"No one watches over yours the way you watch out for your own."

In an Instant is a beautifully crafted and raw novel that examines tragedy and how, though, people maybe experience it together, their experiences may greatly differ.

Narrated by Finn, a teenage girl who went on vacation with her family and best friend, the story takes us through a deadly accident and the recovery of those who survived. Finn tells the story after death, from a fly on the wall perspective, about how the accident and her death affected her friends and family and how the survivors coped with fear, loss, and guilt.

People are brought together and people fall apart in this story of raw human action and emotion. I felt so drawn to this book and I did not want to put it down. I loved the perspective in which it was told because it allows us to follow every character and learn intimate details that help to shape them. This is definitely a novel I would recommend, as the story and characters were both well developed and interesting.

Be sure to read the author's note as well, it is equally emotional and raw as the novel itself.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.

A wonderful story told by the ghost of Finn, a 16 year old who dies in a auto crash during a family vacation. This book was fantastic, just like all Suzanne Redfearn's others.

Thank you Net Galley and Publisher for allowing me to read it.

Wow, this was an incredibly powerful book. It had many moments of sheer devastation but was also incredibly insightful and moving. It is a very unique book and one that will stay with me for quite some time. So glad I read it!

This book just had me as it moved quickly with short chapters and it content seemed so real. Life does change in an instant and when a person dies the struggle for those left behind is real, especially when the death is that of a young person and unexpected. Finn knew she was dead but leaving those left behind was difficult until she knew all were going to be okay. The death of Oz was so sad but as the book brought to light no one can predict how they will cope in a stressful situation. This book is about loss, love, coping , family and moving forward when life goes sideways in an instant.

One of the BEST books I have read this year!! I could not put it down. It has wonderful, well developed characters, and the story, well, you will need tissues, as you can see from the description of the book.
The book grabs you in from the beginning, and you won't be able to put it down.
Thanks so much for #Netgalley for this ARC. This is a definite must read.


Releasing March 2020!!!
#InanInstant #Netgalley #SuzanneRedfearn

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC. A book about a horrific accident and its after-effects on a family. A horrible car accident causes the loss of two lives, but who is to blame? I wish there would have been more build-up of the story before the accident; to me the after story was harsh and did not make me empathize all that much.

This read just wasn’t for me. Unfortunately I decided that it was boring, didn’t hold my attention, so therefore I did not finish this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel! I read the synopsis and was immediately intrigued; eager to see how the ghost of a girl would cope with her family's disintegration, but also nervous about the reactions of the other people involved in the accident to her death. Little did I know that I was in for so much more than that. I could not have expected the quickness with which the inciting incident happens. It is over in one fell swoop, and it is irreversible. Before I had started the novel I thought that maybe there was a chance that Finn could come back, and that she was just observing the world as her life hung in the balance. This was not the case, however, and as death is in real life, Finn's departure from her mortal life was a permanent one.

We are given just enough time to fall in love with this character, and even though you know her fate, when it happens, you feel as numb as the others, trapped in the cold. The conditions that Finn's family and friends were exposed to were extreme but incredibly effective. They are stranded in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a blizzard, most of them not dressed for the outrageous cold they find themselves in. Lines are drawn, sides are taken, and mistakes are made. It is an up close and personal look at how tragedy brings out the best and worst of people. There are things that happen as these characters try to find their way out of this mess that are unforgivable, and it's sickening to think that someone might actually stoop so low. Suzanne does an impeccable job of showing both sides of the coin, giving us acts of heroism that I, sitting now in my warm house away from the elements, could never consider taking upon myself.

This event is only the beginning, as such life-changing events are. We lose people, we lose body parts, we lose pieces of ourselves. The family that went into the car that night are not the same people who were later found and rescued. Each of them are coping (or not) in their own ways, and Finn watches it all. Her perspective is so bright with life and feeling, and it gives such a real look into the lives of the people she left behind. She knows them better than anyone, so she is able to read them and relay their pain and their future acceptance to us in ways that any other narrator could not. I thought it was so beautiful that she did not leave their sides until they had said their final goodbyes to her, and when she finally knew they were going to be okay.

This book was more heart-wrenching than I could have ever imagined. It was full of raw emotion and truth; and the afterword from the author tells us that this story stemmed from a childhood experience. I can't imagine how hard this was for her to write and relive, but I'm beyond grateful she did. It's a masterful exploration of death and grief, and I am so honored to have read it.

Compelling story line. Of current interest. Well developed characters. Would recommend to friends. Would want to carry it in the store.

I thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. This author was new to me and I was not let down. It was a great story and very well written. The characters were easy to relate to and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I highly recommend this to everyone!!

