Book: Timebound by Rysa Walker
Series: The Chronos Files #1
Released: January 1, 2014
Publisher: Skyscape
Pages: 374 pages (Kindle)
Rating: 3.75 of 5
From Goodreads:
When Kate
Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and
speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is
delusional. But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the
past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that
medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of
existence.
Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate’s genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him. Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows.
Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?
Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and Kate’s genetic ability to time-travel makes her the only one who can stop him. Risking everything, she travels to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the killing and the chain of events that follows.
Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost, however—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does she have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?
Time travel? Historical setting? Future setting? AND a current setting? Sounds like a book right up my alley. I had high hopes when I downloaded this one as part of the Kindle Prime feature, and it definitely paid off. I really enjoyed reading this book.
Kate is an average teenager. Her parents are divorced, and she splits time between the two of them. All of this sudden her estranged grandmother (Katherine) shows up asking to have lunch with Kate and her mother. While at lunch, Kate notices a pendant her grandmother has out on the table is glowing a bright blue. While her mother is away from the table, Katherine briefly tells Kate she has a "power" that not everyone has.
Katherine, in fact, is from the future. She is a CHRONOS historian (all this gets explained, so I'm not going to do it). She gets stranded in the 1960s when something happens at CHRONOS headquarters causing her pendant to no longer work.
This pendant is what allows a person to travel in time. Kate (and her dad, by default, kinda) move in to Katherine's house, so Kate can be trained in how to use the pendant because....
As it turns out, Kate's grandfather, Saul, is a BAD GUY and caused CHRONOS to fail, is altering timelines. Like a lot. Which is making some of Kate's family disappear (like in Back to the Future!).
 |
| Look! Marty and those two other people |
Upon the realization that basically Kate doesn't exist, she meets Trey. Trey is a super cute, helpful, and all around good guy. He decides to help Kate out with her problem. There's some insta-love happening, but I felt like it kinda worked within the context. Kate desperately needed a friend, and Trey was there and willing to help her out (and not freak out about what Kate was saying).
BUT there's this other guy. Kiernan. Who Kate seemed to know in another... timeline? Past? Future? And apparently they had / have / will have a relationship. Ha.
So,
Kate finally figures out when and where she needs to "jump" in time to
fix whatever Saul is doing. However, TWIST, if she fixes the timeline,
then Trey won't remember her. There's a great discussion between Connor
(Katherine's assistant) and Kate about what is right vs. what's best.
I loved all of the historical references. Using actual facts from history give the story an added depth that I appreciated. Sometimes it did feel a little forced, but I could see how it would be beneficial and a learning experience for younger readers who may not know as much of this history. It gives you glimpses of Woodstock, civil rights, suffrage, and the World's Fair in Chicago.
I can see how the time-travel aspect could get very confusing at times. Due to my love of Doctor Who and other time-travel related things, it was actually fairly easy for me, personally, to follow. But, there are a couple of times I did have to pause and think about when things were taking place. It doesn't flow in a line as the Tenth Doctor says, but more a big ball. (See clip below which is really rather accurate in relation to this book).
I loved all of the historical references. Using actual facts from history give the story an added depth that I appreciated. Sometimes it did feel a little forced, but I could see how it would be beneficial and a learning experience for younger readers who may not know as much of this history. It gives you glimpses of Woodstock, civil rights, suffrage, and the World's Fair in Chicago.
I can see how the time-travel aspect could get very confusing at times. Due to my love of Doctor Who and other time-travel related things, it was actually fairly easy for me, personally, to follow. But, there are a couple of times I did have to pause and think about when things were taking place. It doesn't flow in a line as the Tenth Doctor says, but more a big ball. (See clip below which is really rather accurate in relation to this book).
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who likes sci-fi, mystery and especially time-travel. I'm looking forward to Book 2!
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