I received an ARC of The Leading Edge of Now from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book will be released on September 4th 2018 by Kids Can Press
Trigger warning: sexual assault/rape (not graphic but repeatedly mention)
Right after I finished reading The Leading Edge of Now, I knew writing a review for this book is not going to be easy.
A little warning, you may get impatient at the beginning of this book because the book started out slow, like really slow. However, I thank my lucky star that I didn’t stop reading. The story picked up it pace once we know what happened to Grace.
In the span of two years, Grace lost his father to heart attack and placed in foster care after she was sexually assaulted by her boyfriend, Owen. She was unable to tell anyone anything about that night because she was ashamed and plus Owen is her best friend’s older brother.
Two years after the whole ordeal, Grace is now adopted by her uncle and lives next door to Owen. Grace doesn’t know what to do but one conversation with Owen brings out a new truth to what happened that night; Owen didn’t rape her. The story then follow Grace’s journey in finding out the truth.
I’m obviously not going to write about what happened next. But I have to say that the way Curtis wrote about Grace’s journey is very raw. Grace’s feelings were all laid out in the pages, wrapped in beautiful words. You can’t help but to feel Grace’s confusion about what actually happened that night, which will make you want to find out who did it even more.
For me, the biggest lesson from this book is forgiveness. For Grace, I think forgiveness plays a big part in her closure. When she knew that Owen didn’t do it, she was struggling to accept the truth. I guess it would be easier for her to accept the version of the truth that she already knew. With that truth coming out, she had to forgive Owen while feeling guilty for accusing him all this time. Not only that, she now has to find the person who’s responsible. But her forgiveness for Owen obviously give her peace and help fix their relationship. Meanwhile, through the other characters, I learned that forgiveness for oneself is crucial. When you can’t forgive yourself, it will hinder you from moving forward. Forgiving yourself is freeing.
There’s nothing much more I can say without spoiling all of you. The Leading Edge of Now is the first book from Marci Lyn Curtis that I read. I have to say that one of my favourite things about her writing is her humour. Sarcasm drips out of this book and I loved it. The Leading Edge of Now has it all. Heart-wrenching story with lovable characters and sarcastic humour dripping out of its pages. For me, this book is a great introduction to Marci Lyn Curtis and I’m going to grab her other book, The One Thing, now.
The Leading Edge of Now by Marci Lyn Curtis
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?
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