In an Instant

This book was an Amazon First Reads choice for me and I was drawn to it as the author based it on a real-life event that occurred in Upstate New York. I loved that we have 16-year-old, Finn, narrating from the afterlife. I was skeptical at first but it worked perfectly. The book isn't so much about how the tragedy occurred or what caused it, but in the aftermath of a tragic and deadly accident, a group of people who came together for a weekend ski trip, struggle with their actions and the questionable choices they made. I'll be honest, folks, I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did, but it's fantastic with an incredible feat of raw, human emotion.

Wow! I loved this book. Told from the perspective of Finn, a 16-year old, who observes her family and her friend, Mo, after a tragedy has uprooted their lives. Mo and Finn are inseparable, and are headed on a ski vacation with Finn's parents-Jack and Ann, her "aunt Karen" and "Uncle Bob" and their daughter, Natalie, as well as Finn's sister Chloe, and her brother Oz. However, tragedy strikes that night and Finn is killed instantly. It is what the rest of the family and friends do, as Finn watches, that is the story of this book.
It is a book about choices, about love lost and found, and about cheering on those you love - helping them past the darkness. I thought it was terrific.

4.5 Stars

CW: Gore, described loss of loved ones, suicidal ideation. Ableism - quite a few horrible moments that are shocking and upsetting.

Well that was quite traumatic!

I read it through a mother's lens and therefore spent a lot of time with my heart in my throat and tears in my eyes. The 'trapped between life and death' story has been done before but this one delved more deeply into people's states of mind and so was a much more immersive reading experience. I loved the intense exploration of who people become in life threatening situations. Would you be calm and take decisive action? Would you be scared and helpless in the corner? Would you look at others as a threat to you own survival? A gripping, intense and incredibly emotional book.

Finn, her family, her parents best friends and their daughter, and Finn’s best friend, Mo, set out on a skiing vacation at a remote cabin that once belonged to her grandfather. There is an accident that leaves them hurt and stranded in severe cold and a snowstorm. The accident is not really the story, though, the story is how each of these people reacts to the accident. We see the best and the worst come out in these people and the inevitable consequences of choices made in this life and death situation. Raises the question of what do we really know about anyone until the stakes are high.

When they heard a story of cowardice or cruelty, they would have shaken their heads and tsked and thought, Never, not me, unaware that at any given show more moment, all of us are capable of doing what we least expect, them included.

The book was fast-paced and held my interest. There is one creepy character that I wanted to pulverize, and in an afterward the author explains that this character is based on a real person and an event that occurred in her own life. I’m sure that is why this situation feels real; in some regards it was.

If you have ever trusted your child to someone you felt you could rely upon, you might think again when you have finished this novel.

I grapple with this. Is goodness only true if it is at a personal cost? Anyone can be generous when they are rich; anyone can be selfless when they have plenty. show less

I was obsessed with this book and loved everything about it! I'm glad I didn't read the back because I thought that was a real spoiler. I thought for sure it was Mo who was going to die. But wow, I thought this book was incredible and hit so many spots deep inside and felt real and raw. And how the aunt/uncle acted different in that situation and the lessons that came along with that and all the interlocking chains in this book with Kyle and the affair. Just wow. I want to purchase this book because I'm sure in a year or two, I will want to read it again. A great book to annotate! And Finn who died, her perspective and watching her family was such a great perspective where you got to see her insight and what was really going on with show more everyone. Fantastic book. I had no idea I was going to love it this much! show less

More Tragic if i stay. Probably the singular best way to describe this book is to take a fairly well known book/ movie that has a very similar overall narrative structure - if i stay - and point out that this is a survival tale that is even more tragic than that tale. Going into this blind, I thought from the prologue that something would happen to a particular character (and that this tale would thus become more similar to Catherine McKenzie's I'll Never Tell), but the expected tragedy strikes an unexpected character instead. The rest of the book is then a tale about the fight to survive the tragedy, both in the immediate physical fight to live and in the aftermath of dealing with the consequences of that fight. Overall a very show more powerful, very raw, look at human nature and just what happens in the face of true imminent peril. One made even more powerful by the afterword, where the author reveals a stunningly tragic episode from her real life. Very much recommended. show less

I don't know where to start in this review because I have so many wonderful things to say about this book! In an Instant is going to be one of those books I recommend to everyone to read.
How do we act when nobody is looking? Are we truly "good" people (or bad) all the time? What lies under our self that we show to the world? How would we act toward others if we thought our life, or those we love, was on the line? Would we be an every-man-for-himself person?
There are a hundred layers of questions this story peels away, along with a riveting story of how these people will survive the bitter cold, and even more important, how they will survive emotionally after tragedy.
I instantly fell in love with Finn, the voice of the main character show more who gets to see how everyone acts after the accident.
So much is packed into this book, and although I've been impatiently waiting for Suzanne's next book, this one was well worth the wait. A MUST for your TBR list! show less