One Moment

One Moment is an emotional novel that explores grief and the fragile nature of memory.

The story follows Maggie, whose summer was supposed to be perfect with friends and her boyfriend, Joey, but it quickly turns into a nightmare when a single moment changes everything. She remembers the carefree times at the gorge and a tender last kiss with Joey, but she can’t recall the critical moment before they were supposed to dive, leaving her traumatized as Joey ends up dead. As Maggie struggles to piece together what happened, she is forced to confront secrets, lies, and the ways people she trusted can behave unexpectedly. The story captures the feeling of being trapped between what you think you know and the painful uncertainty of discovering the truth.

What makes this book stand out is how it blends mystery with deep emotional insight. Maggie’s fragmented memories create a sense of tension that carries through the whole novel, making the reader feel her confusion and fear. The writing is immersive, and I found myself thinking about how a single instant can alter everything in a person’s life. Maggie’s relationships with her friends and the people around her feel real, with believable emotions and reactions, and the way the author slowly unveils the truth keeps the suspense high. My favorite parts were when Maggie starts recalling memories in small pieces, each revelation adding more complexity to the story, and the way the novel balances heartbreak with her resilience in moving forward. I also think the author did a GREAT job portraying how trauma realistically is and how it actually affects a person.

My only small critique is that at times the pacing feels uneven, especially when switching between past memories and present events, which can be a little disorienting. Maggie also seems a bit unlikable as a character. Even so, it adds to the feeling of Maggie’s struggle to understand what really happened. Overall, One Moment is an emotional story about loss, trust, and the way a single moment can redefine everything you thought you knew.

This book didn't quite pack the emotional punch I was hoping for, but it was a "nearly there" scenario. Although all the revelations in the book are shocking to Maggie, I predicted most of them. But there was something that kept me reading, even though I pretty much had it all figured out from the start.

It was very realistic in that death is always a hard subject to talk and open up about, and there's always secrets and questions the person leaves behind.

I didn't really like Maggie all that much. She was kind of likable and relatable, but she was just so.... whiny. I get that after someone has just died, that's a pretty good reason to cry and grieve, but Maggie just took everything to the extreme. And she was also ridiculously blind and naive.

The romance between Joey and Maggie didn't really work out for me either. To me, they just didn't seem all that well matched, even in Maggie's memories. They probably worked for each other, to have been dating for two years, but to me they didn't seem to fit. And I think that's part of the reason why I didn't get the emotional punch; because I just wasn't mourning Joey along with Maggie.

Maggie's friend Adam was my favourite character. Although I figured out really quickly what was going on with him, I still liked reading about him. Shannon was all the girls I have never had anything in common with put together, and I didn't really get why she and Adam were in the same group of friends.

Tanna and Pete didn't do much. They don't really add to the story, aren't really developed, and don't do much to propel the story forward either.

The pacing of the story was good, and I didn't have any trouble keeping up with the story.

There was something in the story that apparently has to be in every YA novel ever written. Is there some kind of rule that I missed? I won't reveal what it is (although you've probably guessed by now), but it didn't really need to be in this book, although I suppose it did add more depth to the story.

I was originally intrigued by this book's GORGEOUS cover. Then when I read the blurb, I just had to read it. So I requested it. Well it wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, I just felt like it was extremely predictable. I knew everything and all the plot twists before they even happened.
But the thing that I did like about the book was the words and the feelings and emotions they brought on. I could feel the emotions that Maggie had just from reading McBride's words.
The one thing I didn't enjoy, was the romance part. I was expecting some kind of romance, but it felt like there was none present. Especially since I was able to guess before it even came up. I'm not sure if I would classify this as a contemporary romance, it seems more like a great mystery because all Joey's secrets were still left untold.