Polarity in Motion Book Review

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Author: Brenda Vicars

Polarity in Motion is an empowering, yet saddening realization of society from the eyes of a 15-year-old girl, Polarity. Vicars captures the flaws and obliviousness of today’s society, from racism to bullying, in a unique, self-reflecting way. “We, the privileged majority, talk about equality until it comes to our family having to give up something”

Polarity: the state of having two opposite or contradictory tendencies, opinions, or aspects.

I don’t think I have ever fell in love with every single character in a book before, until now. The character development in this book is brilliant. Vicars details everything you need to know and more to root for Polarity along the way. Most stories that involve young-adults as the main character, you don’t really care about their parents. But, I absolutely LOVED Polarity’s parents, especially towards that end with mission Pool League – they are just bad ass.

It took me a while to get through this, but not because it was hard to read. I took my time reading every last word of this book, to make sure I didn’t miss one single detail. In between reading sessions, I found myself constantly going over all the details in my head trying to find out who posted the picture and where it came from. I was completely sucked into Polarity’s world, feeling a need to do everything I could to help her out.

The only bad experience with this book, was as I was turning the last page, with the heavy realization that is was really over. I wanted the story to last as long as possible, mostly because I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery behind it all, but also because I wholeheartedly enjoyed Polarity’s character. Although, I am beyond happy with the ending, I am extremely sad it is over.

“One little molly darted past where the barrier had been and into the old beta’s side. I gasped. The Molly immediately swam back into the home territory and glided back and forth along the line where the barrier had been. For an instant, all movement in the aquarium stopped. The single molly crossed the line again. Soon another and another molly crossed over, and within seconds, the whole aquarium was full of mollies.”

OVERVIEW

Fifteen-year-old Polarity Weeks just wants to live a normal life, but with a mother diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, that’s rarely easy. Her life gets exponentially more disastrous when her sixth-period history classmates start ogling a nude picture of her on the Internet. Polarity would never have struck such a shameless pose, but the photo is definitely of her, and she’s at a complete loss to explain its existence.

Child Protective Services yanks her from her home, suspecting her parents. The kids at school mock her, assuming she took it herself. And Ethan, the boy she was really starting to like, backpedals and joins the taunting chorus. Surrounded by disbelief and derision on all sides, Polarity desperately seeks the truth among her friends. Only then does she learn that everyone has dark secrets, and no one’s life is anywhere near normal.