Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Published: June 26th 2012 by EgmontUSA
ARC taken from Netgalley
Book Description:
This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.
Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand 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.
MY THOUGHTS:
“But mostly just the realization that all it takes is one moment for your entire world to turn upside down. One wrong decision, and it’s over”
I’m not sure where to start with this novel. To tell you the truth some parts just made me frustrated and want to stop reading it. I understand that what Maggie has gone through because of Joey’s death is understandable but I’m really unsure why at times I felt really annoyed with Maggie.
Maggie Reynolds, which is the main protagonist of the story, for me is very confused with her feelings. It’s like what is in front of her she’s sure of and those that she deemed not so important is irrelevant. I think she’s the perfect example of a person who is so deeply in love that you tend to not see the subtle signs leading to betrayal and deemed the person you are in love with as perfect and those flaws that do exist are nonexistent in your eyes. She’s also very indecisive about whether she wants to uncover what really happened versus staying in her cocoon of not knowing anything. I do understand that she’s experiencing some trauma and she is entering the stages of grief but I just really don’t like a semi-weak female character. Although, I deemed her only semi-weak because after the middle part of the book and onwards, I find her likeable and brave enough to handle some of the things suddenly thrown at her in addition to her ‘perfect’ boyfriend’s death.
Adam, on the other hand, for me is person who’s willing to give up everything for the person you love and is willing to protect his friends even though he’s hurting himself. I think he’s one of the most tragic but brave characters in the book because despite being cornered and fighting against the death of his best friend he still stayed to the person he is. He also presented one of those people who face death through avoidance of his friends to cope up with the lost.
Shannon is the somewhat villain in the story. How she’s a villain, I would leave it for you to read the story. One thing I would say to you is for me she’s not really the villain but a person who’s stuck in a situation that she can’t handle. Not that I condone what she have done because she should have done what is right and never push through if she valued anything they have gone through as friends. I won’t say much about her because she would play one of the turning points of the story.
Lastly, Joey is Maggie’s boyfriend and for me the main bad guy of the story. I know he died and everything but everything he left behind after his death deserves another part of the story. He built up too many deceits and confusions within their group of friends that left everyone hurt. He’s viewed as the perfect individual, or should I say the ‘cool’ guy that he was thought to do things (no matter how crazy it is) as something worth the awe about. I really vote for him to have a story worthy of him because I kind of want to hear his part of the story and what he’s thinking about.
Overall, I think One Moment is a fast read and it shows how others deal with death and grief. This somehow depicts true reactions once faced with that kind of situation. The mystery part is a bit predictable as you go on and sometimes I find that what I thought about is true but it’s alright and it does not really destroy the essence of the story.
I also want to give kudos to the title of the novel. I think it’s very fitting with the story. It makes you think that seriously one moment can change everything in life. That’s what I have learned after reading this and also no matter how we wish to turn back time and change that simple one moment it will never happen so we just need to suck it all up and move on but remember and accept that things happen.
I’m giving this 3.5 jumping whales.
Author: Kristina McBride
Published: June 26th 2012 by EgmontUSA
ARC taken from Netgalley
Book Description:
This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie’s life. Now it’s the one she’d do anything to forget.
Maggie Reynolds remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party the night before. She remembers climbing the trail hand in hand 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.
MY THOUGHTS:
“But mostly just the realization that all it takes is one moment for your entire world to turn upside down. One wrong decision, and it’s over”
I’m not sure where to start with this novel. To tell you the truth some parts just made me frustrated and want to stop reading it. I understand that what Maggie has gone through because of Joey’s death is understandable but I’m really unsure why at times I felt really annoyed with Maggie.
Maggie Reynolds, which is the main protagonist of the story, for me is very confused with her feelings. It’s like what is in front of her she’s sure of and those that she deemed not so important is irrelevant. I think she’s the perfect example of a person who is so deeply in love that you tend to not see the subtle signs leading to betrayal and deemed the person you are in love with as perfect and those flaws that do exist are nonexistent in your eyes. She’s also very indecisive about whether she wants to uncover what really happened versus staying in her cocoon of not knowing anything. I do understand that she’s experiencing some trauma and she is entering the stages of grief but I just really don’t like a semi-weak female character. Although, I deemed her only semi-weak because after the middle part of the book and onwards, I find her likeable and brave enough to handle some of the things suddenly thrown at her in addition to her ‘perfect’ boyfriend’s death.
Adam, on the other hand, for me is person who’s willing to give up everything for the person you love and is willing to protect his friends even though he’s hurting himself. I think he’s one of the most tragic but brave characters in the book because despite being cornered and fighting against the death of his best friend he still stayed to the person he is. He also presented one of those people who face death through avoidance of his friends to cope up with the lost.
Shannon is the somewhat villain in the story. How she’s a villain, I would leave it for you to read the story. One thing I would say to you is for me she’s not really the villain but a person who’s stuck in a situation that she can’t handle. Not that I condone what she have done because she should have done what is right and never push through if she valued anything they have gone through as friends. I won’t say much about her because she would play one of the turning points of the story.
Lastly, Joey is Maggie’s boyfriend and for me the main bad guy of the story. I know he died and everything but everything he left behind after his death deserves another part of the story. He built up too many deceits and confusions within their group of friends that left everyone hurt. He’s viewed as the perfect individual, or should I say the ‘cool’ guy that he was thought to do things (no matter how crazy it is) as something worth the awe about. I really vote for him to have a story worthy of him because I kind of want to hear his part of the story and what he’s thinking about.
Overall, I think One Moment is a fast read and it shows how others deal with death and grief. This somehow depicts true reactions once faced with that kind of situation. The mystery part is a bit predictable as you go on and sometimes I find that what I thought about is true but it’s alright and it does not really destroy the essence of the story.
I also want to give kudos to the title of the novel. I think it’s very fitting with the story. It makes you think that seriously one moment can change everything in life. That’s what I have learned after reading this and also no matter how we wish to turn back time and change that simple one moment it will never happen so we just need to suck it all up and move on but remember and accept that things happen.
I’m giving this 3.5 jumping whales.
I've been seeing this book around lately. It seems like the reviews are pretty mixed for it. I've been wanting to read some more contemporaries to even out all the paranormal books I've been reading so I may eventually get to One Moment. I like your review because it helped me get a better understanding of the various characters throughout the book. It seems like there's a good mix, all flawed but interesting.
ReplyDelete-Lauren