Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of The Leading Edge of Now by Marci Lyn Curtis. I voluntarily read and reviewed this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Trigger warning - rape

The Leading Edge of Now by Marci Lyn Curtin is an suspenseful and emotional ride. Going in I didn't know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. Grace is an orphan who is placed with her Uncle Rusty, after two years. This brings Grace back into a house where she has a painful memory, memories that aren't exactly what she thought they where. Slowly Grace starts to uncover what really happened to her that night. I won't say any more because that will ruin the plot. But you will discover why it took two years for her Uncle to take her in after her father died, what really happened that night and how Grace deals with her grief and being a survivor.

This story is heartbreaking. You discover things about that night at the same time that Grace does and her realization hits you like a ton of bricks. The suspense had me hooked. I suspected everyone, except the actual person who did this horrendous act. The ending felt natural and realistic. You really experience Grace's growth and her slowly getting her life back.

Marci Lyn Curtis wrote this book beautifully and I can't wait to pick up more of her work. I highly recommend this book to anyone. But as mentioned above, be aware that it deals with rape and the aftermath.

Although it took me a while to get into, I did get hooked in the end. A truly difficult topic handled in a thoughtful and sensitive way.

This book was just okay, I read through it quick and it did hold my attention for the most part, but it wasn't a mind blowing book, although it was focused on a very serious important topic, it was still just lacking something for me.

FTC DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kids Can Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

3.5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the mystery element, I also liked that the guilty party was not an immediately obvious guess. I suspected most of the males in Grace's life at one point or another.

I didn't care that much for Grace though, she seemed to over explain or describe things, and she was also a bit of a drama queen, not about the rape but about other things. I also thought the romance was completely unnecessary to the book.

Also, I loved how everyone has a realistic flaw either physical or emotional. This made the characters more believable.

So overall it was an okay to good book but not great/

I was given the opportunity via NetGalley to read an electronic copy of The Leading Edge of Now. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Grace Cochran, supported by her case worker from Social Services, is reunited with her Uncle Rusty. After being in foster care for two years, it is a little difficult for Grace to adjust to life back in New Harbor. As it is hard for her to trust, will Grace allow the memories of the past cloud her future? Will certain revelations regarding her past have the power to destroy Grace or will she finally be able to move forward?

Author Marci Lyn Curtis did a great job highlighting the delicate subject of assault and how difficult it can be for survivors to move forward with their lives. The Leading Edge of Now is well paced with fully realized characters that have a story to tell. I would definitely recommend parents read this novel along with their teens, as it is a great way to open a dialogue about a difficult subject matter.

There is a lot going on in this story, but first let me get one thing out of the way. There is a rape. It is not graphic, but it is felt by the main character, Grace, and it colors most everything else that goes on in her life, including having to move in with her uncle, where the rape took place, after her father dies of a heart attack.

There is also a bit of light flirting, but because of the rape hanging over everything, it doesn’t go very far, and for good reason.

And because life is messy, the path to the resolution does not run smoothly, and there are many twists and turns along the way.

I won’t say the book was enjoyable, because it isn’t that type of book, but it did make me cry, which mean that it hit me where it it intended to hit me.

Good final resolution, and well done book.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.


What a beautiful, moving and heart-breaking book.

I have no intention to dwell on the plot because I think it would be best if you just read the book and enjoy the emotional roller-coaster without any additional infos - you have to live and suffer through it.

It's a book about the slow realization of being a survivor.
Grace is anxious, confused, ashamed - doubts and the not knowing for sure what happened the night she was raped torment her.
She's ashamed, even if - on a rational level - she knows it's not her fault. Still, she feels guilty, she wonders if she could have done something different to prevent it.
And due to the humiliation she feels, it's hard for her to talk about it with someone - she doesn''t have the courage, she's not strong enough to go to the police and to dig a little deeper.

But then something happens: Grace finds she's not alone because there are people that care about her and that are ready to go the bottom of the problem.
Thanks to them, Grace finds her own courage to take matter in her own hands - to confront her past while living in the present and making the best of it.

The writing and the pacing are simply amazing, it was impossible for me to put this book down - I read it in two days - and past and present are so beautifully mixed together.
The characters are real and well-described - I liked Grace because she found the strenght to take back her own life from the one who stole it and I liked how rape was portrayed, how it does affect not only the victim but also the ones who surrond her. Even the ones knowing what happened, but shutting up.

