Review: 180 Seconds - Jessica Park

 

Review: 180 Seconds - Jessica Park - April 2017

Growing up Allison Dennis knew that life could change in a flash and that life was a fleeting series of moments. You see Allison and her best friend Steffie grew up in foster care and then when they were both sixteen years old they were chosen by potential parents. Allison went to Simon and Steffie to a lovely family. Now three years later, Allison is off to college and experience life in the big world, this time by herself. She plans on staying invisible but what happens when she is pulled into a room to participate in what she believes is a college experiment. The experiment is to stare into a stranger's eyes for 180 seconds, that's three minutes folks. Allison ends up staring into Esben's eyes and as the time ticks by we readers get to experience the different emotions that run through Allison and Esben's faces and minds. In the end, we have our first kiss moment which is the first turning point for the book as you see Esben is Youtube famous, and the video and kiss go viral.  One thing leads to another and of course, we have a brewing romance between Allison and Esben, but of course, Steffie comes to the rescue as, like most things in Allison's life, she pushes away before she can get too close to them as eventually the ones she loves - leaves.  I shall stop at here as I don't want to spoil the story, but near the end of the book, you will need to have a box of tissues handy as there will be watery eye moments and possibly some tears. 180 Seconds by Jessica Park was a powerful novel, and it does get you thinking about what would the consequences be and the aftermath effect if you had to stare at someone you either loved or even a stranger's eyes for 180 seconds which equates to 3 whole minutes of your life.  I also have to admit it has made me curious now and part of me wants to try this experiment. If you are in the mood for a powerful, thoughtful and a possible ugly cry novel, then readers check out 180 Seconds by Jessica Park today as you will not be disappointed.