Author: Kristina McBride
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Release date: June 26th 2012
Pages: 272
Genre: Contemporary YA; mystery
Source: NetGalley
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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?My rating: 3 out of 5 stars
I had high hopes for this book. The cover is gorgeous, and the idea sounds right up my alley. But sadly, I couldn't connect to the story, making this an only okay read for me.
I did like the plot. I always like grief-storylines, especially if there's a little mystery along with them. I enjoyed reading about Maggie and her friends, seeing how each of them dealt with losing Joey. The mystery-aspect is well-done, and I enjoyed putting together the pieces along with Maggie, trying to figure out what really happened.
The writing is good, too. Flows nicely and reads quickly - just the right balance between dialogue and description. It's the kind of writing that can absorb a reader, moving fast when it should but taking its time and giving us details when we need them.
But even though, objectively, I could see that those aspects of One Moment were well-done, I felt somewhat removed from the story. I just can't get myself to be enthusiastic about this book - it didn't make me feel anything. It's very easy to get me to cry, but I didn't get emotional once while reading One Moment. And I think the reason why I couldn't connect with One Moment is because of the characters.
Maggie is a boring MC. I'm sorry, but she is. After reading the book, I still don't feel like I really know her. I don't know a single of her interests, anything she likes to do, anything she's good or bad at. I have no idea who she is - all I know is that she's grieving her boyfriend. Maggie is average in every way; there's no personality that would make me like her or feeel for her.
Another reason I couldn't connect to the story is Joey. I did not like Joey. At all. And not just because of the secrets that come out towards the end, which would make sense with the story. But I disliked him from the start. I didn't like him as a character, and I didn't like Maggie's relationship with Joey, either. I couldn't feel what Maggie felt for Joey. That made it hard for me to relate to Maggie's grief, since I didn't feel any sort of deep connection between Maggie and Joey in the first place.
A lot of aspects of One Moment are well-done, but it wasn't for me. I couldn't connect to the story on any level. I don't discourage you from giving it a try, since connecting to characters is different for every reader, but it was an only okay read, for me.
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