This book tied my stomach in knots because I was living everything along with Grace, it took me by the heart and made me cry and I surely recommend it - I'll also buy a paper copy of it.

I loved this book. It was so very good. I loved Grace and Janna and Owen, and even Faith and Rusty. The story just seemed real. Owen and Grace's relationship was sweet and angsty. The conflict and plot was really interesting and Grace's story actually made me tear up.. There were a number of different characters and some suspense involved. I devoured this book and will recommend it to my nieces. .

Okay, this was absolutely outstanding. I was left with a lot of emotions that I now don't know how to deal with, which of course is expected when reading a book about such a sensitive topic such as rape.

Not only did I absolutely love Grace as a character, I also felt for every single other character in this book. Marci Lyn Curtis managed to tear my heart out of my chest and I was crying during every single chapter. Also, I wasn't expecting some of the things that happened, and honestly, the author played me so hard

Loved this book. I'm a high school librarian, so I read a lot of YA to see what we should purchase for our library. This one went to the top of my list quickly. It was tough to put down, but also tough to read in parts because of the story. Yes, there are triggers with this book, but I know (unfortunately) that I have kids in my school who will be able to relate to Grace and I think it's important that they can see themselves in a book. My hope is that, if a student needs a book like this, they read The Leading Edge of Now and find hope - and healing - and maybe a way out.

I found myself reading the acknowledgments when this book was done. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to continue reading a book that badly in my entire life. This story is tragic. A combination of new and old love, as well as new and old tragedy. Rape is not something I typically read about, and it is not something I ever gravitate towards to as a reader, especially when choosing books to request and review. However, something drew me to this book when I found it on NetGalley, and I don’t think I’ve read a better contemporary novel in my life.

(Full review coming on my blog in a few weeks!)

Grace once loved New Harbor, it was a place of summer escape and lifelong friendship, until one visit it isn't and she hasn't been back since. Now in the care of her Uncle Rusty after having just adjusted to life as an orphan she is back and the happy and painful times are mixing all together. Everything in New Harbor reminds her of her innocence, the one she has lost. She knows she has to find out the truth in order to heal, in order to trust again, but the truth may just hurt the very people she's missed having by her side.

Marci Lyn Curtis has created a cast of characters that you can't help but love and a story that is impossible to put down. In just one sitting I read The Leading Edge of Now cover to cover, desperate to uncover the truths Grace sets out to find, hoping she'd heal and find that life's circumstances only make her stronger. The losses in her life are difficult and heartbreaking, I too had no trust for the uncle that took so long to rescue her from orphanhood and brought her back to the one place she and her father had run from. But I also loved that the move back to New Harbor brought old friends back into her life, friends that despite the time and the hurt between them want so much for things to be good again. New Harbor brought the truth to light and though it changed Grace and those around her forever, it is used in the story to show the hope and the good that can come from fighting through the difficult.

"That the best and worst parts of my life are suddenly woven together as one. That this part-here, now-this is the one I want to pay attention to."

I don't often reach for books that are marked as having a trigger warning for rape, in this case the dazzling early reviews convinced me I needed to read on. Grace's story is incredibly similar to my own, her brain having blocked the painful details of a night that changed her forever. This story, however, is not a painful one, it's a beautiful story about growth, boundaries, and learning to fly. Grace is headstrong, hilarious, a little too forward sometimes, and coming into her own as a woman. She's relatable, realistic, and inspirational. Secondary characters Owen, Janna, and Rusty were also incredible, with each going through extensive growth as they began to walk alongside Grace in her hunt for answers.

I loved that Marci Lyn Curtis takes such a difficult topic, one that many have experienced, and doesn't take it on the stereotpyical route. She tackles the hard questions, she portrays things in a senstive manner, and didn't tie things up in a neat bow that makes the resolution seem easy to get to. Grace's journey, the steps she has to take, the reliving of her experiences, are not easy, and I like that they weren't glossed over. She questions her friends, her family, her own memory, and those things are very natural and real. The story is thoughtful, providing readers with a sympathetic viewpoint that readers with and without personal experience will be able to connect with.

"I don't need someone to yank me toward wellness. I need someone to walk beside me as I find it on my own."

I loved The Leading Edge of Now; I smiled and cried and ached for Grace, I felt those things for myself when I looked back on the things I had to overcome, and I think Marci Lyn Curtis did an incredible job telling a story that needs to be heard. It is relevant, it is impactful, and it is memorable. I highly recommend this book.

