The Leading Edge of Now by Marci Lyn Curtis – Review

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Author: Marci Lyn Curtis 

Publisher: KPC Loft 

Publication date: September 4, 2018

Pages: 342

Price: $12.99 CAD (paperback) at Indigo Books & Music Online 


Synopsis

Just when Grace is beginning to get used to being an orphan, her estranged uncle suddenly comes forward to claim her. That might have been okay if he’d spoken to her even once since her father died. Or if moving in with Uncle Rusty didn’t mean returning to New Harbor.
Grace once spent the best summers of her life in New Harbor. Now the place just reminds her of all she’s lost: her best friend, her boyfriend and any memory of the night that changed her forever.
People say the truth will set you free, but Grace isn’t sure about that. Once she starts looking for it, the truth about that night is hard to find — and what happens when her healing hurts the people she cares about the most?           – Goodreads
First Sentence 

“Here I am.”

Review

Ah, yes. A cover buy. An excellent book but still a good old cover buy. I’m sorry! It’s just sometimes books have REALLY ugly covers! And I know I’m not supposed to “judge a book by its cover” but I mean c’mon! If the synopsis was really good then I’ll look into buying the prettier UK editions online but even if The Leading Edge of Now had an ugly cover I’d for sure still pick this one up.

I read this book really quickly, it was more or less like one of those “I-just-finished-a-long-fantasy-series-so-let’s-read-a-couple-stand-alone-contemporaries-until-the-next-series” sort of books. Anyway, it took me two days to finish, but it was like a really suspenseful novel! Who hurt Grace that labor day weekend? What’s going on? What happened to her dad? Why was she in foster care for two years? What happened with her uncle? LOTS OF SUSPENSE HERE!

The ending was really sad when all of the truth was unveiled. It sucks that Grace had to go through such traumatic events but I’m happy the people responsible were held accountable for their actions and Grace was surrounded with positive and open-eared people who could help her pursue her life like it was left before this horrendous act.

I feel like many YA novels have a tendency to glorify mental illness and sexual assault (which isn’t fun to read and is quite frankly very weird) but The Leading Edge of Now really hits you with the harsh truths of today’s society and how you can choose, like Grace, to move on and start living your life again even if you are forever changed. Much like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, this novel truthfully depicts the struggle many face when they have dealt with sexual assault and how they have overcome it and found peace. I think this novel could be really helpful for some readers to let them know that they aren’t alone and that hopefully, one day, they will overcome, like Grace.

Grief isn’t something you can hurdle. It’s something you carry on your back.

The Leading Edge of now 

Final Review/Recommendation

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I enjoyed reading The Leading Edge of Now. I’d recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading any of Laurie Halse Anderson’s novels. More specifically Speak, because they both have the same subject in mind.

The little gasp of story I’m living, right here, right on the verge of everything,  right on the leading edge of now…

This life, this terrifying beautiful life. And this now, this terrifying and beautiful now.

It’s mine.

-The Leading Edge of Now

Check out Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak here
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An abslutely stunning cover! Love seeing this one on my bookshelf!

Let me know what you thought of The Leading Edge of Now or of my review!

Happy Easter everyone!

-Emma 😉

 

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