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| TITLE: All Our Yesterdays (Cassandra Chronicles #1) AUTHOR: Cristin Terrill PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Childrens PUB DATE: Aug 1 2013 |
"A brilliantly brain-warping thriller and a love story that leaps back and forth in time - All Our Yesterdays is an amazing first novel, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.
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."
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."
Rating:
“The truth is, the world is a f*cked up place sometimes.”
This book is pretty much as effed up [in a good way] as well. Wow! I am still overwhelmed. Let me get my bearings here... *breathes in deeply*
All Our Yesterday is a time-travel story told in the eyes of Em and Marina. Em is from the future. She travels back in time, with Finn, to save the world from the catastrophic environment it has ended up at. Marina is a girl from the present time that Em and Finn have traveled back to. This is probably one of the trickiest kinds of alternating points-of-view I have read. But damn, was it awesome!
I have to admit that the first 20% of the book was confusing. Information overload! There were so many things I had to sink my brain into: who Em and Finn were, who is this doctor and why is he torturing Em, what secret does Em hold that makes him so intent on getting it, what does Marina and James have to do with what was going on in the future, what/who the heck is Cassandra? I am telling you, it was a lot to take in. I was constantly asking myself, “What the hell is going on?” It was that crazy, and I always like books that get me into deep thinking. So as puzzling as it was, I could not stop myself from reading through.
It wasn’t that hard to guess what roles these characters were partaking. As soon as I figured out who Abbott was, it sailed smoothly throughout then. Em and Marina’s stories were definitely something I did not expect to be thrown into. I liked Em, but I didn’t like Marina [there’s a lot to say about my statement here, but I have to leave it at that or I’ll end up spoiling this fantastic twist]. James was a bewildering character. He was a villain and a hero rolled up in one person, and although the ending of this book got me blurting out, “Good riddance.” I can’t find it in my heart to loathe him entirely.
For the record, I haven’t gotten along with the time-travel books I’ve read previously. I’m not saying they were bad, but for some reason I’ve always felt disconnected to the story – until now. All Our Yesterdays proves a lot on my idea that the other time-travel books I’ve read are missing something definite [or at least something that I’m looking for] – strong substance and emotional attachment.
The events of All Our Yesterdays may have created a crazy and confusing timeline, but it was an incredibly satisfying story overall. I was sobbing like an idiot during the climax and although the ending was heart-wrenching, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
*Thank you, NetGalley and Bloomsbury Childrens for the copy of All Our Yesterdays.
