Thursday, July 11, 2013

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

"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. Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. 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. All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice. (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
I swear, the best books I got at BEA were the ones I picked up on a whim. First there was How to Love. And then there's All Our Yesterdays. There were, I think, only 2 copies left of this book on the Disney table when I walked by. I had seen other people grabbing it, so I grabbed it, too. Later, when I was talking with my friend Jenn, Cristin Terrell (the author) came by and chatted with us for a few minutes. She was super nice! So with that, and with Jenn raving about the book, I was all ready to read it.

Confession: I used to be obsessed with time travel stories. Back to the Future and me, when I was a kid?? "We was like peas and carrots!" I started All Our Yesterdays without really knowing what it was about until I got a little bit into it. Then I remembered that my BEA buddy Melissa was telling me about it while we waited at the post office that Saturday morning to ship our books home. She didn't talk about it by name, I don't think, so I didn't make the connection until I started reading. Okay, but enough random stories.

THIS BOOK WAS FANTASTIC! I was at the edge of my seat for pretty much the whole thing! The struggle that Em is going through -- I could feel it. Really feel it! So intense! At times you wanted to just roll your eyes at Marina because she's so fiercely devoted to James, but you have to feel sorry for her too because of her parents and her "friends." 

Finn, I love you.

I don't want to talk too much about this for fear of spoiling it, but this is one that really makes you think. Even when I was younger and obsessed with time travel stories, I always loved thinking about the different paradigms, dynamics, and loopholes that it would create and would need to work around. The doctor and the director gave me chills. Em made me feel pain and longing, a sense of responsibility versus the pull of the heart. Finn made me feel love. This book brought it from the very first page to the very last. Never a lag, never a dull moment. It comes out in September, but just go ahead and pre-order it now. You can thank me later.

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