I spent the start of the novel trying to figure out what had happened because I was clearly missing something - what weren’t the teens saying? Did something run in front of the car? Was Harry driving or was he covering for someone? Did Jess do something and everyone was trying to protect her memory?

Once I stopped trying to second guess I could sit back and enjoy the subtly and beauty of the writing which gently exposed the depths of grief and pain for all of those involved, the young people in the car, their parents, bystanders. It takes a while establish each character and their relationships with each other, purely because of the number of them, but each character is a whole person, well written with different feelings and roles and journeys to take.

The author takes you through all of their journeys through their sorrow and despair, how they are broken down but manage to build themselves again.

A well-written novel on the tragedy of road accidents and the devastation such a small action can have on the lives of so many.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

This story follows close friends Harry, Jake, Jess, Tish, Mo, and their families after a devastating car accident one night that changes their lives forever. It's a very strong, moving portrayal of how a car crash affects those lives of who is involved and their families. This book has love, grief, forgiveness, family, friendship and a nod to organ donation too which was incredibly powerful.

I was invested in this book from the very beginning, it's incredibly fast-paced but grips you through every page. Every character is perfectly intertwined into the events and a book I would definitely recommend to others.

Caroline Bond has written a few books now but this was the first one that I’ve read – I’ll definitely be reading more. It was extremely well written with a great underlying story and characters. Many topics are explored including grief, broken bonds, family, relationships, friendships and making a choice. There’s a car crash and every scenario written for each parent and family member involved was tense, nail-bitingly tense, and heart-wrenching. There was hope and there was relief and there was just plain sadness. A book that makes you feel…is a special book.

What can I say , this book was so good. It was a page-turner. This book leaves you feeling so much. Four stars from me and thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review it

There is so much in Caroline Bond’s new book that I’m not sure where to start! She explores relationships between teenagers, with their parents and between the parents too. She has delved into various issues - organ donation, coming to terms with the loss of a child, teenagers in prison, teenagers coming to terms with life changing injuries, forgiveness, understanding and how a world can be turned upside down in “one split second”

Another triumph from Caroline Bond!

She is fast becoming a rival for Jodi Picoult in terms of ethical dilemmas.

This book is very easy to read, the characters are relatable and many of them so easy to understand, even when their views are at odds with each other.

Every parents’ worst nightmare, to be woken in the night to be told your child has been in a car crash.

The book follows the story of 5 children/young adults involved in the crash. Although Jake is only a very minor character.

I love the relationship that blossoms between Mo and Tish, how even from terrible tragedies positives can be found.

The inclusion of Pete as witness is an interesting addition and at the end his cat’s role in events calls into question all the blame that has been assigned...was drink driving the only bad decision?

The book looks at the crime of drink driving but what also of the bad choices made by others that also influenced events? Choosing to allowed someone to drive you under the influence? Allowing them to continue driving during an argument, choosing to own a cat when you live in a ring road....so many bad choices that are all factors in this tragedy.

I love the insight into restorative justice. I love how the book is real enough to show how people often enter this for the two reasons and how, even when it appears to be a disaster it can still have a positive effect.

A book that will really keep you thinking long after you have finished reading.

Very moving and life affirming. How honesty and forgiveness arise out of tragedy. Who was the guilty party.

4 teenagers are in an car accident on the way home from a party. The story revolves around their families and working out what happened in the lead up to the crash as well as the aftermath.
One things for sure, things can never be the same again.

Emotive subject with a storyline that hooked me in from the start. I felt that the storyline was imparted with sensitivity to the protagonist characters and their families. As details became clearer it was interesting to explore all the conflicts that each new nugget of information aroused in me as a mother to teenagers. Split second decisions really do change things for better or worse, sometimes sealing fates. The story winds up to as good an ending as it can, with loose ends being tied up. I loved the flash into Pete and Cleo’s life again at the end which tied up a last remaining question in my head.
Thanks to a NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts. I would definitely seek out further writing from this author..

This book had me gripped from the very beginning. It feels wrong to love a book with such wretched subject matter, but something about the ability for the words to elicit such a strong (albeit repulsive) emotional response kept me coming back for more and thinking of the characters whilst doing other things. This is truly a book that gets under the skin.

The muddied truth is underneath everything, as is so often the case in life, and the journey to dig down and get to what REALLY happened wills the reader to carry on as it shapes the characters lives, relationships and internal awareness.

Excellent shifts of perspectives, allowing me to see each characters motivations/feelings subtly but clearly.

The ending seemed like it might drag on, but each last chapter brought something new to the overall and deserved it's place in the story.

Caroline Bond is fast becoming one of my new favourite authors. I read The Second Child as she is a local author to my village and someone had recommended it and I was hooked, so was excited to learn about her new publication and even more excited to get my grubby mits on an advanced review copy!

I wasn't disappointed, what a stonker of a book! The story centres around a group of five teenagers who are about to leave sixth form and start new paths on journeys to work / university, coming home one night there is a car accident which changes the group forever.

This novel is a masterclass in human emotion, five families worth of characters to get to grips with and it was as seamless as if they were your own neighbours, beautifully distinct, full of idiosyncrasies so you felt each person was full of depth and not once did I confuse characters, which happens all to often in books nowadays!

