The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride: Review

The Tension of Opposites

By: Kristina McBride

2010 Debut Author! 

Synopsis (From Goodreads): It’s been two years since Noelle disappeared. Two years since her bike was discovered, sprawled on a sidewalk. Two years of silence, of worry, of fear.

For those two long years, her best friend Tessa has waited, living her own life in a state of suspended animation. Because how can she allow herself to enjoy a normal high school life if Noelle can’t? How dare she have other friends, go to dances, date boys, without knowing what happened to the girl she thought she would share everything with?

And then one day, someone calls Noelle’s house. She’s alive.

A haunting psychological thriller taken straight from the headlines, The Tension of Opposites is a striking debut that explores the emotional aftermath of a kidnapping on the victim, and on the people she left behind.

My Review: We had a story similar to this happen in Utah a few years back. A girl was kidnapped from her room in the night in Salt Lake City and was found 18 months later alive and well by some observant civilians. It really was remarkable. After she was returned safely, I often thought about what her life must have been like after coming home. What must she have gone through trying to adjust to "normal" life again? How would her friends react? Would her parents ever let her out of their sight again? When I read the synopsis of Tension of Opposites, I thought about how remarkably similar the stories were.

Even though this book was told from the perspective of her best friend and not the victim, I found that it still did a very good job addressing the issues that would definitely plague this young girl. But, I loved Tessa's character. I loved how flawed, scared, and conflicted she was. It showed a great depth of compassion for Tessa to put her life on hold the way she did for Noelle.  I would want a friend like Tessa.


On that note, I also really liked that Tessa didn't ditch Noelle for Max. Too often in YA literature, the female protagonist loses all connections with her friends and gets wrapped up in her relationship with danger boy. Tessa's relationships stayed pretty much the same, including those with her family.  Loved it! 

I have mixed feelings about Max. I felt like he pushed Tessa a little too far at times.  I did like their relationship by the end though, and he was a pretty decent guy. Along those same lines, I wasn't real thrilled at the pretty constant mention of their physical relationship. I probably would have liked the book a little better if a little more had been left to the imagination.

But, I really enjoyed the book and finished it in one day. That's saying something for a contemporary novel. I usually have a really hard time getting into them. But, The Tension of Opposites was engaging and a very fast read.

My Rating:
I gave this book 4 stars

Profanity: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Mild
Sexuality: Moderate
Violence: Mild

Received from 1 ARC Tours