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A Split Second
New York Times bestselling author Janae Marks delivers a riveting tale where a young girl wakes up one day to realize six months have passed, her friends no longer speak to her, and everyone else is living as if nothing has happened. When a former best friend comes back into her life, the two investigate what magical forces might be a play. A dual POV filled with mystery and shocking betrayals--perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Anne Ursu.
That clock can’t be right.
When Elise wakes up the morning after her birthday celebration, she’s surprised to find herself in her bedroom. Last she can remember, she had fallen asleep next to her best friends at her slumber party in her basement, and it was October. But now she’s alone, and her phone says it’s April 8. Elise doesn’t understand. How could she have woken up six months later?
No one else is acting like anything strange has happened, yet Elise can't remember the last half year. To make matters worse, her friends refuse to talk to her and Elise doesn't know why. She also has no idea how she got signed up for photography club, or why her former best friend, Cora, is talking to her again.
Is it a memory problem? Could it be magic? Every day that passes takes Elise further from the world she knew. Thankfully, Elise has Cora to lean on in this new reality, and the two come together to investigate why Elise woke up in the future—and more important, how to get her back to her past and away from this nightmare.
New York Times bestselling author Janae Marks delivers a stunningly crafted and twisty mystery about the tests of friendships that examines what matters most when everything can change in a split second.
That clock can’t be right.
When Elise wakes up the morning after her birthday celebration, she’s surprised to find herself in her bedroom. Last she can remember, she had fallen asleep next to her best friends at her slumber party in her basement, and it was October. But now she’s alone, and her phone says it’s April 8. Elise doesn’t understand. How could she have woken up six months later?
No one else is acting like anything strange has happened, yet Elise can't remember the last half year. To make matters worse, her friends refuse to talk to her and Elise doesn't know why. She also has no idea how she got signed up for photography club, or why her former best friend, Cora, is talking to her again.
Is it a memory problem? Could it be magic? Every day that passes takes Elise further from the world she knew. Thankfully, Elise has Cora to lean on in this new reality, and the two come together to investigate why Elise woke up in the future—and more important, how to get her back to her past and away from this nightmare.
New York Times bestselling author Janae Marks delivers a stunningly crafted and twisty mystery about the tests of friendships that examines what matters most when everything can change in a split second.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2024
14 people are currently reading
2917 people want to read
About the author
Janae Marks
9 books548 followersJanae Marks is an author of middle grade novels. Her debut From the Desk of Zoe Washington is an indie bestseller and was named a Best Book of the Year by Parents Magazine, Book Riot, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Chicago Public Library and the Boston Globe. Her second novel is A Soft Place to Land. She has an MFA in Writing for Children from The New School, and lives in Connecticut with her husband, daughter and miniature schnauzer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
October 24, 2024
After a memorable birthday sleepover with her two best friends, Elise wakes up to realize that time has jumped by six months and her best friends no longer speak to her. With the help of an old friend, she works to figure out what happened and how to undo it. This is an engaging time travel fantasy with a slightly spooky feel, perfect for kids who like books about magic with a touch of mystery. This book will appeal to young readers for a myriad of reasons, including the fact that it’s short, highly accessible, and written from two points of view while tackling hugely relatable themes like friendship and being brave.
Full review & book club discussion guide: https://readingmiddlegrade.com/a-spli...
Full review & book club discussion guide: https://readingmiddlegrade.com/a-spli...
September 10, 2024
5 stars
Janae Marks is one of the most consistent middle grade writers of our time, and this is another absolute hit.
Elise, the m.c., has a sleep over with two friends and wakes up to find that she has time traveled! In this new reality, her cherished friendships have inexplicably fallen to pieces, and an old but lost friendship has suddenly reformed. Though she is quite young, Elise generally keeps her composure, as most of Marks's heroines do, and she goes through a series of problem solving and relationship exercises to solve the mystery and learn important lessons.
