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Moment of Truth by Kasie West

3/21/2020

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SYNOPSIS
At sixteen, Hadley Moore knows exactly who she is—a swimmer who will earn a scholarship to college. Totally worth all the hard work, even if her aching shoulders don’t agree.

​So when a guy dressed as Hollywood’s latest action hero, Heath Hall, crashes her swim meet, she isn’t amused. Instead, she’s determined to make sure he doesn’t bother her again. Only she’s not sure exactly who he is.


The swim meet isn’t the first event the imposter has interrupted, but a little digging turns up a surprising number of people who could be Heath Hall, including Hadley's ex-boyfriend and her best friend’s crush. 
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She soon finds herself getting caught up in the mysterious world of the fake Heath Hall.

As Hadley gets closer to uncovering the masked boy’s identity she also discovers some uncomfortable truths about herself—like she might resent the long shadow her late brother has cast over her family, that she isn’t as happy as she pretends to be with her life choices… and that she is falling for the last guy she ever thought she would like.
Synopsis from Goodreads

PERSONAL REVIEW
So, weirdly enough, this book has two titles: Moment of Truth and Hearts, Heroes, and Heath Hall. Confused? Me too! Not sure how this happened, but I ended up borrowing Moment of Truth from the library, so I changed the title of this review and here we are. This is the latest Kasie West release and (as I've said before) I definitely am seeing stronger and stronger writing from her. The difference between her first books and her more recent ones is huge and I'm here for it! 

Hadley is So Relatable (She Made Me Cry!) 
I didn't think I was going to like Hadley - she's a bit judgemental and seemed really one-dimensional at the beginning of the book. But I was pleasantly surprised to find myself sympathizing with her as her family history starts to unfold. I even ended up crying when she eventually yells at Jackson about why she hates him (fair warning: I'm pregnant, so my emotions are heightened regardless). She really unfolds as a character and I would've loved to see more of this earlier in her story so that I could've sided with her a lot faster. 

Ended Up Enjoying the Mystery of Health Hall

Personally, I didn't really care about who was the person behind the Heath Hall mask and Hadley's insistence on finding him. It just didn't seem like a big deal to me (maybe we needed more buildup at the beginning of the book?). But I definitely ended up loving how the messaging around the mask came full circle over the course of the novel. The idea that the mask gives the wearer a sense of bravery was actually really lovely and I enjoyed where it took Hadley's story!

Resolution Was a Bit Too Fast 
I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose a member of a family, so I really found myself connecting with both Hadley and her parents in their attempts to adjust to Eric's death. That said, after an entire book of tension between Hadley and her parents, I found the ending to this problem way to quick. Instead of her superfluous fight with Jackson, which definitely felt like it was put into the book for the sake of having the couple have a fight, there should have been more time spent resolving the real issues between Hadley and her parents. Even Hadley says that she's surprised how quickly her mom realizes the mistakes she made. Umm....me too, Hadley. Me too.  

Overall, this was a really cute book to read, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 scares we're currently dealing with. It was a fun way to get my mind off the stress of the world and into the stress of being a teen who puts too much pressure on herself. I'd recommend this to all Kasie West fans and I can't wait to talk about it with you!

FINAL RATING: 4/5
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    About Me

    Hi, I'm Alexandra! I love reading (largely YA fiction, but sometimes I'll read "adult" books), playing board games, Nutella, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix with my husband. 

    I absolutely love to travel, but home will always be in Toronto. Books come with me everywhere and I can't wait to hear if you agree or disagree with my reviews. 


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  • Book Reviews
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