BookTalk
When Jackson Meyer hit his late teens he discovered he had the ability to travel through time…With a few restrictions:
- When he travels his body stays in the present time.
- When Jackson’s shadow body spends time in the past…no one will remember him, and any change he makes won’t stick when he returns to the present.
- A trip that lasts hours in the past means only seconds of a catatonic state in present time.
Until now Jackson has been playing with time travel. He performs silly experiments days in the past with his genius BFF, Adam. It’s really all fun and games, not much of a useful ability, until the day the love of his life is shot.
Now Jackson is forced to expand his time-travel abilities, and fast. Because when he lost Holly something changed. The world of time-travelers is bigger than he thought, and those closest to him are not what they seem. In addition to being part of a global conspiracy Jackson is also stuck in the past. His senior year of high school to be specific. Holly is still very much alive, and while he’d love to change the future he can’t keep himself from dabbling in the past…
Review
I liked this book the same way I liked I Am Number Four. Once the action started I was hooked on seeing “what happens next”. Which means I spent the first half the book wading through some pretty poor writing before the mystery/action scenes distracted me from the bad dialogue.
My biggest issue was that Jackson didn’t sound like a teenage boy. I think it’s why he’s so hard to connect with. There’s no reality in his thoughts or actions. They really do sound like a woman attempting to talk/think like a young man. And it’s really not working. And when the main protagonist of the story doesn’t ring true…it’s hard to accept the world building in the rest of the plot.
The main female lead, Holly, is better conceived. Her dialogue seems realistic, as do her choices during the plot. But Holly obviously goes through a major change in the few years between High School Holly and College Holly because they’re practically two different people. And while I like to think that as I age I mature and change as well. I’ve never switched from spunky and outgoing to reserved in a matter of two years. Not without a major life changing event. Though, Cross could be building up to that in her future installments.
For me, the only though provoking statement in, almost, the whole book is when Adam questions why Jackson thinks he’s even in love with Holly. When Adam says it I thought “Finally, someone is going to mention the elephant in this room book.” This statement alone pauses our hero and causes him to redefine his relationship with her…look below the surface. I like that he took this criticism to heart. It was one of the best things Jackson did in the whole book. Because before he was so unconnected to his feelings. Very wooden in his actions. The character was claiming to feel things I didn’t really feel as a reader. Adam’s protective query redeemed, slightly, Cross’s writing. It made me think she might actually have a plan for this whole shebang.
Ultimately, what bothers me most is I don’t know why this is even a book. Most reviews say that this book would be better as a movie. Why not just write the movie? Is it the desire for sales across both genres? Was the book just a foot in the door for a movie deal? This is just another case of a decent idea gone unfulfilled. Had Cross spent more time in the writing phase of her book we’d end up with better characters and a more substantial plot this could be an interesting tale. As it stands it just left me with a cliffhanger that will force me to read the next book…or just watch the movie…
Rating: 2/5 Wait for the silver screen. The plot will be enhanced with visuals and access to popcorn…
*Book received for review from The Midnight Garden Book Tours via St. Martin’s Griffin ARC, Thanks!*
Sara O
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