I really can't get enough of this author's works. I love teaching them to my college students in Children's and Young Adult literature, and they are always remarkably well received. Of course, I'm already looking forward to sharing this newest effort with them, too.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Janae Marks is one of the most consistent middle grade writers of our time, and this is another absolute hit.
Elise, the m.c., has a sleep over with two friends and wakes up to find that she has time traveled! In this new reality, her cherished friendships have inexplicably fallen to pieces, and an old but lost friendship has suddenly reformed. Though she is quite young, Elise generally keeps her composure, as most of Marks's heroines do, and she goes through a series of problem solving and relationship exercises to solve the mystery and learn important lessons.
I really can't get enough of this author's works. I love teaching them to my college students in Children's and Young Adult literature, and they are always remarkably well received. Of course, I'm already looking forward to sharing this newest effort with them, too.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
July 6, 2024
I loved this time-twisty mystery with themes of friendship, trust, courage, and creativity! Elise goes to sleep with her two best friends sleeping over, but wakes up alone in her room - and discovers she has lost 6 months of her life. During that time, she has also lost her best friends. She begins to reconnect with an old friend and together they try to solve the mystery of Elise's skipped time.
There are so many great twists and turns in this story!
There are so many great twists and turns in this story!
January 1, 2025
A time travel MG book told in dual POV.
⏳
Elise wakes up the morning after her birthday, surprised to find she’s in her bed and not at the sleepover with her best friends. Not only that, but it’s six months later. Totally confused Elise heads to school to see if her friends know what happened, but they aren’t talking to her anymore. So much has changed since that night in October, Elise finds out she’s even joined the photography club. There she reconnected with her old friend, Cora, who helps her try and figure out what happened and why.
⌛️
This was such a unique novel because it’s not really the time travel story we are used to. The twist made this more interesting and I loved the change in POV halfway through. Pick this one up if you know tweens struggling to let go of friendships and reclaim old ones.
CW: anxiety
⏳
Elise wakes up the morning after her birthday, surprised to find she’s in her bed and not at the sleepover with her best friends. Not only that, but it’s six months later. Totally confused Elise heads to school to see if her friends know what happened, but they aren’t talking to her anymore. So much has changed since that night in October, Elise finds out she’s even joined the photography club. There she reconnected with her old friend, Cora, who helps her try and figure out what happened and why.
⌛️
This was such a unique novel because it’s not really the time travel story we are used to. The twist made this more interesting and I loved the change in POV halfway through. Pick this one up if you know tweens struggling to let go of friendships and reclaim old ones.
CW: anxiety
January 1, 2025
I’ve really enjoyed all of Janae Marks’ books and her latest is no exception. This may be my favorite yet, with the magical elements and time skipping.
A Split Second is really a story about friendship, growing up, and learning to be true to yourself. Cora and Elise both learn from the time jump and Cora’s journey is especially heartwarming.
The dual POV worked well and I liked that it was done in alternating chapters, but instead three parts. The story also didn’t feel too long.
Finally, I love how passionate Marks’ characters always are about their hobbies and interests. Cora’s craftiness, Elise’s love of reading, and their shared interest in photography added sprinkles of fun throughout the story.
A Split Second is really a story about friendship, growing up, and learning to be true to yourself. Cora and Elise both learn from the time jump and Cora’s journey is especially heartwarming.
The dual POV worked well and I liked that it was done in alternating chapters, but instead three parts. The story also didn’t feel too long.
Finally, I love how passionate Marks’ characters always are about their hobbies and interests. Cora’s craftiness, Elise’s love of reading, and their shared interest in photography added sprinkles of fun throughout the story.
October 27, 2024
I usually don't read children's books that often but when I do, it makes me very nostalgic. Things are so simple when you're a kid. This book about friendship was super wholesome and really adorable. As an added benefit they loved everything I did so that was super fun and I could relate to some of the deeper issues in it. Overall, it's a quick, cute read.