*SENT TO ME FROM NETGALLEY
4.5/5

**TRIGGER WARNING RAPE**

With what is going on in the world right now, this is the book that everyone should read. Anyone can be a rapist. This book made that very clear. Marci Lyn Curtis wrote this book beautifully and I applaud her for it. Comparing this book to THE WAY I USED TO BE (which also has the main character as a sexual assault survivor), LEADING EDGE OF NOW is ten times better. This book has been under the radar and it needs to be brought into the light of YA lit.

This was a very wonderful read. The relationship was so fun to read about and no insta love made me very happy.

I loved this book. I don't often rate contemporary books 5 stars because it's just not my favorite genre to read but I really enjoyed this one and I couldn't put it down. When I started reading it, I didn't know anything about this book. I didn't read any reviews but that gorgeous cover draw me in and I couldn't help myself, I had to know what this book was about.

I had no expectations whatsoever and after finishing it, I don't have any negative points to make here. This book was really good overall. I loved the characters and seeing Grace grow as she figured out what happened to her that night two years ago. (trigger warning : rape) Not knowing who raped her left me guessing for a while. Also, the romance with Owen was sweet.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for letting me read and review this book

I received an e-arc of this book thru Net Galley.

A story of how an experience in our lives can completely ruin and change our perspective as a whole but also how to fight it without being ashamed and moving on. I found this book both heartbreaking and full of hope.

Content warnings for sexual assault, alcoholism, drug abuse, foster care, and grief.

I don’t think I’ve ever agonised about a book review as much or for as long as I have for this book. See, I’m conflicted. I absolutely loved the style of writing and most of the pieces that made up the main character. I also highlighted so many sentences that I want to read to you so you can sigh with me about how perfectly they capture the feel of the story. I want to bathe in sentences that are simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking like these:

‘Now would be the proper time to speak. But I’m pretty sure that my mouth has been blown apart and then reattached backward and inside out, a couple of miles north of my vocal cords.’

‘I can feel all the loose ends in my life tangling around my ankles like seaweed, threatening to pull me under.’

‘Memories are like land mines that I step on everywhere I turn.’

At the same time, this book pushed so many of my buttons. I don’t expect other readers to feel the same way as I do about the niggles I had because hopefully your experiences have been different than mine, but I try to write authentic reviews and I can’t do that if I gloss over the not so shiny things in life.

The story begins with Grace moving in with her only living relative, her uncle Rusty, who has been MIA from Grace’s life since her Dad died. Grace has been in foster care for the past two years and has been dealing with her grief by herself, as well as the impacts of a sexual assault she experienced a few weeks before her father died.

The aftermath of sexual assault is painfully authentic in Grace’s character. The lingering shame, self doubt, fear, anger, grief and many other legacies of sexual assault are explored. I loved Grace’s resilience and bonded with her over her ability to speak sarcasm fluently. She thinks she knows who raped her but, because of medication she’d taken, that night is almost entirely a blank. As a result she doesn’t know who to trust and I wound up suspicious of almost everyone at some point in the book so I felt the author did a great job of creating an atmosphere of uncertainty.

While this book tackles some big issues the swoonfest diluted their impact for me. Boy wonder was a sweetheart but I would have liked him much more if he wasn’t so frustratingly perfect. As a huge romantiphobe I wouldn’t have chosen to read this book had I realised that swooning was going to be as prevalent as it was.

‘Longing, fiercer and more powerful than ever, is a hand on my back, propelling me toward him.’

Had I bypassed this book I would have avoided sentences like that one and been relieved of some annoyance and nausea, but I also would have missed out on some stellar ‘I have to highlight this!’ writing. I wish that the lovey dovey parts had been replaced by friendship and banter between Grace and boy wonder but I expect most readers will love the romantic interludes. What really annoyed me was that it seemed that no matter what Grace was facing everything eventually boiled down to whether boy wonder still liked her or not.

I felt that where Owen was mysteriously going at exactly the same time every Saturday fell within Captain Obvious’ jurisdiction and there were a few other developments that I picked up on well before they were revealed. I mention this only because I usually suck at knowing what’s going to happen in a book before it does.

So, this is probably where my review will start to sound like a therapy session. Apologies in advance.

Some of the characters seemed to waft into a scene to impart the knowledge required for the next step in the investigation before disappearing from the book entirely and the mystery of who raped Grace unfolded too easily for me. I almost stopped reading the book when I found out who the rapist was because I didn’t find it believable that it was this particular person.

