Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 328
Source: Personal Copy
'After The Moment' begins with Leigh and Maia Moreland meeting at an unexpected function, a few years after high school. It's clear that Leigh and Maia have impacted each others lives, leaving them awkward and apprehensive to be in each others presence once again. Leigh Hunter was a golden boy, star athlete, and honour roll student. Maia Moreland was a self-proclaimed train wreck, battling anorexia and self-mutilation. Leigh meets Maia, when his stepsister suddenly looses her stepfather. Meggie is distraught, and Leigh's father seeks out his for assistance. Soon after, Leigh decides to move in with his father to spend more time with Meggie. In his final year of high school, Leigh faces many challenges.
First and foremost, I did not feel any attachment to these characters. I felt like I was watching this story, but thought it was completely inconceivable. I felt like Leigh was too adaptable. He allows everyone to speak for him, and goes along with whatever he is told. When Meggie asks him to move in, he agrees. When his mother moves in with her boyfriend, he agrees. When Maia is battling her issues, he helps her in every way possible. I felt like he had no real emotions and nothing really disturbed him. His mother also had no real emotions, even though her son has chosen not to live with her. When Leigh's father is coaxing Maia to eat a few more morsels of food, it felt completely bizarre. She has to eat food in order to visit her stepfather in prison. I really bothered me that there was so many 'step' relations. Maia's family seemed to be nonexistent. Honestly, this story really annoyed me
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Leigh doesn't sound like a very realistically portrayed teen, based on my experiences!
ReplyDeleteHmmm I think I'd be reluctant to read something where I felt no affinty to the characters. This will be on the backburner for a while.
ReplyDelete