P.S. I won a copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways but my review is fully my own.
P.S. I won a copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways but my review is fully my own.
October 7, 2024
كتب جاناي كلها تلمس قلبي مررة احبها واحسها حنونه ؛(((
October 27, 2024
This was such a a fun and engaging book, it kept me on my toes throughout!! Loved the setting, lovely characters, and such a wonderful story!!
July 29, 2024
What worked:
Elise goes to sleep during her birthday sleepover and wakes up to discover six months have passed. Readers will know something supernatural has happened but Elise doesn’t know if she’s time jumped or is suffering from amnesia. She wants to know what happened during the missing time so readers will accompany her on the investigation. At some point, her best friends stopped speaking to her so Elise wants to know what she did to cause that. Her struggle is complicated by the fact that others in Elise’s life have memories of her recent experiences but she doesn’t know how to ask them for help. She finally reconnects with a girl named Cora who used to be a good friend years ago.
The trouble starts when Elise receives a necklace from an anonymous person on her birthday. She falls asleep in the basement with the amulet in her hand and wakes up in her room not knowing what’s happened. She visits the store where the amulet was purchased and the strange, old owner remembers selling two of them to a young girl. Elise notices the woman somehow knows her name. It turns out the young girl in question is Cora and she’s wearing the same necklace! Readers will begin to wonder if Cora has anything to do with what’s happened, is it something the old woman did, or could it be something totally unexpected?
The book is divided into two halves as it focuses on Elise first and Cora later. Sharing the story from Elise’s point of view allows readers to empathize with her struggles to uncover the mystery. It’s frustrating, confusing, and disturbing to not know what she’s been doing for the past six months. When did she join the photography club and why? Elise becomes overwhelmed with the isolation she feels from being dumped into this new life. Midway through the book, readers encounter Cora’s perspective of what’s going on. Cora has secrets and personal issues that have complicated her life and she needs to cooperate with Elise to resolve them. The two friends support each other as they navigate their problems but the author adds a big twist that throws the plot into turmoil.
What didn’t work as well:
The conflict related to losing six months of life is a problem but the story doesn’t create much tension. The worst thing that’s happened is Elise’s former best friends aren’t speaking to her but it’s not like she’s unpopular or ostracized. However, a revelation is made later in the book and a complication arises to create urgency in the plot.
The final verdict:
Readers will experience a new angle about friendship and the confusion it can cause. Elise’s time jump provides mystery to the plot but the issue of friendship is a key to solving it. The conflict is predictable but the resolution is satisfying and pleasing. Overall, I recommend you give this book a shot.
Elise goes to sleep during her birthday sleepover and wakes up to discover six months have passed. Readers will know something supernatural has happened but Elise doesn’t know if she’s time jumped or is suffering from amnesia. She wants to know what happened during the missing time so readers will accompany her on the investigation. At some point, her best friends stopped speaking to her so Elise wants to know what she did to cause that. Her struggle is complicated by the fact that others in Elise’s life have memories of her recent experiences but she doesn’t know how to ask them for help. She finally reconnects with a girl named Cora who used to be a good friend years ago.
The trouble starts when Elise receives a necklace from an anonymous person on her birthday. She falls asleep in the basement with the amulet in her hand and wakes up in her room not knowing what’s happened. She visits the store where the amulet was purchased and the strange, old owner remembers selling two of them to a young girl. Elise notices the woman somehow knows her name. It turns out the young girl in question is Cora and she’s wearing the same necklace! Readers will begin to wonder if Cora has anything to do with what’s happened, is it something the old woman did, or could it be something totally unexpected?
The book is divided into two halves as it focuses on Elise first and Cora later. Sharing the story from Elise’s point of view allows readers to empathize with her struggles to uncover the mystery. It’s frustrating, confusing, and disturbing to not know what she’s been doing for the past six months. When did she join the photography club and why? Elise becomes overwhelmed with the isolation she feels from being dumped into this new life. Midway through the book, readers encounter Cora’s perspective of what’s going on. Cora has secrets and personal issues that have complicated her life and she needs to cooperate with Elise to resolve them. The two friends support each other as they navigate their problems but the author adds a big twist that throws the plot into turmoil.
