I really enjoyed reading One Split Second. Once I had started reading I genuinely couldn't put it down. I found the story really compelling and couldn't resist reading on to find out how the story developed. The characters were well written and you really got to know them and understand how their experience of the same event was very different. The story is very interesting as at first you may have an opinion of a character and then you hear their side of the story. It really is a book about first judgements, stereotypes and how everyone has their own take or feelings on events. It's also about the 'blame game' and how sometimes things aren't as black and white as they appear to be at first.

The was the second book I have read by Caroline Bond, and it did not disappoint. I found the plot to be original and it was told in a way that captured to emotions of all the characters involved. I enjoyed the third person narrative, as it allowed you to learn a lot about the characters and how they were dealing with the events that take place. All of the characters were interesting and they each seemed to have an important role in the unfolding of the plot. It was intriguing to learn about the characters before the crash and to see how they had been changed by it. I thought that the telling of the plot handled sensitively as it explored the emotions of all those involved. This was great to read and I found it heart breaking to read. I am excited to read more of Caroline Bonds work in the future.

4+ A teenage party, a few drinks and lots of fun, later a bad car accident and then late night phone calls- every parents nightmare. Waiting, waiting and praying for good news. Some get the news they wished so hard for, others don’t but there will be slow recovery and for two sets of parents it’s a longer waiting game and more prayers for life. One doesn’t make it. This is the scenario for this emotionally charged and very well written book. It is told in alternating perspectives by the driver, passengers and parents. Although the characters are really well depicted, I was initially a bit overwhelmed by the number but once I had established who was who, it’s a great read. It captures the details of the accident extremely well through some flashbacks and police interviews and looks at the devastating impact on all those involved. We see the statistics regarding young drivers, we read or hear the news about crashes involving teenagers, we say how terrible, see the shrines at the side of the road but we move on. This book personalises the tragedy and makes you look more deeply and see how their lives are altered. The events of the night are revealed a bit at a time which I really like as you become invested in seeking the truth as it unfolds. I like how the aftermath is like a fly on the wall snapshot of each family’s home and how each of them is affected differently. The ICU is especially moving and there are brave decisions made. All of them suffer varying degrees of grief and pain, at times it is heartbreaking but it is compulsive reading. I like how after a while healing comes via a very dramatic and moving Restorative Justice meeting although the aftermath is not what you might expect after all the tension. Overall, a very thought provoking and emotional read but which shows that after the darkest of dark days that there is some light. The stand out characters for me are Mo from the teenagers as he is true and loyal and Fran from the parents whose deep emotions you can feel and I admire how she came to forgiveness.

I really enjoyed this book, it had me hooked right from the beginning you wanted to know all the details, what was going to happen, how it was going to happen and what happened in the end. You really felt like you went on journey with each of the characters, Jess did she know she would die, Harry did he know he would end up in prison, Mo did he realise he how lucky he was not only surviving but to get Tish in the end. Tish and her new scars and Jake, did he play football again. Also the parents and how they coped with it all, the grief, the anger, the unanswered questions and whether they truly did get the answers. I'd really like a follow up to this book, maybe from the people who got Jess's organs and who got what and how it made them feel etc. I think it also helped that where it was based is not too far from me so i could easily imagine where they where. I just wish Pete had gone over at the end and introduced himself to them.

If only he hadn't kissed someone else, if only he hadn't been filmed doing it, if only his girlfriend hadn't seen, if only he hadn't got angry, if only he hadn't a drink, if only if hadn't driven the car that night......This is what Harry is most definitely is thinking right now, and if he hadn't done all of those things, life would have turned out so differently and someone wouldn't have died. Harry is the cool kid, and in one split second, because that is all it takes, Harry ruined not only his life but also many lives around him. Harry kills someone in a car accident and is sentenced to 4 years in prison. At barely 18 years old, this is not what Harry thought his life would be like. However it is what it is and this is a story about guilt, grief, forgiveness and letting go.