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The Moment Before (2014)

by Suzy Vitello(Favorite Author)

3.5 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1626811679 (ISBN13: 9781626811676)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Diversion Books

review 1: I know I say this a lot, but this time I mean it. Really.Honestly, I'm just torn. I'm truly just NOT SURE what I think about THE MOMENT BEFORE -- or even how to rate it.So I took the easy way out and went straight to three stars. But, I'll tell you why -- and you can decide for yourself what you think.Backing up a little, though...Brady is a loner -- an artistic soul who feels especially lost after the death of her 'Irish twin' sister Sabine, the popular, perfect cheerleader who was adored by everyone who knew her. Everyone knows it was Connor, high school delinquent and spaced out stoner, who was responsible for Sabine's death, even if it was deemed an accident in the end. So when Brady starts to investigate new and confusing feelings for Connor, her parents are horrified... more. How can their only living daughter even dare to be friendly to the individual who killed her only sister?But, Brady isn't so sure, and little by little she and Connor begin to uncover little secrets about Sabine's life and death. Was Sabine's picture perfect boyfriend as wonderful as she wanted everyone to believe? Was Sabine hiding something deep and dark enough that it was intended to follow her to the grave? Does Connor really have a special insight to Sabine's life that Brady never expected -- or is Connor a master manipulator with devious intentions towards Brady and her family?Brady doesn't know much about her sister's death, but she intends to uncover every detail that she can -- with or without the man who allegedly killed her....Now... back to why I'm so torn.On the one hand, I do think that the writing in THE MOMENT BEFORE is fantastic -- very brooding at times, deep at others, and definitely executed in such a way that I was drawn into the story after just a page or two, eager to discover what REALLY happened to Sabine and what Connor may or may not be hiding from her sister that might thwart her plans. The general idea for the story is fabulous, and I'm fiercely drawn to these introspective type novels, even if it doesn't always feel like so much is going on with the plot itself throughout the novel.But, on the flipside, I think that things just got a bit TOO muddled and angsty for Brady to the point that I really just lost interest and almost wanted to give up on the book about 75% of the way through. And while I do enjoy a realistic open-ended conclusion to a good story (and I thought the last line or two of the book was pretty brilliant after everything else that happened), it just felt like TOO many things were unexplained here, making certain characters or events feel a little pointless. I don't really understanding Connor's motives -- or those of Brady's best friend or Sabine's ex-boyfriend -- or honestly, even Sabine's (despite the fact that Brady continued to emphasize that Sabine's downfall was her intense need to 'one up' the rest of the world). I can appreciate this back and forth, stream of consciousness type narration, but I just needed a little more structure to help the story feel more final, I guess.So, I went with three stars -- excellent concept, interesting approach, but somewhat weird execution. If you love YA fiction with a heavy dose of teenage angst and introspection, I definitely think THE MOMENT BEFORE will be worth your time. If, on the other hand, you prefer a fast plot with clear explanations and a decent ending -- maybe not so much on this one....Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of THE MOMENT BEFORE for the purposes of providing a completely honest review. No compensation was provided for this review or any of the thoughts posted above. :)
review 2: It can't be easy to have a gorgeous, popular, confident older sister. Especially in high school. Especially when she's also a star cheerleader and has such an epic romance that she's been Brangelina'd with her own couple name.It can't.But what's harder is when she dies, still in the grips of those very elements that feasted on her and nurtured her.Sabine's death hit younger sister Brady hard. They are "Irish twins," born scarcely a year apart, and Brady made peace (somewhat) with Sabine's light outshining hers. She tells us, point blank, that she never wished her sister dead, and we believe her. Sabine wouldn't talk to her if Brady felt otherwise, right?Yes, Sabine communicates with her living sister. Brady is convinced. When she feels insecure or confused, Brady swears she hears Sabine tell her what to do. So does Connor. The boy who many think killed Sabine.We'll get to Connor in a bit.Brady is like a somnambulist; she sleepwalks through her days, barely putting in time in class. College? Maybe. A romance of her own? Unlikely.Her parents' marriage, which was struggling to overcome infidelity prior to Sabine's death, seems even more hollow, more disjointed. And Martha, one of Sabine's closest friends and also a friend Brady holds dear, seems to be on her way to installing herself in Sabine's old life.Is it any wonder that Brady doesn't want to fully wake up and face the life she has to live now, one without Sabine?Oh, Sabine was not perfect, not by any stretch. That's one of the strengths of this book; we get to see Sabine's flaws, her sort of wickedness that few acknowledged, if they even realized it existed.One person who does know the real Sabine is Connor, the town pariah. Brady's parents hate him, her classmates hate him, everyone seems to hate him. He's nothing more than a pothead whose stoned out lack of attention caused Sabine to die. At least that's the party line. As Brady comes to discover, though, there is more to Connor than she assumed, and perhaps there was more to Sabine's death.There are so many rich nuances here that it's impossible to cover them all. Each character is an attempt to defy a stereotype, and most do. Martha is hilarious, albeit unintentionally so. You will want to hate her, except you just can't. Nick, Sabine's ex boyfriend, is easier to loathe, unless you are far removed from high school and can see him for the damaged, spoiled child he really is.Brady, who tells us the story, is utterly and completely adorable, and when she begins to befriend Connor, you hope her faith is not misplaced. She loved her sister - loves her still - and she wants to understand Sabine's mysteries and realities.I'll admit that I cried a few times while reading this, largely because I liked Brady so much and wanted her to be happy. When a wealthy art patron takes an interest in her, I was relieved that someone could appreciate her separately from Sabine.This book is going in my high school English classroom library because I know my students will revel in it as much as I did.Thanks to Net Galley for the preview.Published on cupcake's book cupboard@VivaAmaRisata less

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