I don't even know what to say about this book to put it into words. This book left me with a rollercoaster of emotions. First book I've read from the deceased characters POV. I was hooked from the beginning. Amazing story with amazing characters.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book...oh this book! So many, many emotions! I read at night when I cannot sleep but this book would not relax me enough to fall back to sleep. I HAD to find out what happened next. I became so attached to all of the characters and more than once I ugly cried. This is the first book I have read by this author and I am going to look to see if she published more.

When you read this book, be sure to read the author’s note because that just tied everything together.

I am hoping for an audio book soon to give it to my husband!

Incredible book written so interestingly from the perspective of a deceased character in the novel. I do not recount any of the story when I review books as you can get the gist from the inside book flap or online. Suzanne Redfearn had me captivated from the very beginning. She is an accomplished story teller.......a heartbreaking tale with far reaching moral dimensions. I rarely, if ever, give 5 stars......I seem to always have a proviso, but not this time. Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I will be recommending it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was a very moving tale of loss and the things we do when faced with extreme circumstances. A story about forgiveness and how to move on. I loved it. A definite page turner. Very sad at times, but full of hope as well.

A fascinating, emotive and heart-warming read. When the story is narrated by a recently deceased teenager 'Mo', still bound to her grieving family and friends, you know it's going to be an interesting journey through the pages!

Inspired by the author's own questions about the morality humans display during disaster, when faced with the choice between helping loved ones or reaching out further. This story doesn't hold back the punches, as Mo's family and friends deal with the gritty aftermath of a terrible car accident. Each carry secrets, injuries and guilt. Mo's ghostly link with their world continues as long as it takes for each character to come to grips with the reality of what happened, and how to move forward.

Ultimately full of hope and the power of community and kindness we share as humans when it comes to surviving tragedy.

An excellent example of a crossover read for both mature teens and adults alike. I'll be recommending to both senior students and our staff.

Five stars! This story sucked me in from the first page. Amazing story! I loved the Author's Note allowing us to know this was based on a true incident that happened to her when she was a child. I loved that the author included discussion questions at the end of the story. I can't wait to read another story by Suzanne Redfearn!

Wow! I just finished reading In An Instant and I can already tell I am gonna have a hard time moving on. What an emotional book! I cried pretty much through the whole thing! Any author that can make her characters become so real to the reader that you feel as if you actually know them is really good! And I loved how the story was told from Finn's point of view, because it gave us a unique perspective. I just hated that it was so sad. But it makes you ask yourself what choices you would have made in their situation. This was one of the best books i have ever read! Suzanne Redfearn, all I can say is WOW!

5 amazing stars~

I am not sure how to review this book. It was tragic, but I loved it. I delayed writing this review because I wasn't sure what I wanted to say about the book, but I kept dwelling on it.

What if I died tomorrow? How ready am I? What about the people – and my pets! - I leave behind? These thoughts kept going through my head as I devoured this book. I stayed up all night to read it and I didn't waste a minute.

Ms. Redfearn writes a very addictive story about sixteen-year old Finn who in a tragic second, loses her life in an auto accident. The story is told from Finn's point of view as the ten survivors of the crash each tries in their own way to survive in a snowy landscape, down the side of a mountain. How do we know just how we might react in the same situation? There were those who cared for the injured and those who cared for only themselves. The lengths someone will go to in protecting their own from real or imagined threats surely got me thinking.

Most interesting are Finn's observations on her own past behavior. Through death, she grows a great deal and discovers that life is not quite as black and white as she previously thought. Her parents' actions surprise and scandalize her in some ways. Her father who was badly injured makes a slow recovery, but has major anger issues. Her mother, Ann is an ice maiden in some ways, but Finn sees a side of her she didn't know existed. Ann is a heroine. Her sister Chloe and her boyfriend set out on their own and pay a steep price. Disabled Oz makes a very bad choice that is not his fault at all.

The survivors must make their way in their new world after returning home. Mostly, they don't know what to do with their feelings, but soldier through.

I want to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Press for forwarding to me a copy of this astounding book for me to read, ponder, enjoy and review.

**ARC kindly provided by Netgalley and publisher**

This book is a heartbreaking, eye opening reminder that no matter how prepared you are, life as you know it can change...In an Instant.

On a snowy mountaintop road, a family’s life’s is changed forever when the father makes the split-second decision to avoid a deer in the road, sending the vehicle careening off a cliff. Our narrator is Finn—a teenage girl beginning to enjoy romance and full of life...until she isn’t. The accident leaves Finn a spectral spectator in the gruesome aftermath, watching her friends and family at first for survival, and then their own demons as they struggle to cope with decisions made during a life or death situation.

The books leaves you wondering: How far will you go to save the ones you love? How many lines will you cross? And if you have to become a monster to survive in the wilderness, can you ever truly come back to yourself?

Powerful, beautiful and moving. I loved loved loved this book. As someone who experienced major family trauma and loss at a similar age to the protagonist I found the authors insights breathtaking at time. I want to read everything she has and will write in the future.