This book completely blew me away. It was heartbreaking, heartwarming, and overall important. This is the story of Grace becoming a survivor. She's grappling with the aftermath of a life changing weekend, from her dad dying, her uncle abandoning her to the foster care system, and someone raping her.

This story was beautifully written. Grace stands out so much on the page for me. I feel her pain and confusion. We watch her confront all the people who hurt or abandoned her. We watch her painful realizations and decisions. Does she report her rape? Will people believe her? Does she even want to face the person who did this? She's also struggling with relationships. She lost her best friend, her dad, her uncle, and her boyfriend all in a short time. Now, she's back in a town with nothing but painful memories for her and she's having to grapple with who she is now versus who she was when she used to live there. She's facing a multitude of tough choices and touch situations. Grace has spent so long with her life decided for her and now she has the freedom to chose what it will look like. But what does she want it to look like?

This is also a deep dive into regret, blame, and grief. She feels guilty for being raped, as if somehow it was her fault. She regrets pushing away those important to her. She blames her Uncle for abandoning her and her rapist for leaving her with such a gaping hole. Others grapple with those feelings as well, letting it shape their lives in ways they wish it wouldn't. It's a turning point for so many of the characters in this novel, Labor Day weekend shaking more than just Grace's life for good. But as the same with Grace, what do they want their lives to look like now?

This is a harrowing look at sexual assault/rape and how it effects not only the victim/survivors life, but of all of those around them. It's truthful, painful, but overall hopeful.

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.

Usually I plan my reviews, but I had to write this one while the reading experience was still fresh.
This book surprised me to no end.
It maybe was one of the best books I’ve ever read. Not because of the special effects but because of its authenticity.
The book starts right in between the chaos and keeps being exciting and wonderful until the last page.
Discovering Graces history together with her was heartbreakingly painful and pushed me to tears. I was angry, sad and relieved while reading it and all of it, every single line, felt SO REAL. I will not talk about it further, but the special topic of rape and sexual assault is very important to myself and I nearly never read something that reflected all the feelings and fears as good as Ms. Curtis did.
I loved the Character for all their trades and flaws and the character development was more than surprising. The whole plot kept me speechless with its surprises! I hated characters and seconds apart I cried for them! The whole development of the story was unexpected, heartwrenching and in a weird way beautiful, because I could feel the healing alongside Grace. How she managed to fix everyone and everything in her life, herself included, discover her horrible past and get new friends while doing so, was so great to read about.
I recommend this book to every contemporary lover, but also people with sexual aussault in their past or a friends. It was a great read and it still hurts after finishing it.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this book because the synopsis was vague. During the first few chapters I was expecting some sort of summery coming-of-age story about a teenage girl who is trying to rebuild her life after her father’s death.

Well, that certainly does happen, but it is way heavier and darker than I anticipated. And while I was not quite enjoying the beginning of the book, I really ended up feeling greatly impacted by the events that unfolded.

Which leads me to trigger warnings: sexual abuse, rape, loss of a parent.

The Leading Edge of Now tells us the story of Grace, a high school senior who moves in with her uncle two years after her father’s death. Grace ends up living in the same neighborhood as her ex-best friend and her ex-boyfriend. And not only is she reeling from her past relationships and the death of her father, but she’s carrying the burden and guilt of a very traumatic event: one night she was raped while she was on Ambien.

Here the story unfolds into what takes us into a deep, emotional roller coaster of Grace’s inner turmoil. She cannot remember what happened that night yet she feels like it is her fault; that she feels the need to apologize to everyone who tries to help her. How for two years she lived with the fear that her rapist was someone she knew well. I feel like this is so relevant to our current society and the #metoo movement. Grace was afraid to come forward to the police, she was afraid to speak up, and she was afraid of the judgment. My heart seriously broke so many times.

Yet this story had many uplifting moments as Grace’s relationships with her friends, ex, and family start to bloom again. And while it all doesn’t happen over night, little by little she is able to open up and try to live her best life.

I absolutely loved the author’s writing and, despite the heavy topics, she sprinkled in so much witty humor. And even though the beginning was a bit of a rocky start for me, I truly appreciated the gorgeous writing and how Grace’s feelings were handled sensitively yet truthfully.

This was a very interesting novel. On the one hand, its treatment of such a sensitive topic as rape was highly important, and it handled the navigation through all of the feelings which accompany such a trauma with skill. And yet, I felt that I was never able to get a good read on these characters, and so the impact of this novel just never came to fruition for me.

The beginning was just a bit confusing, as I felt like I had very little introduction to this girl and her circumstances. While that was fleshed out later, it represented my biggest problem with this book - it was just all over the place. I could never tell what the reader was supposed to get out of this. And Grace's voice felt so unfortunately stilted and off, overall forced and awkward. And when revelations did come, they came without any build up, lessening their emotional impact.

However, what was really ridiculous was not the emotions handled in this novel, but the circumstances which played into Grace's character development. A character who spent two years believing the boy she was falling for had raped her would never turn around almost immediately after discovering he didn't and start to fall for him again. She spent two years being terrified of him, but as soon as she realized her (albeit completely understandable) mistake, all her romantic feelings came rushing back. Plus, the people in her life kept pressuring her to go to the police, recount her assault, etc. which is textbook unhelpful and even harmful for rape victims.

