Maia Morland is pretty, only not pretty-pretty. She’s smart. She’s brave. She’s also a self-proclaimed train wreck.

Leigh Hunter is smart, popular, and extremely polite. He’s also completely and forever in love with Maia Morland.

Their young love starts off like a romance novel—full of hope, strength, and passion. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when Maia needs him the most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love.

Told with compassion and true understanding, After the Moment is about what happens when a young man discovers that sometimes love fails us, and that, quite often, we fail love.

- From the Book Flap

My Thoughts

I quite liked this one. The main character Leigh, is a thoroughly decent teenager, not perfect by any means, but always tries to be a good friend, son, brother, student. Which, when his step-sister Millie’s dad passes away, means he goes to spend a couple of weeks with her.

(Can I just add here how much I wanted to throttle Leigh’s dad and his stepmum, for leaving it to him to arrive and break the news – now I can understand Leigh being the type of guy that would want to do what he can, but what kind of parent (or adult) would add that weight to their son’s shoulders?) Yes, they come good for Leigh in the end, and do what they can and help their kids in the ways in which they feel able, but still…

Anyway, Leigh clearly loves his family and in particular his step-sister, and when soon after he returns home, his sister sends a letter asking him to come and live with them for the year, Leigh always knows what he is going to do.

He, moves his life to help his sister out, living their full time, he starts to spend more time with, Mille’s older friend, Maia.

The way the relationship develops between him and Maia, is tender, slow and touching, and it’s painful when events break them apart.

A certain part of me, thinks I would have enjoyed it a bit more had I known what those events were, just so they weren’t casting such a shadow over the build-up, but then, some of the effect these events have would lose some impact. Still, it is what effect those events have that are most important, and how it informs both their lives ‘after the moment.’

I was also a little uncertain in the opening chapters of the exact family relationships and who was who, but once I had that settled, I had very little to complain about.

A touching and compassionate read.

Rating:

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About Garret Freymann-Weyr

Garret Freymann-Weyr (née Weyr) was born and raised in New York City. She inexplicably went to college in North Carolina (UNC-Chapel Hill) and, just as inexplicably, got an MFA in film (NYU). She now lives outside Washington, D.C. with her husband. She has written five books for young adults, one of which, somewhat inexplicably, won a Printz honor. Her work has been sold to countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, and China. Her next book, French Ducks in Venice, is a picture book for a younger audience.

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Many Thanks to TLC Book Tours and Garret Freymann-Weyr for sending me this book and allowing me to be part of the book tour!

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• Buy, After the Moment by Garrey Freymann-Weyr, from The Book Depository