Miracle by Elizabeth Scott

Miracle by Elizabeth Scott
Published: June 5, 2012 by Simon Pulse
Received: ARC on loan

Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn’t feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.

Scared and alone, Megan doesn’t know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved.... [goodreads]

This book may be tiny with only a little over 200 pages, but it packs a punch that's definitely bigger than us all.  Miracle is the story about a girl who is the soul-survivor of a plane crash.  That element right there scares the crap out of me.  Whether we want to admit it or not, I think there's a fear inside us all each time we take flight to the skies.  Then on top of a possible crash, the knowing fear of being the only one to walk away from it - that type of stress lays a heavy hand on my heart.  I can not, for the life of me, imagine what kind of distress Megan went through.  But that's the beauty of Elizabeth Scott's story-telling, she has the ability to put you right there, in the moment, living these nightmares right along side the character.  I adore her for that.  I always know when I pick up an Elizabeth Scott book that I will walk away emotionally drained, yet tantalizingly eager to want so much more.

Megan's parents and the small town she lives in really hit a nerve with me.  Here is a girl who just survived a very traumatic event in her life and they think a neighborhood casserole dinner will end all her worries.  There is no band-aid large enough to cover this gaping wound.  It's common when someone encounters such a traumatic event that their mind will choose to forget a lot of the details.  We soon realize this with Megan as she goes about her daily routine, almost in a zombie-like state of mind.  She knows she was in a plane crash, but the details of this horrific event take awhile to slowly creep back inside her memory.

The label of being a "miracle" push Megan over the edge and into the hesitant arms of Joe - the next door neighbor who has nightmares of his own.  Together, they lean on one another, slowly prying open their hidden wounds and revealing the truth about what frightens them most.  Their quiet encounters in the dead of night, when secrets are shared, and all emotions are forgotten, is one of my favorite aspects of this story.  Joe helps Megan to see that something this huge is bound to change a person.  Though she realizes this, it takes her parents a few more steps to see it themselves.

Miracle is a story that will tug heavy on your heartstrings.  Be prepared for tears and moments of not believing this could be real.  Though it's a fictional story, the truth about post-traumatic stress disorder is very real.  Seeing this issue brought forth in a young adult novel in such a quiet, yet alarming way earns so much respect from me.  Elizabeth Scott has opened my eyes a bit wider to a disorder which I wasn't too familiar with before, but now have a better understanding of.  I encourage you to read this novel for the beautiful story it possesses, even in it's darkest moments.