What didn’t work as well:
The conflict related to losing six months of life is a problem but the story doesn’t create much tension. The worst thing that’s happened is Elise’s former best friends aren’t speaking to her but it’s not like she’s unpopular or ostracized. However, a revelation is made later in the book and a complication arises to create urgency in the plot.
The final verdict:
Readers will experience a new angle about friendship and the confusion it can cause. Elise’s time jump provides mystery to the plot but the issue of friendship is a key to solving it. The conflict is predictable but the resolution is satisfying and pleasing. Overall, I recommend you give this book a shot.
June 19, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Elise has just turned 12, and is hanging out at the fall festival with her best friends Melinda and Ivy. They haven't been friends that long, but after her friend Amelia moved away, they started hanging out. They have a fun slumber party at her house, and Elise receives a locket with a clock in it from a mysterious source. The girls eventually fall asleep, but when Elise wakes up, it's months later! She thinks at first that her sister Shay or brother Theo are pranking her. It's very odd, and going to school makes it even worse, because she finds out that Melinda and Ivy are no longer speaking to her. Desperate to sit with someone at lunch, she finds Cora, with whom she was close before the pandemic. Since the two just drifted apart, it's easy to reconnect. Elise also finds out that she has joined the photography club and is in the middle of a project. She eventually confides her very odd circumstances to Cora, who offers to help her piece together what happened. They manage to get the story of Melinda and Ivy from Amelia, whom Elise had contacted after an all-too-typical misunderstanding between the three that caused them to fall out. However, there's more to it than that. Cora was the one who gave the locket to Elise, and she has one herself, purchased from Daphne's Delights, a shop that specializes in magic. There's something more to the time slip, and Elise and Cora have to work together. Will they decide to go back to the fall festival, or will they try to make the best of their lives?
Strengths: There are some very clever things going on that caused the time travel to occur, and I don't want to spoil them! Combining magical realism with friend drama is brilliant; can you imagine missing six months of your seventh grade school year? On top of these innovations, the story is really well grounded, with Elise having to deal with small, realistic family situations and BOTH of her parents! I really wish there would be more details about family life in middle grade books. There are some spells involved, which I would absolutely have adored when I was 12, and a satisfying ending. Marks has done several good realistic fiction books (From the Desk of Zoe Washington, A Soft Place to Land), so it's interesting to see her turn her hand to a fantasy book.
Weaknesses: This switches from Elise's point of view to Cora's in the middle, which I didn't enjoy. However, this increases the text complexity, as I recently learned from taking a Science of Reading course, so maybe this is a good thing.
What I really think: I thought this would be something along the lines of Deriso's Do-Over (2006), maybe because of the title, but it ended up being a very different kind of time slip book that I enjoyed very much.
Elise has just turned 12, and is hanging out at the fall festival with her best friends Melinda and Ivy. They haven't been friends that long, but after her friend Amelia moved away, they started hanging out. They have a fun slumber party at her house, and Elise receives a locket with a clock in it from a mysterious source. The girls eventually fall asleep, but when Elise wakes up, it's months later! She thinks at first that her sister Shay or brother Theo are pranking her. It's very odd, and going to school makes it even worse, because she finds out that Melinda and Ivy are no longer speaking to her. Desperate to sit with someone at lunch, she finds Cora, with whom she was close before the pandemic. Since the two just drifted apart, it's easy to reconnect. Elise also finds out that she has joined the photography club and is in the middle of a project. She eventually confides her very odd circumstances to Cora, who offers to help her piece together what happened. They manage to get the story of Melinda and Ivy from Amelia, whom Elise had contacted after an all-too-typical misunderstanding between the three that caused them to fall out. However, there's more to it than that. Cora was the one who gave the locket to Elise, and she has one herself, purchased from Daphne's Delights, a shop that specializes in magic. There's something more to the time slip, and Elise and Cora have to work together. Will they decide to go back to the fall festival, or will they try to make the best of their lives?
