Review: One Moment by Kristina McBride

Title: One Moment
Author: Kristina McBride
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Age Group: Young Adult
Category:  Contemporary
Release date: June 26th, 2012
Pages: 272 (e-galley)
Rating: 4 out of 5
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?

We always have to remember that at any moment in time, our lives can change drastically.  When Maggie followed her boyfriend up to the top of that cliff, she had no idea that it would be the moment that changes everything.  When an unexpected accident occurs, the shock of it all has left her with bits and pieces of memory but she can't remember what happened before the jump and what made her decide against it at the last minute.  Now the police, her friends and everyone else are on her case trying to figure out the truth that her head is blocking from her.

One Moment tells the story of one traumatized girl trying to put the pieces back together, to understand why her boyfriend left her with so much left to uncover.  The story itself was incredibly devastating and I recall my heart breaking with every horrible secret the main character uncovered.  She was torn into pieces each time and therefore, I was too.  Although the mystery woven into this book was a little obvious to the reader at times, I can understand why Maggie thought the way she did about her friends and how close they were to each other.

I started to hate Joey with everything I learned about him along the way.  Sometimes you don't know the truth about someone until they're gone.  Even after everything she'd been through, the most important part is that Maggie learns to say goodbye and begins to trust again, which takes so much more strength than the last few months have given her.

In One Moment, Maggie was able to put the pieces of her memory back together as well as her heart.  The author created such a shocking and tragic tale of love, loss, betrayal and being able to heal over time.  I loved every moment of this story and I'm more than certain many others will too.