""You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.
Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was."
I think that the synopsis is perfect and have nothing to add to it, which is why I've decided to use it in my review. I loved this book! The writing is wonderful; full of tension, some mystery, angst, humor, and pain. I wasn't even five chapters into the story before I could tell it would be a book that I'd love; it didn't have to grow on me or require me to be forgiving to enjoy it. I plan on reading whatever [a:Cristin Terrill|5767141|Cristin Terrill|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1373743906p2/5767141.jpg] puts out next, because she knows how to write a spectacular character driven story!!
It didn't take long to realize who the Doctor was that Em is so afraid of, but it did take me a minute to realize who Em was, lol. It isn't a secret that Em is going back in time to stop the creation of that time machine (it's the only one in the world as far as we know), and what I thought were two characters are actually just one. This was so horrible to experience with Em because really, what would you do to protect a younger version of yourself from such horrible events?! I teared up a few times while reading this late into the night, and though the ending was slightly too perfect for my tastes, I still wish it had been longer just so that I didn't have to let go.
Finn is on my list as one of my favorite males, and he kind of reminded me of Roar, though less platonic, lol. Marina was wonderfully realistic, and it was interesting to see how she and Em compared to each other. James...James is harder for me. On one hand I really liked his shy nerdiness, and on the other I found his evolution to be slightly hard to believe. Not that I didn't believe almost all of what he became, but the part where he keeps insisting that Em 'betrayed' him, referred to the paper she had as 'documents' that I didn't understand why he would need considering he completed his research, and what he was doing during the climax of the story...was a little much I guess. Not bad, just a little much.
If you're like me and a well written character driven story is what makes you happiest, then I can't recommend this book highly enough for you! If you like a wonderfully tense and layered plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, then I can't recommend this book highly enough for you! If you just like good stories, then--well you get the idea.
Read this.