Strengths: There are some very clever things going on that caused the time travel to occur, and I don't want to spoil them! Combining magical realism with friend drama is brilliant; can you imagine missing six months of your seventh grade school year? On top of these innovations, the story is really well grounded, with Elise having to deal with small, realistic family situations and BOTH of her parents! I really wish there would be more details about family life in middle grade books. There are some spells involved, which I would absolutely have adored when I was 12, and a satisfying ending. Marks has done several good realistic fiction books (From the Desk of Zoe Washington, A Soft Place to Land), so it's interesting to see her turn her hand to a fantasy book.
Weaknesses: This switches from Elise's point of view to Cora's in the middle, which I didn't enjoy. However, this increases the text complexity, as I recently learned from taking a Science of Reading course, so maybe this is a good thing.
What I really think: I thought this would be something along the lines of Deriso's Do-Over (2006), maybe because of the title, but it ended up being a very different kind of time slip book that I enjoyed very much.
December 29, 2024
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A Split Second by Janae Marks tells how a simple wish changes everything.
Will Elise get her time back?
Elise Jackson
Elise Jackson went to bed in October, celebrating her birthday, and woke up the next day on April 8. She has no idea what happened or why her two best friends aren't talking to her anymore. Elise has an easier time making friends and doing things more socially than I would have been able to do at her age, even if we both share the love of reading books.
I didn't like Elise at first, but as the story progresses, I find her tolerable.
Cora Burroughs
Cora was Elise Jackson's best friend before the pandemic happened, and then after it happened, they just stopped. She is artsy and would rather be into her arts and crafts than talking with people. Cora only had Elise as a friend and struggled to make some new ones.
I liked Cora and thought she was a good character. I liked her growth the best.
Five Stars
My rating for A Split Second by Janae Marks is five stars, which I recommend. Ms. Marks made me think back to middle school and about my own insecurities and how, if I were put into one of the girls' shoes, would I do the same thing? Honestly, I don't know. Finding the right friends for yourself is always a tough battle.
Ms. Marks does an excellent job with this story.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Split Second by Janae Marks.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
A Split Second by Janae Marks tells how a simple wish changes everything.
Will Elise get her time back?
Elise Jackson
Elise Jackson went to bed in October, celebrating her birthday, and woke up the next day on April 8. She has no idea what happened or why her two best friends aren't talking to her anymore. Elise has an easier time making friends and doing things more socially than I would have been able to do at her age, even if we both share the love of reading books.
I didn't like Elise at first, but as the story progresses, I find her tolerable.
Cora Burroughs
Cora was Elise Jackson's best friend before the pandemic happened, and then after it happened, they just stopped. She is artsy and would rather be into her arts and crafts than talking with people. Cora only had Elise as a friend and struggled to make some new ones.
I liked Cora and thought she was a good character. I liked her growth the best.
Five Stars
My rating for A Split Second by Janae Marks is five stars, which I recommend. Ms. Marks made me think back to middle school and about my own insecurities and how, if I were put into one of the girls' shoes, would I do the same thing? Honestly, I don't know. Finding the right friends for yourself is always a tough battle.
Ms. Marks does an excellent job with this story.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Split Second by Janae Marks.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
July 20, 2024
This is a super cute Middle grade book that tweens will love!
I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and HarperCollins so I can leave my voluntary and honest review.
I was thrilled to get approved to read this title as the description drew me in and so wanted to vet it for our library suggestion. The book didn’t disappoint.
It was written for the middle school reading level however it was fun enough that even as an adult, I enjoyed it.
It’s a dual 1st person POV between Elise and Cora which is great to see the situation through different viewpoints.
