Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet.
Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture - being kept apart, overhearing each other's anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future.
There have been soooo many time travel and alternate reality books released recently and I've really enjoyed some of them.
All Our Yesterdays blows them all out of the water... and onto another planet... in another galaxy.
Yeah, it was pretty awesome. That's an understatement.
One of the things that I loved in this book was how subtly Terrill trickled in clues as to what was going on. This book is confusing in the beginning but as the pieces start to become revealed the bigger picture is slowly built up until everything is so clear and you realise how obvious it was from the start. Everything just fit together so well and the execution of this book was absolutely flawless.
Finn and Em were just amazing characters, and I loved watching their relationship unveil. We already know they're together in the beginning but going back and seeing how they fell for each other was just a bonus, this is a relationship that actually had development! Yes, relationship development in a YA book! Big shocker! The book is more than just the romance though - in fact the romance takes a back seat to the actual sci-fi/action/thriller aspects on a book and that is something that I welcomed with open arms.
The thriller part of the book was completely gripping. From page one the mystery is built up - we know that someone is going to get killed, but who and how and why isn't revealed until further into the book. The storytelling alternates between Em and Marina and usually this would annoy me, but it actually added to this book - you can see how much more mature Em is than Marina and it's so awesome alternating between these two because it helps to build the story whilst also keeping the pace high.
I'm going to stop there, I don't need to do a final paragraph comparing the good and the bad because I can find very little fault in this book. I'm shocked that this is Terrill's debut really, because this book was so unbelievably well written, paced and executed. Definitely one of the best books of 2013, and possibly one of the best sci-fi YA books ever.
The thriller part of the book was completely gripping. From page one the mystery is built up - we know that someone is going to get killed, but who and how and why isn't revealed until further into the book. The storytelling alternates between Em and Marina and usually this would annoy me, but it actually added to this book - you can see how much more mature Em is than Marina and it's so awesome alternating between these two because it helps to build the story whilst also keeping the pace high.
I'm going to stop there, I don't need to do a final paragraph comparing the good and the bad because I can find very little fault in this book. I'm shocked that this is Terrill's debut really, because this book was so unbelievably well written, paced and executed. Definitely one of the best books of 2013, and possibly one of the best sci-fi YA books ever.
Book released 1st August 2013 by Bloomsbury Children's
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
So glad you enjoyed it! I got it on NetGalley and I plan to start it one of these days. I am super curious about it! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I loved this book, except for the confusing beginning and ending. The characters had so much development, you indeed don't see that much these days:)
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