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The Vanishing Moment
A moment. That's all it takes.
A moment when everything changes...
Arrow is still haunted by a childhood tragedy that shattered her safe, happy world.
Marika is caught up in a nightmare from which there is no escape.
Two girls, dislocated, looking for answers. When they encounter a mysterious 'magician', they are tempted by the possibility of a way out...
A moment when everything changes...
Arrow is still haunted by a childhood tragedy that shattered her safe, happy world.
Marika is caught up in a nightmare from which there is no escape.
Two girls, dislocated, looking for answers. When they encounter a mysterious 'magician', they are tempted by the possibility of a way out...
182 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2013
82 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Wild
154 books111 followersMargaret Wild is one of Australia's most highly respected picture-book creators whose award-winning children's books are loved by children all over the world. Margaret has published over seventy picture books for young children and she has been the recipient of the Nan Chauncy Award and the Lady Cutler Award for her contributions to Australian children's literature.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 5, 2013
truly extraordinary, beautiful and quietly heartbreaking. What a stunning book with an ending that took my breath away. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. So very highly recommended. Aussie YA does not get much better than this <3 ( full review to come)
October 20, 2013
There's no doubt Wild is a capital A Amazing writer. I loved spending an afternoon with her words. I was set to give this book 5 stars until around the 75% mark. I just...yeah, the 'twist' really did not work for me. I found the ending a bit too saccharine for my tastes - it felt too far from real life, and the first half had me expecting a true-to-life, gritty read. There's hopeful and there's... too good to be true. I found this book to be the latter. I couldn't suspend disbelief.
That said, the writing is spectacular and I appreciate the boldness of this story.
That said, the writing is spectacular and I appreciate the boldness of this story.
January 20, 2014
Margaret Wild's writing is really lovely and poetic, and the opening of The Vanishing Moment is strong. However, the third person point of view lacks immediacy and ultimately the "twist" felt too awkwardly juxtaposed with the realistic beginning. Intriguing concept but it felt like this novel was trying to be too many things at once, and ultimately did none of them completely successfully.
July 26, 2020
I feel so sorry for this book! We've had it in our high school library since 2014 and it's only been borrowed twice - once in 2014 and once in 2015! I decided that I should read it to see if it was any good and if I could possibly recommend it to students. It is and I can!
We have two main protagonists who alternate chapters and a third who chimes in and shares his memories.
Told in third person - which bothered other reviewers a lot more than it bothered me - we get to know Marika and Arrow. Marika is studying art / sculpture at Uni. She lives with her Mum, step-Dad and little brother Jasper. One day something terrible happens and Marika needs to escape to her family's holiday house on the coast.
Arrow - real name Alyssa - has finished school and isn't sure what she wants to do with her life. She is troubled by an event in her childhood which she doesn't think she properly processed or grieved and so returns to her home town ... on the coast.
Bob's short chapters reveal a troubled past and unsettling encounters with a father-figure who is anything but.
The inevitable coming together of the 3 characters is believable and the endings (for all 3) were breath-taking. The question on the blurb "if you could live a different version if your life, which future would you choose?" came too late in the book for my liking but thank goodness it came.
Even though there is a whiff of Supernatural about it I will re-catalogue it (from Real Life) to Mystery/Suspense where I am confident it will be read.
We have two main protagonists who alternate chapters and a third who chimes in and shares his memories.
Told in third person - which bothered other reviewers a lot more than it bothered me - we get to know Marika and Arrow. Marika is studying art / sculpture at Uni. She lives with her Mum, step-Dad and little brother Jasper. One day something terrible happens and Marika needs to escape to her family's holiday house on the coast.
Arrow - real name Alyssa - has finished school and isn't sure what she wants to do with her life. She is troubled by an event in her childhood which she doesn't think she properly processed or grieved and so returns to her home town ... on the coast.
Bob's short chapters reveal a troubled past and unsettling encounters with a father-figure who is anything but.
The inevitable coming together of the 3 characters is believable and the endings (for all 3) were breath-taking. The question on the blurb "if you could live a different version if your life, which future would you choose?" came too late in the book for my liking but thank goodness it came.
Even though there is a whiff of Supernatural about it I will re-catalogue it (from Real Life) to Mystery/Suspense where I am confident it will be read.
October 24, 2013
In just 182 pages, Margaret Wild manages to weave such a heart-wrenching and believable story, it's sure to stay on your mind for a very long time.