I think tweens will really like the magic elements but also the breaking down of friendships and how to manage them as well as choose what is best for an individual. I also like how it mentions the pandemic and the complicated feelings that young kids deal with because of it. I think many will be able to identify with it.
Lastly, I liked that there was POC Representation as well. The book had nothing to do with that it just happened to be that they were brown skinned. I like books where people can see themselves visually in a character without culture or skin color being a topic to be dealt with all the time.
The book comes out on October 1, 2024. Perfect for the spooky fall season to read this fun magical story.
My rating system for Middle Grade and children’s books
⭐️ Significant problems and would never recommend to the audience.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea but may have some appeal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ an ok book which I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend but there was nothing significantly wrong with it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Would recommend highly, especially to school programs.
I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and HarperCollins so I can leave my voluntary and honest review.
I was thrilled to get approved to read this title as the description drew me in and so wanted to vet it for our library suggestion. The book didn’t disappoint.
It was written for the middle school reading level however it was fun enough that even as an adult, I enjoyed it.
It’s a dual 1st person POV between Elise and Cora which is great to see the situation through different viewpoints.
I think tweens will really like the magic elements but also the breaking down of friendships and how to manage them as well as choose what is best for an individual. I also like how it mentions the pandemic and the complicated feelings that young kids deal with because of it. I think many will be able to identify with it.
Lastly, I liked that there was POC Representation as well. The book had nothing to do with that it just happened to be that they were brown skinned. I like books where people can see themselves visually in a character without culture or skin color being a topic to be dealt with all the time.
The book comes out on October 1, 2024. Perfect for the spooky fall season to read this fun magical story.
My rating system for Middle Grade and children’s books
⭐️ Significant problems and would never recommend to the audience.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea but may have some appeal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ an ok book which I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend but there was nothing significantly wrong with it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Would recommend highly, especially to school programs.
November 20, 2024
Elise is having a great time at the fall festival with her besties, Melinda and Ivy. An old friend, Cora, tries to get her attention, but she is drawn away and the three girls head off to Elise's for her briday sleep-over for her 12th birthday. While there, a mysterious locket with a clock inside is delivered to Elise and when she wakes up, 6 months have passed, Melinda and Ivy are made at Elise and refuse to talk to her, and Elise and Cora are in the photography club together. The two girls must work together to solve the mystery of their shared time jump and what friendships mean. Though in the beginning, the relationships between all four girls is a bit haphazard and fractured, but as the story progresses and Elise and Cora undergo their character arcs, the relationships begin to make more sense and come together strongly at the end. The magical realism is an interesting platform to explore Covid isolation, friendships, and coming of age.
July 3, 2024
What would you do if you woke up 6 months in the future with no memory of how or why? Elise is trying to solve not only the how and why she woke up 6 months after her twelfth birthday but also why her two best friends, Melinda and Ivy, are no longer speaking to her, when she joined photography club, and who left a locket at her front door. With the help of Cora, her best friend from grade school, she start investigating.
Woven within the mystery of Elise's time travel are the questions every middle schooler asks themselves: who am I, who is my community, and who can I trust. With sections that switch from Elise to Cora, you get the full picture of what is going on in each girl's mind and how something that should be easy (friendship) can come with so many land mines. And with a wonderfully heartwarming twist at the end, middle grade readers will love A Split Second.
Woven within the mystery of Elise's time travel are the questions every middle schooler asks themselves: who am I, who is my community, and who can I trust. With sections that switch from Elise to Cora, you get the full picture of what is going on in each girl's mind and how something that should be easy (friendship) can come with so many land mines. And with a wonderfully heartwarming twist at the end, middle grade readers will love A Split Second.
August 31, 2024
I'm a Marks fan so I was excited to listen to the Netgalley digital audio copy about Elise, a girl who wakes up the day after her birthday and realizes that she's just time jumped but no one else seems to notice but it's made quite clear that something is up because her friends are no longer her friends and she's got to uncover the mystery about why she's the only one that seems to have time jumped.