It was also refreshing that the split timeline narrative was used sparingly, rather than every chapter and loved the nuance touch about the organ donor recipient. I really loved how they also did a flashback to Pete and Cleo - I had almost forgotten about them, so that was a lovely effect at the end.

I know the author is local to me and the intensity of the novel did remind me of a similar incident which happened locally where a group of five teenagers had a car accident and sadly did suffer similar outcomes to the characters in the book and this novel really helped me re-consider that event not only as a 'news' item but the profound impact it must still be having on our local community.

Brilliant, highly recommended novel, compelling storyteller.

NOTE TO PUBLISHER: Only niggle is one small proofing error (chapter 69) when Dom was talking to his son Harry he says "So, why you are?"..... pretty sure that should be 'So, why are you?" fingers crossed this gets picked up prior to publication!

I found this book disjointed and difficult to follow. Without the guidance of the storyline, I would have been lost over what happened. There seemed to be no substance to the characters as their reactions to the accident was explored. Sorry, this book was not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher.

One second is how long it can take to say yes or no to another drink. One second is how long it can take to make a decision that could ruin or brighten your life. One second can change everything.

That's what five students find out when they are driving home from a party one night and their car crashes. Horrifically. What follows are the devastating consequences that impact not only them but their families and the local community too.

Caroline Bond writes a story about grief, broken bonds, anger and hurt while also touching on some childhood trauma. My heart broke for each and every character because they had all been affected. Some more than others, but there was no single character who was left untouched. I sympathised with some characters when other characters couldn't. I was conflicted at times because I felt some of them should have been there for each other but they couldn't because they were so consumed by their hurt, they were blinded by it.

As the story progressed, the questions that ran through my mind, which I think Bond explored really well, were: Who is entitled to the most hurt? The most anger? Are any of them?

Who am I anyway, to even answer those questions?

Thank you @netgalley for this arc.

The story in this book is every parents nightmare. A late night car crash after the school prom, five injured teenagers, a fight for survival. The parents gather at the hospital for news. One might not make it, there will be life changing injuries.

As the police begin to investigate the accident, the story is told in a series of flashbacks starting 20 months before that fateful night , exploring and developing the characters and their close relationships, some of which will be destroyed by the accident.

As a parent, I felt I lived every minute with those poor parents, such clever writing drawing the reader right into the story and taking them on an emotional rollercoaster ride. I just couldn't put this book down.

Thoroughly recommended but have tissues nearby.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

A well written tale about the devastating consequences of a car crash involving five teenagers. The author attempts to explores how the accident affects the lifes of everyone involved. However,we only got ''snapshot' glimpses into their lifes, and therethere not enough depth to any of the characters to form an emotional connection to them. For example, Why did Tish behave the way that she did? Why did Harry and Martha's mum leave them? How did being first on the scene affect Pete's life?
An 'ok' read, however, it could have been so much more

What a beautiful well written book, very sensitively written describing how all the people felt who were involved in this car crash, a very emotional and compelling read.

I cannot speak highly enough about this book, well done Caroline.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atlantic Books (Corvus) for giving me the opportunity to read this brilliant book.

A group of children enjoying an evening. That night is shattered by an accident. From those in the car, to the bystander to the families of the children.

The book covers not just how the kids deal with the incident but the feelings and actions of the parents. Very emotive read. Hard not to cry when Marcus and Fran are dealing with the subject of organ donation and a childs death. However, the author has done this sensitively.

As a mum this book touches on what is my worse nightmare. A very thought provoking read.
#Netgalley #OneSplitSecond #CarolineBond

I really enjoyed (wrong expression I know, with the subject matter), this book.

It dealt with the heartbreaking ripple effect of a car accident one night, suffered by 5 teenage friends and their families.

I thought the author wrote really well each person's feelings and reactions, so much so that you ended up feeling so sorry for the most unlikely person.

Really recommended book.

Four friends in a car crash late at night.The follow up,who lives and who dies?
How some families deal with the aftermath of the accident and how things change for the friends.
A real page turner that you want to keep reading but I did keep thinking there was going to be a twist in the plot to come..
Considering the subject matter a compelling read that I would recommend to library customers and friends.

I enjoyed this book but felt it was sadly a missed opportunity. The plot is a great premise and something that’s always going to be relevant. Unfortunately this novel felt a bit shallow and two dimensional to me, it just lacked emotional depth and yet the cast of characters and storyline were there, just waiting for some flesh on their bones. One character, one of the teenagers simply disappears halfway through the novel and at the end they aren’t even mentioned in the final summation. The novel opens with the parents all together waiting for news of their children but only three of these parents ever has their characters and feelings explored and even then, not with much depth. Why for example is Dom so angry and emotionally stunted? We are offered his relationship breakdown and his career as potential reasons but again, never really investigated in depth. And speaking of disappearing characters, who was Cheryl? His girlfriend? And where did she go?

I do think the author revealed the truth of ‘that night’ really cleverly and her use of flashback and multiple narrative voices was very good which makes it even more of a shame that the book felt so light. The novel could have done with another 100 pages.