I despised Rusty’s character even though I think he was supposed to be sweet, if misguided. When the care of a traumatised teenager has been entrusted to you then irresponsibility is never going to be cute or endearing. I wanted to yell at him or smack him off the page or something.

I wouldn’t have thought it possible to envy someone’s experience in foster care but apparently it is. Grace only has two foster placements in two years and the second set of foster parents sounded like they should have been nominated for Foster Carers of the Year. While it’s refreshing to hear that good foster parents do exist the foster kids I’ve known haven’t lived in any award winning homes. It would have been more realistic to me if Grace had had some dodgy placements before hitting the foster kid jackpot.

The takeaway seemed to be (to me but you may not read it like this) that if you are raped it’s your responsibility to report it to the police to protect that person’s other potential victims. This puts so much pressure on a person who is already traumatised and while I’m all for reporting if that’s what the person wants to do it is their choice. While it would be incredible if the justice system actually dispensed justice in these cases it can be harmful to someone who has experienced sexual assault to attach their healing to an outcome for the perpetrator. On RAINN’s website there are statistics that I thought of when the characters were trying to push Grace to go to the police.

“Out of every 1,000 rapes, 994 perpetrators will walk free.
310 are reported to police.
57 reports lead to arrest.
11 cases get referred to prosecutors.
7 cases will lead to a felony conviction.
6 rapists will be incarcerated.”

I don’t quote this to discourage anyone from reporting sexual assault. I’ve personally reported some sexual assaults but not others so I can see the benefits and pitfalls of both options. I only want to say that if you have experienced sexual assault it’s your choice whether you report or not. Reporting is not the only path to healing.

I’d give this book 3.5 stars but am rounding up to 4. Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for the opportunity to read this book.

*I received a free copy of this ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I just realized that I started this book yesterday and finished it today. I think I'm actually kind of sad to be done reading it, to tell you the truth.

This book deals with sexual assault and rape, but it's not the entire book. At the risk of cheesiness, I'm going to quote a song from Moana:

They have stolen the heart from inside you,
But this does not define you.
This is not who you are.
You know who you are.

Honestly, those lyrics sum up Grace (17) and this book quite well. Her assault changed her, but it wasn't her. She was hurt and afraid, but she was brave and strong. She's not the only one in this book who experienced some type of tragedy or trauma (and hers wasn't even limited to rape). I appreciate that while what happened to her is a huge factor of the story, it didn't take over. Life continued happening, and Grace had to keep surviving, just as the other characters did. And when the truth came out, they had to deal with the fallout, the heartbreak, the devastation of what happened.

The characterization in this book was excellent--the characters felt real, as did their conversations, actions, and quirks. Andy was awkward and hilarious. Janna was . . . I don't even know how to describe her expect as herself, but that only means something if you've read the book. I adored Owen (18), and I kept begging Grace to be wrong. Rusty, Faith, Sawyer, Luke, Mr. & Mrs. McCallister . . . I could go on. Everyone felt real, and to me, that's the mark of fantastic characterization. (And that's why I'm kind of sad to have finished--I'll miss the characters.)

Note: Aftermath of rape. Some swearing.

I liked this book. Had some powering phrases and even if i could not feel so related to the plot, I can see that this book could become very important for someone that could.
It took me more time that I thought to finish it because in general the pace of the story is kind of slow. Even thought is not a page turner, it keeps you intrigued enough to come back everyday and try to figure out what happened in Grace's life 2 years ago and who was responsible for it.
As I said at the beginning, I think that the subject the book deals with is very important and any young adult that comes to have a copy in its hands will at least develop some empathy.
I also like how the writer used the short chapters to emphasise some feelings and thoughts of the main character (even when there were some that I found excessive), however that gave the book some flow.

An enjoyable and thought provoking story on what happens if you are raped while unconscious. The MC takes us through her struggles to remember and make sense of what happened to her all whilst dealing with the loss of her father. The book is very well written and definitely engaging but the characters in the book whilst not completely one dimensional do end up propping up the MC and I wish more could have been fleshed out with some of them or at least given more air time. The same sentiment with the focus on who dunnit, I wish instead more was written about the frustration and terror from not being able to remember such a terrifying violation. This is a dark subject matter but it never felt too heavy as the author deftly injected some humour (through the MC) in a balanced way. I’ve been generous with the rating but only because there were some profound moments that felt worth it.