A friend jumps into the mix to try to identify what's up as well. It involves a few trips to a local store, plenty of investigation from phones to photography class clues, questions to her family, and more, plus there's some "history" by including bits about the pandemic.
The story is approachable, feels classic for the intended audience, and isn't overwritten. Enjoyable!
A friend jumps into the mix to try to identify what's up as well. It involves a few trips to a local store, plenty of investigation from phones to photography class clues, questions to her family, and more, plus there's some "history" by including bits about the pandemic.
The story is approachable, feels classic for the intended audience, and isn't overwritten. Enjoyable!
September 19, 2024
I love books with time travel, time loops, time jumps, etc, and this one was no exception! Middle grade is all about the friend drama and this was a fresh new take on that. It highlights not only how much can happen in 6 months but also how out of control middle schoolers can feel about their own lives. Elise goes to sleep in October and wakes up in April with absolutely no memory of what happened in between. She goes to school and finds out her best friends hate her and she joined the photography club. As she tries to unravel what could have happened in the months she missed, she learns a lot about herself, old friends, new friends, and true friends. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
September 26, 2024
Who hasn’t wished that they could jump back in time and undo an event. We all make mistakes that we would love to take back. But what if we didn’t remember making the mistake? Was it really our mistake that was made if it wasn’t a part of our memory? This last question is what Elise finds herself asking when one day she wakes up and it is somehow 6 month later. She and a refound friend try to figure out why her ex-besties ditched her and how on earth she experienced a time jump. I love the magical time travel element. While it is such a major part of the story, there is just as much or more of a theme of friendship and self-reflection. I love both viewpoints that you get from Elise and Cora. The story flows really well and kept me reading. Another great middle grade tale by Janae Marks!
December 6, 2024
In A SPLIT SECOND by Janae Marks, Elise wakes up after a birthday sleepover with her two best friends to find it is six months later—and that her besties are no longer speaking to her. As she tries to unravel what has happened and turn back the lost time, she reconnects with an old friend who helps her and who may hold the key to the mystery of why the time jump happened. In the process, Elise learns about herself and about true friendship. Told from the dual points of view of Elise and her friend Cora, the mix of magic and mystery tied to middle school friendship issues is engaging and enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing an eARC of the book with me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing an eARC of the book with me.
March 4, 2025
👧🏻reviews: I was once obsessed with time travel stories and wished this one came at that time when I had to find a fascinating fantasy book for my ELA class. Do I like this one? Absolutely, because it was packed with fantasy, mystery and a little bit of sci-fi-ish content. Poor Elise being in two different time zones and confused that her friends shunned her gave this story a different dimension. I like how the author managed to capture the readers attention by having several plots in a short and easy read book. This is also perfect for the 5th and 6th graders to read.
October 28, 2024
A Split Second is an extremely fun and very entertaining story. A little bit of time travel, a good bit of self discovery, and a unforgettable lesson about the value of true friendship and what it really looks like. This title should easily appeal to its age group and beyond as it is nothing short of a 4 star rating!
Thank you to Net galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Net galley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 6, 2025
A definite touch of magic here. Elise wakes up from her birthday slumber party to discover she has somehow moved six months into the future. Two people she thought were her friends will no longer speak to her and another girl, Cora, is suddenly back in Elise’s life. I love Janae Marks’ take on middle school friendships and how fickle we can be. Yet, she also reveals a beautiful reminder on how we also find forever friends when we least expect them
June 18, 2025
A definite touch of magic here. Elise wakes up from her birthday slumber party to discover she has somehow moved six months into the future. Two people she thought were her friends will no longer speak to her, and another girl, Cora, is suddenly back in Elise’s life. I love Janae Marks‘ take on middle school friendships and how fickle we can be. Yet, she also reveals a beautiful reminder of how we also find forever friends when we least expect them.
