One Moment by Kristina McBride272 Pages (Hardcover)
Egmont USA
June 26, 2012
Source: Book Tour
Format: ARC
"This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie's life. Now it's the one she'd do anything to forget. "
Maggie remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party. She remembers climbing the trail with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can't she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below-dead?
As Maggie's memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding? The latest novel from the author of "The Tension of Opposites," "One Moment" is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.
One moment Maggie is hanging out with friends, and the next moment her life is turned upside down and she has no way to get it back to the way it was before. One Moment is essentially about how much can change in a matter of seconds. Of how nobody thinks "it" will happen to them... until it does. There are some aspects that I really enjoyed about this novel, and a few that annoyed me.
One of my problems is with the main character, Maggie. Her relationship with Joey has made her incredibly weak. Her whole life revolves around him in an unrealistic way. Yes, her boyfriends should play a role in her life, but he shouldn't be her life. Also, while Maggie is attempting to go through the stages of grief after the loss of a friend, her body blocks certain memories. This actually does happen, so that is not was frustrated me. What frustrated me was how mean everyone was towards her because of it. She lost someone incredibly close, she was hospitalized, lost her memory and now she is going to be ostracized? People are mean, but not every person can be that mean.
Moving on, there were quite a few things that I did like. I appreciated the idea that one moment, even those that seem insignificant, play a huge role in the shaping of one's future. Teenagers tend to think that they are invincible, so seeing this novel play out, when the characters get such a rude awakening, was very interesting, albeit heartbreaking.
About halfway through the novel, there was a change in Maggie which really got me interested in the story. Her transition from really hopeless and weak to slowly starting to take control was entertaining to see unfold. The subplot, which I will not spoil, was one of my favorite parts.
Overall, if you are into the more serious and heartbreaking contemporaries, this one may be a good match for you.
I had a hard time with this book. I liked it, but it took me awhile to get there, mostly due to the fact that Maggie was a sucky protagonist for the first 3/4of the book. You hit the nail on the head when you discussed her. I kind of felt like this book was trying really hard to be a mystery, but just never pulled it off because it was so predictable. Great review!
ReplyDeleteKaris @ YA Litwit
Thank you! Although I am never happy people have a difficult time with books, I'm glad that I was not the only one who felt this way.
DeleteHm I am not sure about this book to be honest. I think the main reason is your description of he main character. I am character driven (a lot), so if a character seems unrealistic it drives me mad. Also, I hate when side characters are just mean for the sake of meanness and for putting the main character into a corner. I get what you mena ..
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