Hush! Listen carefully! Can you hear something? Nothing? Yes, that was me while and after reading the book. This was the book where my soul stood silent in shock when I read how the survival instinct could bring out the good or the bad in us.
It took a road accident where the bus fell off the cliff to reveal the truth. The Miller family along with 5 of their friends were trapped in that bus. Finn Miller died instantly, and the entire story was narrated through her eyes as she saw the actions of each one of them.
Father was badly injured, sister and boyfriend decided to leave first, a few hours later, mother and a friend went to get help, and the rest tried to stay alive. Help came after 2 days, but life suspended for those survivors until best friend Mo got to the truth.
My first book by Suzanne Redfearn, and I was simply shaken to my core. The concept of the story was brilliant, the writing took me right there at the site of the accident. The emotions that coursed through me left me bruised and battered. I cried and ranted, I screamed and swore. I wanted to judge them all, but a part of me wondered how I would behave if had faced such a crisis. Would I help everyone or save myself? Even the best would let go.
The story stayed with me long after I finished reading it. I was sad for the Miller family and hoped life would come back on track for them. There were a couple of characters who made my blood boil. The author’s writing was poignant, and the words chosen were beautifully balanced. Through Finn’s eyes, I was shown the truth of the human psyche without becoming too overly judgmental. There was something about the prose which kept the words flowing through my brain even as I slept.
I wonder about whether our humanity is determined more by circumstance than conscience, and if any of us, if backed into a corner, can change.
Would I? I don’t know.
Simply a beautiful read. Simply a brilliant author.
I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.
All my reviews can be read here
Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive.
Impossible choices are made, decisions that leave the survivors tormented with grief and regret. Unable to let go, Finn keeps vigil as they struggle to reclaim their shattered lives. Jack, her father, who seeks vengeance against the one person he can blame other than himself; her best friend, Mo, who bravely searches for the truth as the story of their survival is rewritten; her sister Chloe, who knows Finn lingers and yearns to join her; and her mother, Ann, who saved them all but is haunted by her decisions. Finn needs to move on, but how can she with her family still in pieces?
Publication Date: 1st March 2020
10 Responses
Oh my goodness, I got goosebumps reading your review. I know what you mean though… how can we really really know how we would be in those types of situations.
Exactly. I started out so judgmental about right or wrong but the survival instinct can make us do things we normally wouldn’t do
Your review has me riveted! I put in my request at NetGalley – fingers crossed.
It is on kindle unlimited. Only this book of this author’s. I want all her books.
what a beautifully moving review, Shalini! you had me 2nd paragraph and i went looking for it. found it on NG! (as did Empress DJ above) and put in my request.
I hope you get it too. It is on kindle unlimited too
It does make you think right? I know I do not react very well under pressure situations but I spent the whole evening after, thinking about possible scenarios
Very true… I kept thinking too after reading this
Got it on Kindle Unlimited. 😉