Monday, December 30, 2013

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill -- ADVISABLE

Terrill, Cristin All Our Yesterdays, 370 pgs. Disney Hyperion, 2013. $17.99. Language: R (55 swears; 3 'f'); Sexual Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13.

Em and Finn are determined to break out of a secret military base for one purpose: to kill The Doctor before he has a chance to build the time machine that destroys society as we know it. But there's a catch: in order to make their plan work, Em and Finn must journey back four years in the same time machine and hunt down its creator. A creator who was once their best friend and never strayed far without one or the other of them. All without running into their former selves, and risking sending time off-balance. To complicate things further, they must accomplish all this before their enemies from the future catch up to them.

After a somewhat confusing and occasionally slow beginning, All Our Yesterdays turned into a very intriguing story. By the second half it was difficult to put down. And, oh, the ending! Forging on through the bumpy beginning was worth it if only for the tense, fascinating, mind-twisting, beautiful, fearless climax/resolution. Several days later I'm still thinking about it. The romance presented some nice twists as well, and Terrill's unusual approach to love triangles had me rethinking my aversion to them. The love the characters had for each other was nuanced, bittersweet, and different from any I've seen before. While the story would appeal to fans of science fiction and romance, it also has a hefty dose of reflection for those who are questioning the meaning of life, as many teens are wont to do. Finally, good news for those who prefer to read an entire series at once: although All Our Yesterdays has an upcoming sequel, it stands alone quite nicely.

HS -- ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Caryn

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