Fragile by M. Leighton

Fragile by M. Leighton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hardy Bradford believes in rituals, his father has drilled them into his head. As a rising Quarterback entering his senior year, the one ritual he can't wait to break is to end his long term relationship with popular cheerleader Cheyenne. Her vapid, self-absorbed attitude has become even more warring on him. With his rambling thoughts swirling around his head he comes across the most beautiful sight he has ever seen, a young girl his age whose every breath and little reactions to things burrow there way into his heart, he is immediately mesmerized by her.

It has been five months since Hardy has seen her, but he still thinks about her often. When the girl walks into his chemistry class he finally gets to attach a name to her, Miracle St. James. His luck continues to grow when he finds himself partnered with him in photography class and a delicate friendship is made. Hardy has never come across someone so genuine and full of appreciation for everything she does as he has with Miracle. When his girlfriend sees her as competition though she goes out of her way to make sure Miracle knows her place, revealing something very private that sends Hardy reeling and changing his rituals in a dramatic way.

Miracle is used to people walking away once they realize she is a cancer survivor, but she feels like she is on borrowed time and chooses to look the other way instead of letting it bother her. She is afraid of what Hardy wants to offer, his promises of staying by her side have her wishing it were true but she is also scared about if her kidney fails where it would leave him in all this.

I thought this was a powerful story. I laughed, cried, and cheered for Hardy who finds himself becoming the man he wants to be and releasing those outside pressures that have been slowly chipping away at him. The story is told from Hardy's POV which I liked a lot because he is conflicted with his feelings and frustrated that Miracle is not as hard to read, he fumbles but the one thing he never wavers on is his commitment to her. Passionately written, well worth reading.

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