Review Detail

(I originally read & reviewed this back in June 2011)

I picked up this book for a couple of reasons, 1) It was highly recommended and 2) The cover is pretty stinkin' cool! It has a nice color scheme but if you look closely, you see that the girl looks as if she's drawn/pulled (almost magnetically) to the wall/door she's in front of. *hint* *hint*

I normally don't get into the SciFi scene mainly because all that stuff is over my head and I wasn't sure I was going to like this story too much. I.was.wrong. My first impression was that it felt like a blend of Time Traveler's Wife, X-Men and The Sixth Sense (all good stuff) but the word that keeps coming to mind is "electric". This book was ELECTRIC!

The story centers around Emerson or "Em" and her special abilities. You can't help but feel for her and all she's been through up to this point. Her parents were killed in a horrific car accident four years prior, which she didn't handle well and you mix that with the fact that she has a tendency to see people who aren't exactly "alive" and it's just the right mix of "crazy". Once you get to know more of her story it's not hard to understand why she uses sarcasm as her defense mechanism. She's moved back to live with her brother Thomas and his wife, Dru to finish out her senior year and the only other person who loves and has stood by Em is her best friend Lilly. No one knows Em like they do, that is, until Michael shows up on the scene.

Michael (did I mention he's gorgeous?) works for The Hourglass, an organization set up to help Emerson and other people with abilities like hers. Thomas has contacted Michael in the hopes that he'll be able to help Emerson somehow, get back to normal again. Michael is not much older than Em and seems to understand her. He even sees the things that she does...the same things. To top it off, whenever they get close to each other there's this strange electricity that happens, like lights bursting, electricity. It's pretty cool, or hot, you know, however electricity is supposed to feel.

Michael also explains to Em that the world of time doesn't really work like she thinks it does and that time travel is possible. He tells her that her ability is actually a gift, one she can use to help other people. This knowledge opens up a whole new world for her, one that includes new people, like Kaleb (who is all kinds of yummy) and tough choices to make. One of those choices is one that might alter her future, benefiting just her or one that would benefit a greater group of people.

This book is full of good characters who would make nice "real" people too. Thomas, Dru and Lilly all love Emerson for who she is and have stuck by her even through her worst times.

Lilly is the epitome of a BFF as far as I'm concerned and when you read the cafeteria scene you'll understand why. She's got spunk too which is fun to read.

Kaleb, who happens to be Michael's best friend comes across as a bad boy bent on making those around him suffer as much as he has but you quickly see that it's his way of masking the hurt and pain of all he's been through. His own ability to take another's pain on as his own is enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. He's also pretty yummy which never hurts.

My only disappointment was when my "Trilodar" went off (my own supernatural ability to tell whether or not a book is part of a trilogy and/or series by page 5) and I realized I wasn't going to have my happy ending by the time I finished reading and would have to wait for the next installment. I guess I need to watch a Disney movie like Emerson does to get that happy ending. ;)

*This books deals with time travel, paranormal - empaths, clairvoyance, & seeing people who aren't exactly "alive" so if you have any objection to those, don't read the book. If you want to read an interesting, imaginative, heart racing story about friendship, family, love and an electrifying romance then you will LOVE this book! Enjoy!