While I think the novel did a really fantastic job handling the repercussions of rape, especially the guilt which so many unfortunately feel after a sexual assault, I just never felt like this was fully developed enough. There was far too much of a focus on making sure the people in Grace's life were healing after discovering her truth, and not nearly enough, until the very end, about how Grace herself was learning to cope.

*I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Frankly, this was disappointing. From the very beginning, I couldn't settle into the characters, setting, or even the plot. It often felt like a bunch of random occurrences strung together for the sake of "plot," stock characters included. I couldn't relate to the characters or what they were feeling. Several times, I asked, "What does this character want?" "Wait, why are they doing this?" They just didn't seem real to me. I completely support sexual assault survivors and think this was an important story to tell, but it was told poorly. It had a fair amount of cliches and a plot that didn't build scene by scene. I feel sorry to say that this book felt like a soap opera to me because of the characters with little depth and the confusing plot. It's too bad, because I feel this book/topic of sexual assault survivors is powerful and needed to be written clearly and well.

I'm at a loss of words. I don't know how to phrase it so you understand how good this book is. I can just try.
The Leading Edge of Now might be the most compelling book I've read in a long while, maybe over a year. The writing is amazing, Mrs. Curtis nailed both the pacing and the tone of the narrator, which is why this book, despite the heavy subject, was so easy to read and get lost in.
Thanks to some shared experience with the main character, I found the story easy to relate to, and I had a hard time putting the book down, I was excited to see the outcome.
A huge thanks to Kids Can Press for the chance to read and review this book. Thanks to this book I am eager to read Marci Lyn Curtis' other book, as well as anything she might publish in the future.

The beginning hooked me immediately.
The Leading Edge of Now did not disappoint in a single way.
I loved Grace instantly.
This book is an unforgettable contemporary YA

This book really surprised me, I did not expect it to be this good! Having not read any other books by the author and the title giving little away, I went into this one a bit blind. Also, having just read Courtney Summer's Sadie, which I loved, I thought it would be hard for my next YA read to make a mark. Well, I can tell you that The Leading Edge of Now has definitely made one.

The tale of the main protagonist Grace, is a sad one. Becoming an orphan at the age of 15, Grace has to deal with the nightmares of what happened to her that night at her uncle's house. After two years in foster care, Grace now returns to her uncle's house who finally requested her custody. Grace is back at the town where she used to spend all her holidays, met her best friend and found a boyfriend. Convinced that Grace knows who abused her 2 years ago, she is suddenly realising that she might have got it wrong and blamed the wrong person. If it wasn't Grace's boyfriend Owen, then who raped Grace that night?

I am impressed with Curtis' incredible writing. The story comes to life and every element of it feels very real.

"When you're a virgin for 15 years of your life, it's pretty easy to tell when you suddenly aren't. And even if you don't remember it when you wake up the next morning, and even if the boy has long since gone, the tale is crystal clear."

The book tackles a very sensitive subject without an unnecessary detail describing the act, however, rather by portraying the raw feelings and pain of the victim afterwards.

I loved this book. The story resonated with me and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I would say it is a contemporary YA Must Read and I really really hope it gets as much attention as it deserves.

I devoured this book in just a few hours. I was compelled to read beginning to end without stopping. I had to know that, despite her tragedy, Grace survived her story.
The raw emotions bled from the pages and seeped into my heart. I felt, on a soul deep level, everything Grace felt. The writing was so well done I felt like I was walking next to Grace and experiencing everything with her.
It is tragic to see how one event can have such far reaching, damaging effects. There were no facets of Grace’s life untouched by that night, all those months ago.
Grace started this story broken and helpless and alone. Unaware of the strength she had inside her and the support she had next to her. By the end of the book she was strong enough to not only help herself but to reach out and lend a helping hand to others.
“ I don’t need someone to yank me toward wellness. I need someone to walk beside me as I find it on my own“ - Grace Cochran

I was given this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I started The Leading Edge of Now I seriously considered just not finishing it. That was just because at that moment I was looking for something that came out of the gate like BANG. I'm glad I didn't put it down and not finish it. I loved this book and the raw honesty of the story. She didn't need someone to save her because she was capable of doing it by herself. It brought up some emotions from my own experiences and I had to just cry it out, then I finished the book. It was very well and thoughtfully written.

Wow. This was a pretty quick read, but that definitely did not detract from the power of the plotline and the strength of the characters.

I started The Leading Edge of Now a while ago, actually. Picked up the ARC, and something got in the way of my reading process, so I put it on hold after reading the first two chapters. Resumed today, and I'm incredibly satisfied with this book.

On top of the beautiful cover, Marci Lyn Curtis worked some real magic in this mystery-contemporary. I was a little confused by the whole re-introduction of the main character into her community. I still can't say I'm super certain of the whole timeline? Might've missed something on accident.