June 2, 2024
This book was wonderful middle grade fun! It was suspenseful/exciting. I loved the representation of friendship and I think children will connect well to that. The magical elements were perfect. I cannot wait to purchase a copy for my classroom library.
Thank you NetGalley, Janae Marks, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!
Thank you NetGalley, Janae Marks, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!
June 26, 2024
EARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Making and keeping friends in middle school can be tough to navigate on its own, but in this case, Elise has awakened after a sleepover to discover she’s missing six months’ time and lost her best friends. As she works to discover how this happened, she learns a lot about her own strengths and about how true friendships really work.
Making and keeping friends in middle school can be tough to navigate on its own, but in this case, Elise has awakened after a sleepover to discover she’s missing six months’ time and lost her best friends. As she works to discover how this happened, she learns a lot about her own strengths and about how true friendships really work.
October 2, 2024
After reading all books by her I can say it proudly, I love this author so so freaking much.
The only bad thing is that I dont have anything else to read by her anymore... good thing though... i love rereading...
Also, my next crafty goal and future obsession is making shelf worth of book nooks, Im just the same as Cora when it comes to this
The only bad thing is that I dont have anything else to read by her anymore... good thing though... i love rereading...
Also, my next crafty goal and future obsession is making shelf worth of book nooks, Im just the same as Cora when it comes to this
April 2, 2025
A Split Second by Janae Marks is a magical mystery novel for girls between the ages of eight and twelve.
Elise goes to sleep in late October and wakes up six months later. Elise fell asleep next to her friends Melinda and Ivy watching a movie and celebrating her birthday. When she wakes up six months later, she remembers her mom handed her a forest-green box with the name of a local shop on top. Inside the box from Daphne’s Delights, she found an oval-shaped necklace with a tiny analog clock. She remembers having the necklace in her hand, but now she is wearing the necklace. Melinda and Ivy are no longer her friends, but Cora is her best friends. What has happened? The rest of the novel is an enchanting and engaging novel, a journey of discovery about magic and friendship.
A charming element to the book is that unless the readers in your world see the cover of the book they will not know the book is about African American families. Of course, this appeals to me because in the same way boys never read books with girls as the main characters, white children do not read books with African American children as the main characters.
C.S.
Ret. ELA Teacher
Elise goes to sleep in late October and wakes up six months later. Elise fell asleep next to her friends Melinda and Ivy watching a movie and celebrating her birthday. When she wakes up six months later, she remembers her mom handed her a forest-green box with the name of a local shop on top. Inside the box from Daphne’s Delights, she found an oval-shaped necklace with a tiny analog clock. She remembers having the necklace in her hand, but now she is wearing the necklace. Melinda and Ivy are no longer her friends, but Cora is her best friends. What has happened? The rest of the novel is an enchanting and engaging novel, a journey of discovery about magic and friendship.
A charming element to the book is that unless the readers in your world see the cover of the book they will not know the book is about African American families. Of course, this appeals to me because in the same way boys never read books with girls as the main characters, white children do not read books with African American children as the main characters.
C.S.
Ret. ELA Teacher
August 6, 2024
Thank you Harper Audio, Katherine Tegen Books, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this book. This is a great mystery story about friendship, courage, and trust that my students would definitely enjoy. Looking forward to sharing it with them.
January 21, 2025
I think this is a very timely book in the way it addresses anxiety and loneliness in adolescents with a magical plot line that helps relieve some of that tension. This is one I’d recommend to upper elementary and sixth graders.
March 29, 2025
A nice story that will appeal to young readers. I found the second character less interesting, and the ending was abrupt and a bit disappointing. The concept was fun, but the magical elements felt contrived — like they were there simply as a too-easy way to manipulate the story.
July 30, 2024
This was a fun time jump story. What happens when you suddenly find yourself six moths in the future, your friends aren't speaking to you, and you don't know what happened?
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