by JB Yanni ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 10, 2020
Appealing siblings fortify a time-bending tale that offers plenty of drama.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
Time travelers revisit the past to help a friend and fix a mistake in this YA SF sequel.
Teenager Joe Fitzgerald, after finding documents for a prospective time-traveling machine, constructed a prototype with his older brother, Ken, and adult scientist pal, Mr. Brewster. Joe, Ken, and their sisters, Deb and Kim, traveled through time to undo their parents’ plane crash deaths. But now back in the present day (the 1970s), they realize they’ve changed the circumstances but haven’t saved their mother and father. Joe tries again on his own but fails; in fact, his actions have seemingly resulted in their parents’ separating prior to their deaths. Kim is upset and Ken and Deb are understandably irate with Joe. Ken decrees that his brother’s time-traveling days are over. But Deb has a change of heart after hearing Mr. Brewster’s story of losing his unborn child and, later, his wife, Abby. Deb agrees to Joe’s simple time-traveling plan to give the Brewsters more days together, and Ken, away at Harvard, won’t even need to know about it. Deb, Joe, Kim, and Deb’s boyfriend, Ryan, complete their journey with relative success. So Deb has an idea to go back and intercept Joe on his solo trip; it won’t save their parents but hopefully it will prevent their separation. But this time, there’s potential danger. On his last trip, Joe experienced severe nausea and dizziness, a condition that he and Mr. Brewster now believe is from two versions of the teen sharing the same time and space. If the universe is trying to “erase” the second version of Joe, Deb and Ryan will have little time to finish their mission.
Yanni’s second installment is as uncomplicated as the series opener, Time Benders: The Machine (2018). Characters simply accept certain aspects of time travel so that they don’t require much in the way of explanation. For example, the players know that traveling to the past necessitates as few changes and interactions as possible. Nevertheless, the story is still predominantly dialogue, including a debate over Joe’s solo excursion; discussion on his adverse side effects; and plans for future time travel—without Ken’s knowledge, of course. This occasionally leads to repetition, particularly about Joe’s failed trip, which the Fitzgeralds frequently deliberate or recount to others. Regardless, the well-established characters evolve, as Ken graduates from a Connecticut boarding school and attends Harvard; Deb must decide on a college; and Joe grows closer to schoolmate Becky. At the same time, the author keeps the series fresh by shifting character focus in the sequel: Deb and Joe essentially take over as leads, with more of a spotlight on Ryan, while Ken and Kim step into supporting roles. Meanwhile, the author’s incorporation of historical events is smart and typically accurate, such as Joe utilizing the computer language COBOL and designing a “personal computer” before it becomes a household item. But there are several pop-culture anachronisms that the author’s concluding notes clarify as movies, etc., that have been “adapted for use in the story.” Though the narrative manages to find a resolution by the end, a cliffhanger sets the stage for the third volume with the possibility of yet another character taking the limelight.
Appealing siblings fortify a time-bending tale that offers plenty of drama.Pub Date: Feb. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72834-574-1
Page Count: 270
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
More by JB Yanni
BOOK REVIEW
by JB Yanni
by Rebecca Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 26, 2023
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer.
Even a war driven by gods can’t sever communication between journalist lovers Iris and Roman in this steampunk-adjacent romantic adventure.
A prologue sets the scene: Dacre, a god strummed to sleep by magic in Divine Rivals (2023), will not slumber forever. His willingness to wage war to acquire more powerful magic leads him to lay waste to entire towns, and Inkridden Tribune journalist Iris Winnow and war correspondent Roman Kitt can no longer be assured the other is safe—or even still alive. In Iris’ world of cigarette smoke, copper pipes, and driving goggles, colleagues affectionately call each other by their last names, watch each other’s backs, and face danger on the front lines. Though Underling Correspondent Roman is traveling with Dacre’s army, he questions why he was healed of his grievous wounds, while at the same time, he gradually recovers memories of Iris and recalls that she was special to him. Their magically connected typewriters allow for the rediscovery of their love and for communicating potentially deadly information about the invasion of Hawk Shire. The story primarily unfolds from Iris’ and Roman’s viewpoints, and while the prose occasionally uses well-worn phrases, Anglophiles will particularly enjoy the worldbuilding, and returning readers will welcome appearances from Capt. Keegan Torres; her wife, Marisol; and Dacre’s archnemesis—and wife—the goddess Enva. Main characters present white.
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857453
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
BOOK REVIEW
by Rebecca Ross
by Tahereh Mafi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 2011
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre.
A dystopic thriller joins the crowded shelves but doesn't distinguish itself.
Juliette was torn from her home and thrown into an asylum by The Reestablishment, a militaristic regime in control since an environmental catastrophe left society in ruins. Juliette’s journal holds her tortured thoughts in an attempt to repress memories of the horrific act that landed her in a cell. Mysteriously, Juliette’s touch kills. After months of isolation, her captors suddenly give her a cellmate—Adam, a drop-dead gorgeous guy. Adam, it turns out, is immune to her deadly touch. Unfortunately, he’s a soldier under orders from Warner, a power-hungry 19-year-old. But Adam belongs to a resistance movement; he helps Juliette escape to their stronghold, where she finds that she’s not the only one with superhuman abilities. The ending falls flat as the plot devolves into comic-book territory. Fast-paced action scenes convey imminent danger vividly, but there’s little sense of a broader world here. Overreliance on metaphor to express Juliette’s jaw-dropping surprise wears thin: “My mouth is sitting on my kneecaps. My eyebrows are dangling from the ceiling.” For all of her independence and superpowers, Juliette never moves beyond her role as a pawn in someone else’s schemes.
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre. (Science fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-208548-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More by Tahereh Mafi
BOOK REVIEW
by Tahereh Mafi
BOOK REVIEW
by Tahereh Mafi
BOOK REVIEW
by Tahereh Mafi
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.