Grace 's familiarity with everyone in her uncle's area really added so much to the quality of the book. Instead of a "new girl, new city" trope, it was "slightly changed girl, same city." My one disappointment was that Grace literally never talked about her time in foster care. She'd mention in passing during her monologues occasionally, but it didn't serve any purpose other than to add to her sob story.

You'd think that being in the system for around two years would at least affect her somehow. I wish that the book could've at least touched more upon the specifics of her time there, though I do understand that it isn't exactly one of the more pressing matters.

Speaking of pressing matters, I really loved how the author wasn't afraid to be real, at least with Grace. She had her ups and downs, unsureties and triumphs, shortcomings and everything, and I teared up while reading one of the scenes toward the middle of the book because of the rawness of it all.

Sigh.

Sending all my virtual love to Netgalley and Kids Can Press for this wonder of a book!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I'm going to be completely honest here and say I had no idea that this book was going to turn out the way it did. But I'm forever thankful for that. I can't go into to much detail without ruining this book but trust me when I say that it's good. I'm so proud of Grace for everything that she's accomplished throughout. I give her a lot of credit for being so brave, going through what she did is not an easy thing to do.

Trigger warning: rape.

Let’s start this review by saying that this book is simply outstanding.
The story this book tells is not an easy one, but it manages to do so in a very admirable way.
All the characters are very well crafted, Grace especially. Her story and her bravery truly moved me. The emotions the author describes are raw and real, something that I appreciated very much considering the fact I was reading a YA novel.
“The leading edge of now” is filled with pain, trauma, loss and so much more but in the end there’s also a little ray of hope, something that keeps all the characters going, something to believe in.
I applaud Marci Lyn Curtis for being able to write such an authentic and important story.

This may be the best YA book I've read yet this year. I LOVED how fierce and strong of a character Grace was, and how well written her story was. Her growth through death, moving, friendships lost and found, all while dealing with such traumatic life experiences was incredible to read.

Thank you Netgalley and Kids Can Press for allowing me to read this title in exchange for a review, I thoroughly enjoyed this title!

I want to thank NetGalley and the author for letting me read this.

This book is incredibly raw. It gripped me and dragged me in. I sat almost crying in the park. I would highly recommend this one, but there is frequent mentions of a rape. However, the story is beautiful and the bonds that develops are strong. Real emotions are portrayed and I am very glad I have read this one.

TRIGGER WARNING

CONTAINS DISCUSSION/FLASHBACKS SURROUNDING RAPE, PTSD, ALCOHOLISM 

Contemporary isn't my go to genre but The Leading Edge of Now caught my eye on NetGalley and I was very please to have a chance to read it - I went with my gut, just like Faith, and I am glad that I did.  This is a stunning example of how a YA contemporary novel should be written.  It was engaging, heart breaking, thought provoking and uplifting and I loved it.  

Grace Cochran is a well likeable protagonist and her inner monologue is very well written, she is humorous and complicated and quite obviously suffering from some emotional trauma.  Her relationships with the other characters in the book are well done, and the side characters were very three-dimensional, you could tell that alot of thought had gone into them - I especially liked Rusty and Owen.

Overall a very well written novel which shows the aftermath of rape and grief, and how she begins to finally heal.  The big reveal I found was quite shocking, to the characters as well as myself.

Would I Recommend It?

Yes definitely – I read it in one sitting.  I honestly couldn't put it down.  Read it, I don't think you will regret it!  I did cry a couple of times, so tissues are a must.

5/5 ✰

This was an eye opening read and it made me laugh and cry. We follow Grace through her ups and downs and watch her grow. I want to caution those of you that may be sensitive towards certain material. There is a trigger warning for rape in this book. Overall I think the book was clever and fun and sad and surprising all at once. Let me just tell you when I got to one specific part, I did not see it coming. I would recommend this definitely

DNF. While the writing was okay I found the start slow and hard to get into. I look forward to try more from this author.

When you walk into a book that seems like it's going to be just another young adult contemporary romance story, you get completely blown away by what's to come. Because, while the romance is a little heavy in the beginning and still serves as a plot device throughout the book, this is really about a girl who faces the aftermath of sexual assault. And right now, this story feels more important than ever.

Grace is a stronger YA protagonist than most. She's hardened by her past, but she never truly wallows in it or lets it own her. She isn't the stereotype of characters whose actions define them, who never move past what has happened to them. She even asks whether she'll always be "The Girl Who Was Sexually Assaulted," but she's strong enough to answer that question for herself: <i>no</i>. While she's unraveling the case, she has no problem admitting that she isn't okay, that she's not in the best place - but she's "carrying on," which is the best she can do in the moment.

The rest of the characters are good in their own ways. The love interest obviously serves a purpose to the romance subplot, but he's also a genuinely good person who tries to help Grace uncover the assault because he cares. Much like every other character, he acknowledges the situation for what it is, and I think that's important to see in this novel. Grace questions whether it's her fault, and Owen says it's his fault for leaving her alone that night, but ultimately they, and everyone around them, have no problem accepting the issue for what it is and blaming only the rapist, which isn't always what happens. But rather than seem like an impossible situation, this book is churned in a way that can give hope to girls: that they will have a community to support them, that reporting cases is the right thing to do, that they won't always be That Girl, and that they are not alone.