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2014 EVENTS:
Holly Bourne, Non Pratt and James Dawson - 30th October
Becca Fitzpatrick - 15th November

Thursday 5 February 2015

GUEST REVIEW: Every Second Counts - Sophie McKenzie

Thursday 5 February 2015
GENRE: YA
PAGES: 416
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY
The heart-stopping sequel to Split Second. Nat and Charlie are on the run, and in more danger than ever ...Nowhere is safe for Charlie and Nat. They have each other, but Roman Riley's networks could reach them at any time. Charlie believes the only option is to go undercover in Riley's team, and sneaks away from Nat to pursue her plan alone. Nat is desperate to find Charlie, but his family are in danger and Riley is coming ever closer. Even if Nat and Charlie can find each other again, could being together be even more dangerous than being apart ...?

REVIEW
I wrote a review on ‘split second’ back in April, and the brutal honesty about politics really hit home with me. Being from a country that is run by a dictator, a country that had gone through so much to gain their rights back yet failed, really allowed me to connect with the Sophie McKenzie’s writing. The quote “like democracy itself, he’s the least worst option.” relates to me in so many ways that I had to bookmark the page. 

Every second counts is the second and final book that tells the story of two teenagers, Charlie and Nat, who have gained the label ‘terrorists’ due to a political figure framing them. The book begins with the two protagonists on the run, trying to find a lead to help them defeat Riley, who was the cause of many deaths and inflicted pain upon the country he wanted to run, without the people even realising. 

Once again, this book really makes a person think about current affairs, and the fact that politicians and strong figures are perhaps playing their people just like the villains in the book were. 

Unlike the other book however, I did find the book quite slow paced and boring to begin with, and I was slightly disappointed. However it did pick up later on and I was unable to put the book down until I turned that last page.

The relationship between Nat and Charlie is also further explored in the sequel, and although their love for each other drives them to try and expose Riley, McKenzie yet again didn’t make the romance aspect the main focus, which I love because that’s not what the book is about. 

I did find that some of the events that took place were unnecessary and prolonged the book a little too much.

I do still love Sophie McKenzie’s writing, and even though it is not the most intricate, it really makes the person think about question they perhaps may not have come across- for example one question that really stood out was when was killing someone justified? Is it okay to pull the trigger on someone who has done the same to many others? Or does that make you as bad as him? 

All in all, this series is one that I would recommend to everyone, the two books are extremely intriguing and the ending is actually quite satisfying. To put it simply, for me, every second counts is a book about two very different aspects of life: love and politics, and whether they could ever be the same thing when it comes to the human race. 

Every second counts gets four out of five stars without a doubt.

- Maryam.

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