The Vanishing Moment was not at all what I expected it to be. I never thought an author could string such memorable prose in such a short book, but Wild did just that. The book alternates between three characters - Bob, Arrow and Marika - but not once did I want to skip ahead because they each had such honest stories to tell. I will admit that I was thoroughly confused as to where the story was going for a great part of the book, but I pushed the confusion to the back of my mind and let the beautiful writing take me on a journey. On a journey from Sydney to the shores of Shelley Beach (you have no idea how stoked I was to be able to recognise all of the sites and places mentioned in the book).
Bob was the most confusing character at first, his chapters always talks about a memory he remembers. We are not provided with any clues as to why he's talking about his childhood, but they were interesting to read none-the-less. For a great deal of the novel, you are kept in the dark about him, why he's important and what he has to do with Arrow or Marika at all. I'm not going to spoil it, but his role does tie in with them once they're all at Shelley Beach together.
Arrow was also an interesting character. She's described as a lazy girl who stays at home and rarely makes time to see her friends anymore as she's taking a gap year. At first we're left in the dark as to why she's like this but slowly it gets revealed to you. Arrow and her family once lived on Shelley Beach, that was until something horrible happened to the family of her childhood best friends. Ever since then, they have lived in Sydney, but Arrow has never forgotten how one decision on her part has affected her whole life. And she can never forget that voice in her head which whispered, "I can Interchange, Arrow. Shall I?" Yes, the story hints at science-fiction elements but not much.
Marika, unlike Arrow or Bob, has led a pretty normal life. That is, until her baby brother disappeared during their outing to the aquarium. Her guilt for what happened shattered her life and she finds herself staying at her family's holiday home in Shelley Beach by herself. While there, she meets Arrow who used to live in the same house. They become acquaintances and soon exchange stories about that "moment" in life that changed everything.
While this book is predominantly character driven, there's also a very good plot that ties the three characters together. This "moment" that changes all their lives has them wondering about "what ifs" and such, but essentially the novel is about finding comfort in the consequences of their past actions. I'm not ashamed to say I sobbed like a baby near the ending because it is an emotional book (and I'm a sensitive cryer), so have your tissues ready! However, the reason I can't give this book a solid five stars is because of it's ending chapter - I found it unnecessary and the book would have been much better if it'd just left its audience wondering about the "what ifs" in a different way.
On the other hand, if you don't think a book can be beautifully written with solid characters and plot in only 182 pages, then let this book challenge that opinion. This is my first Margaret Wild book, but I will definitely be picking up more from now on!
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For more reviews, visit Thoughts By J!!
September 26, 2013
Can't write anything coherent. Need to read a happy book and find a happy place.
*sob*
Updated 26/09/13
Margaret Wild has written two other YA novels, both in verse. This new one is prose, and her use of language is just as assured, just as beautiful.
There are three narrators in this book: Arrow, Marika and Bob. For the majority of the book, the two girls live separate lives: Arrow is already in pain, not really living, just barely functioning and not quite clear why she lacks purpose and has no sense of well-being. Marika's life is about to face a devastating blow, and it is literally gut-wrenching to read when it happens.
And for the majority of the book, I had no idea who Bob was or what he was about.
Nor am I going to spoil it here.
By the time the girls meet, readers have been exposed to the horrors that sometimes inflict everyday people. Things that we want to ignore, or hope never happen. But we just have to watch the news to know they do. It all feels so hopeless, so it's understandable that, given the opportunity to change things, these girls might consider alternatives.
There is much emotion here, some hope and the power to make readers take a really good look at their lives and appreciate all that's good and strong.
Gosh, this is a good book.
*sob*
Updated 26/09/13
Margaret Wild has written two other YA novels, both in verse. This new one is prose, and her use of language is just as assured, just as beautiful.
There are three narrators in this book: Arrow, Marika and Bob. For the majority of the book, the two girls live separate lives: Arrow is already in pain, not really living, just barely functioning and not quite clear why she lacks purpose and has no sense of well-being. Marika's life is about to face a devastating blow, and it is literally gut-wrenching to read when it happens.
And for the majority of the book, I had no idea who Bob was or what he was about.
Nor am I going to spoil it here.
By the time the girls meet, readers have been exposed to the horrors that sometimes inflict everyday people. Things that we want to ignore, or hope never happen. But we just have to watch the news to know they do. It all feels so hopeless, so it's understandable that, given the opportunity to change things, these girls might consider alternatives.
There is much emotion here, some hope and the power to make readers take a really good look at their lives and appreciate all that's good and strong.
Gosh, this is a good book.
June 19, 2014
*** Beware! This comment-turned-into-review contains a spoiler ***
I can imagine how 'The Vanishing Moment' would appeal to readers who are less wimpy than I am, considering the beautiful writing, the multiple POVs and the crafty way those three stories run into one.
But, as I am concerned, the story is too realistic and thus much too bleak and dark. My heart doesn't survive an overdose of shitty parents.
And in this particular case the shittiness in the parental department came in 3D (no, 4D, actually) and in colour - even though there were differences: Bob and Fergus had it worst. They practically lived in hell without anybody noticing.
In addition, no magically realistic candy solution can lure me into feeling cushioned when one of the main characters I've come to respect or care for is wiped out and makes my poor heart drop.
'The Vanishing Moment' belongs to the good-but-too-hopeless-and-too-depressing category. I was certainly invested, but I did not enjoy being the recipient of this multifoldedly sad tale. Even to upset to shed a tear, I guess.
I can imagine how 'The Vanishing Moment' would appeal to readers who are less wimpy than I am, considering the beautiful writing, the multiple POVs and the crafty way those three stories run into one.
But, as I am concerned, the story is too realistic and thus much too bleak and dark. My heart doesn't survive an overdose of shitty parents.
And in this particular case the shittiness in the parental department came in 3D (no, 4D, actually) and in colour - even though there were differences: Bob and Fergus had it worst. They practically lived in hell without anybody noticing.
In addition, no magically realistic candy solution can lure me into feeling cushioned when one of the main characters I've come to respect or care for is wiped out and makes my poor heart drop.
'The Vanishing Moment' belongs to the good-but-too-hopeless-and-too-depressing category. I was certainly invested, but I did not enjoy being the recipient of this multifoldedly sad tale. Even to upset to shed a tear, I guess.
July 15, 2018
Took forever to get to the point. Boring book.
September 30, 2013
The Vanishing Moment
by Margaret Wild
ISBN-978 1 74331 590 3
Allen & Unwin, 2013, 184pp
Those of you young adults who have enjoyed Margaret Wild’s verse novels, Jinx and One Night will find that she keeps a similar pace and economic wording in this prose novel. Also she adds an element of magic realism with the concept of parallel existences for some of her characters, a concept that mediates the shock and grief for both them and me as I read and should give you more to talk about in the endings (yes, the plural is deliberate).
The central character, nick-named Arrow is an 18 year old Sydney girl who is depressed not about having finished her HSC because her aunt gave her significant money to reward her good results, and not about her future but about a horrific event in her past when she was ten years old and living in the NSW Couth Coast village of Shelley Beach. She cannot escape feeling guilt as well as grief and is a chronic sleep walker since that time. Her over protective mother insisted that the family move far away from the scene of the shock but Arrow has ways of driving her mother crazy with anxiety about her.
Marika is a university art student working on her sculpture project of adapting ancient Greek legends, always the grim ones because, she too, is suffering from grief and guilt.
Bob is a little older but I find out immediately in the first, typically brief chapter that he cannot forget his suffering at the hands of his brutal step-father. Later I find that Bob is a maths genius who remembers everything and, as he says “that’s the problem”.
Wild collides memories of the past with current events when the three characters meet at Shelley Beach where each has gone to live to find peace from their problems. The added mystery of vanished people and a disembodied voice that says “I can interchange…shall I?” gives the characters alternatives. The pace carries the actions along in the short chapters but there is plenty to think about; I really cared for these characters and I enjoyed the realism of the beach village setting. Recent events involving missing children also added to my emotional involvement in the narrative. For those who want to follow up the idea of parallel existences, Wild refers us to a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, The Garden of Forking Paths in his book, Ficciones. She also refers to many other cultural works in both art, myth, literature and music because she never writes down to her readers.
by Margaret Wild
ISBN-978 1 74331 590 3
Allen & Unwin, 2013, 184pp
Those of you young adults who have enjoyed Margaret Wild’s verse novels, Jinx and One Night will find that she keeps a similar pace and economic wording in this prose novel. Also she adds an element of magic realism with the concept of parallel existences for some of her characters, a concept that mediates the shock and grief for both them and me as I read and should give you more to talk about in the endings (yes, the plural is deliberate).
The central character, nick-named Arrow is an 18 year old Sydney girl who is depressed not about having finished her HSC because her aunt gave her significant money to reward her good results, and not about her future but about a horrific event in her past when she was ten years old and living in the NSW Couth Coast village of Shelley Beach. She cannot escape feeling guilt as well as grief and is a chronic sleep walker since that time. Her over protective mother insisted that the family move far away from the scene of the shock but Arrow has ways of driving her mother crazy with anxiety about her.
Marika is a university art student working on her sculpture project of adapting ancient Greek legends, always the grim ones because, she too, is suffering from grief and guilt.
Bob is a little older but I find out immediately in the first, typically brief chapter that he cannot forget his suffering at the hands of his brutal step-father. Later I find that Bob is a maths genius who remembers everything and, as he says “that’s the problem”.
Wild collides memories of the past with current events when the three characters meet at Shelley Beach where each has gone to live to find peace from their problems. The added mystery of vanished people and a disembodied voice that says “I can interchange…shall I?” gives the characters alternatives. The pace carries the actions along in the short chapters but there is plenty to think about; I really cared for these characters and I enjoyed the realism of the beach village setting. Recent events involving missing children also added to my emotional involvement in the narrative. For those who want to follow up the idea of parallel existences, Wild refers us to a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, The Garden of Forking Paths in his book, Ficciones. She also refers to many other cultural works in both art, myth, literature and music because she never writes down to her readers.
October 20, 2013
Arrow, Bob and Marika – three very different people whose paths crossed in the small town of Shelly Beach. Each of them have their own personal misfortune which has shaped who they are.
Arrow has finished high school but now has no idea what she wants from life. Her mind keeps taking her back to her childhood and the aftermath of a heartbreaking tragedy. Marika is grieving and can’t find a way to fix something she lost and Bob… well he’s a bit of a mystery. I don’t want to go into too many details and ruin the story.
It’s a short read but a highly enjoyable one. The writing is beautiful and I loved the way Wild managed to capture Arrow and Marika’s emotions as well as the gorgeous way she described Marika’s sculptures. The ending is not one that I was expecting but it was perfectly fitting and beautifully bitter-sweet.
The Vanishing Moment is a lovely novel about the choices we make in life and whether, given the opportunity, we would choose a different path. Interesting character and great writing, I thought this book was thought-provoking and interesting.
Arrow has finished high school but now has no idea what she wants from life. Her mind keeps taking her back to her childhood and the aftermath of a heartbreaking tragedy. Marika is grieving and can’t find a way to fix something she lost and Bob… well he’s a bit of a mystery. I don’t want to go into too many details and ruin the story.
It’s a short read but a highly enjoyable one. The writing is beautiful and I loved the way Wild managed to capture Arrow and Marika’s emotions as well as the gorgeous way she described Marika’s sculptures. The ending is not one that I was expecting but it was perfectly fitting and beautifully bitter-sweet.
The Vanishing Moment is a lovely novel about the choices we make in life and whether, given the opportunity, we would choose a different path. Interesting character and great writing, I thought this book was thought-provoking and interesting.
December 18, 2013
This is a wonderful combination of real life situations with 2 young women, who have finished school but who have had life changing things happen to them. Wild comes up with the idea that if either had accepted the Interchange and changed the awful circumstances what would the consequences be? Difficult to put into words, but an idea that I have been thinking about since I read the book.
Thought provoking and clever, this is not your usual paranormal story with romance at its centre.
Thought provoking and clever, this is not your usual paranormal story with romance at its centre.
November 6, 2013
Challenging. Real life people with real life problems. Kidnapping. Mother murders three kids. Boy physically abused by stepfather. Sinesthesia. Memory. Alternate reality. Terrible cover. Only read it because I was given it by a colleague. Stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it.
June 25, 2014
Margaret Wild shows her brilliance in this short tense novel. The story is told by three protagonists who all come together in a small town on the NSW south coast. However there is a twist in their stories and futures.
March 14, 2016
I was really having a hard time with this novel at the start, but it disappeared a bit along the way. Some parts of the story was good, and some of the characters was lovely, but it still wasn't enough for me.
August 18, 2013
Three lives intersect. Each decision one of them makes will lead to a different future. Intriguing novel with many literary links; left me pondering
November 24, 2013
AMAZING BOOK, till the last 50 pages. The end feels so rushed, like they should have added another 50-100 pages.
I'm not sure how I feel
I'm not sure how I feel
October 23, 2015
This is a coming of age story involving three main protagonists. It is thought provoking and both sad and joyful at times. The story's theme resembles that of the Butterfly Effect movies.
February 24, 2016
An intriguing story about three teenagers damaged by life and the ways in which they handle their pain.
December 18, 2016
Truly makes you think differently about your life
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews