reaction for Ash. Having a new step-mother and step-sisters after such a long time without her mother, Ash struggles to let them fit into her and her dad's life. It starts with little things, like Ella moving things around in the house, having to move in with a soon to be 13 year old step-sister [Katie], living with little miss prim and perfect [Julia].
It's not all it seems. Ella wants to be a friend offering guidance not a step-mother commanding and finds it hard when Ash is rebelling. Julia has a problem that she is scared to confront. Ash's friend Mouse is a constant, there for support and fun, but there relationship changes when, popular boy, Seth takes an interest in Ash. Ash is sure there is another reason for his interest, but when he kisses her she forgets what it is. Her relationship with Mouse is affected, partly because Mouse can see exactly what Seth is up to and is annoyed that Ash just can’t see it.
Along the way Ash finds that she has an ability, she breaks things, more particularly, glass and pottery. She has to find a way to control it, it’s affecting her relationship with her Dad, who seems oblivious to what is actually happening and seems to think Ash has an attitude problem. But doesn’t every teenager?
I enjoyed this book, read it in one sitting, more because I had a lot of time on my hands. I found this to be a pleasant read, the characters don’t grate on my nerves [which with some teen angst books they do], the tone of the book was consistent and the plot was not too twisted, but enough that you felt for the character.
It's not all it seems. Ella wants to be a friend offering guidance not a step-mother commanding and finds it hard when Ash is rebelling. Julia has a problem that she is scared to confront. Ash's friend Mouse is a constant, there for support and fun, but there relationship changes when, popular boy, Seth takes an interest in Ash. Ash is sure there is another reason for his interest, but when he kisses her she forgets what it is. Her relationship with Mouse is affected, partly because Mouse can see exactly what Seth is up to and is annoyed that Ash just can’t see it.
Along the way Ash finds that she has an ability, she breaks things, more particularly, glass and pottery. She has to find a way to control it, it’s affecting her relationship with her Dad, who seems oblivious to what is actually happening and seems to think Ash has an attitude problem. But doesn’t every teenager?
I enjoyed this book, read it in one sitting, more because I had a lot of time on my hands. I found this to be a pleasant read, the characters don’t grate on my nerves [which with some teen angst books they do], the tone of the book was consistent and the plot was not too twisted, but enough that you felt for the character.
April 27, 2015
The book "Broken," by Alyxandra Harvey-Fitzhenry, was just something I pulled off the shelf from my local library being intrigued by the title. Questions filled my head when I saw it, so I tried it out. Basically Ash, the main character, is about to gain new family members, as her father wishes to remarry, but she doesn't want him to. She becomes, in a way, the problem child of the house, and feeling as though her mother's past presence is gradually disappearing she lets her feelings out in mosaics. With a strange power (that developed after her mother's death) she breaks glass by staring intensely. Along with her personal conflicts, Seth, her long time crush, suddenly shows a fondness for her, this leads to conflicts with her best friend, who disapproves of the relationship. Honestly, my least favorite part in this book was the constant kisses that Seth pushed onto Ash. She had no backbone in his arms, and the only time she stopped him was when he tried to get in her pants, which is why I loved seeing her lose interest in him. Overall it was an alright book, but I wouldn't recommend it to my friends, since they enjoy romance stories, more than friendship endings (as do I, which is why I won't say it's phenomenal), so if that sounds like you, you've been warned.
August 3, 2009
A quick read with some depth to it! Ash is a modern day Cinderella with the new stepmother and stepsisters, except the problems of Ash and some of the other teens around her, don’t resemble anything found in fairy tales. This is a clever little book with a little Cinderella, a little modern era problems, a few understated messages about being true to yourself and a little mysterious paranormal type stuff happening. Ash is well developed as are all the teen characters, I especially loved Mouse! The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that the author never really cleared up the paranormal stuff. We don’t really know WHY it was happening at the end of the book.
March 31, 2009
Ash Perrault can explain why she's so upset: her dad's fiancée is moving into their house, her best friend Mouse is hiding a secret from her, she has detention on the school dance committee, and her relationship with her boy friend, Seth, is confusing and often hurtful. But Ash can't explain why the glass around her keeps breaking without her touching it. Her power to break glass is not only eerie, it's dangerous.
This book was an engaging read and truly relatable. I recommend it to any teenager with alternative interests navigating their way through highschool!
This book was an engaging read and truly relatable. I recommend it to any teenager with alternative interests navigating their way through highschool!
October 26, 2012
Ash is a girl who is true to herself, but she still suffers from the cruelties of bullies. The boy she likes seems more concerned with how his former girlfriend is reacting than how Ash feels. Ash's father is remarrying and she will have siblings for the first time. The mother and older daughter are perfect, the younger daughter is a pest. Whenever Ash is upset glass breaks around her causing her to be blamed for violent acts. I felt this accidental talent was casually accepted and not used to its full potential in the story. The rest of the story was predictable.
April 20, 2012
Nicely paced, tight, an interesting premise, and a masterly use of dialogue. Sadly, at 164 pages there just isn't adequate space to give the necessary depth to the protagonist, Ash, and her issues. It was fine, but it felt like reading an after-school special. Too tidy, but a satisfactory quick read.
March 12, 2016
A very quick and suck-you-in read, and not your typical paranormal romance. There's a bit more going on here. There's a young woman dealing with a newly-minted blended family-- including a neglectful father, and some self-esteem issues that along with her new home situation provide a catalysis for some poor choices and paranormal events.
July 11, 2010
Slow start but once your in it you can really relate to it :) Good book, especially for a quick read.
March 4, 2021
Full review at Yabookreads.com
March 14th 2011
March 14th 2011
August 13, 2016
Another that has been on my shelf for a long time. Liked quite a bit but thought the ending was a little "to pat" and that a lot was left unresolved.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews