Book Nerds Across America

The stakes have risen even higher in this third book in the Hourglass series. The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -­have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time trav­elers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order. With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does. But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn't an object. It's a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last? (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
To catch you up to speed, here's my review of Hourglass and here's my review of Timepiece. Okay, now that we're all on the same page, let's wrap up this trilogy!

Infinityglass is told through the eyes of Dune and Hallie. It isn't spoilery to say this, because it's on the book jacket summary and basically right at the beginning of the book -- Hallie is the Infinityglass. What's interesting is how you we come to see how she and her family and friends weave into the lives of the characters we know from the first two books. Infinityglass takes place in New Orleans, and it was neat to experience the city through Hallie, who has lived there all her life, and through Dune, who has just moved.

Honestly, though, Timepiece is still my favorite book in the trilogy. This story just seemed like a love story between Hallie and Dune. That's all good and fine, and I did enjoy seeing the relationship progress, but because of that the first half of the book felt detached from basically the rest of the trilogy. Dune was not a major character in the first two (though he was there) and Hallie wasn't there. The two of them talk a little bit about the Infinityglass in the first part of this book-- but only a little. Mostly we just see them work through their sexual tension and then finally admit that they like each other. 

The second half was interesting, because as I said earlier, it was neat to see all the connections come together. And the end was satisfying enough. I'm glad everyone at the Hourglass will have their happily ever after.

A threat from the past could destroy the future. And the clock is ticking... Kaleb Ballard's relentless flirting is interrupted when Jack Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, timeslips in and attacks before disappearing just as quickly. But Kaleb has never before been able to see time travelers, unlike many of his friends associated with the mysterious Hourglass organization. Are Kaleb's powers expanding, or is something very wrong? Then the Hourglass is issued an ultimatum. Either they find Jack and the research he's stolen on the time gene, or time will be altered with devastating results. Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their unusual powers to find Jack. But where do they even start? And when? And even if they succeed, it may not be enough... The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts. (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review
It's happened again! I like the second book better than the first! Don't get me know -- I enjoyed Hourglass. The BookNerds read it last year for one of monthly reads and Mary and I even dedicated an episode of Haymitch Happy Hour to it. On Haymitch Happy Hour, Mary and I spent a bit of time gushing over our favorite character...Kaleb. So how excited was I to find that Kaleb would be narrating Timepiece? Turns out, the excitement was warranted. Kaleb's narration was one of my favorite parts about this book. Kaleb has the ability to sense other people's emotion, so it was really neat to see his interactions with everyone though his eyes as he sensed their emotions and then listened to their words. It made me want to have that ability! Also, it was interesting to me to see Michael through his eyes. I definitely loved the development of Lily in the center of the action in this story. There were a few times when all the technicalities of the time travel -- the how, the who can do what, who did do what before and why -- confused me or I failed to remember the how or why. But the story was so entertaining that I just shrugged it off and kept reading, and I don't feel like my enjoyment of it was hindered in any way. And I really liked how it ended! All the subordinate issues were brought to happy endings and we were left with a delicious tease for Infinityglass, the last book of the trilogy. 

Flo's Review: Michael made me miss my bus stop. He did. I was engrossed in a very action-heavy scene, mentally screaming, "Michael!! Noo!!!" when I thought to glance up and saw the bus driving away from the spot where I was supposed to get off. Needless to say, I did enjoy this book. Emerson is a strong, female character in all aspects of the word: physically, because she is a little thing (petite like me!) but she can flip a grown man. Strong emotionally because she makes the choice to fully be alive, rather than just present in life, but fully doped on medicines. I do have to say that there are a few scenarios in the book that I would have liked more explanation for. A lot of things were hinted at and suggested, then just simply accepted by Emerson. I would have liked McEntire to be more plain in some of her explanations. Also, I think Riverbend Park would have made an amazing epilogue. (I am trying to be non-spoilery, but if you've read the book, you should know what I mean.) I have a feeling the second book will start off with maximum velocity now that a lot of the explanation is out of the way.

Teri's Review
Uggg..I have the most embarrassing confession..don't laugh at me..but I do not understand time travel AT ALL .Seriously! You know that part in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure where they travel into time to get the key to get them out of jail?Yea...I was as confused as Ted was in the whole move. And don't EVEN get me started on the Back to the Future movies! So when I picked up Hourglass and read the cover, I felt I was doomed. The book does deal with time travel and there were parts of the book I still went Huh? in, you know wormholes, portals, stopping time, but it wasn't so bad that I didn't enjoy the book. And luckily for the most part I was able to understand it, as long as I read it and didn't dwell on what they were doing. I liked all the characters in this book, which is kind of unheard of from me..Micheal, Kaleb and Emerson, and even the lesser characters such as Emerson's family and her best friend Lily. The romance between Micheal and Emerson was electrifying ( hee hee, you will understand if you read the book) with some occasional interference from Kaleb and Ava. Toward the end of the book, there are some WOW moments, but I'm not going to spoil them for you. Read it for yourself. Then come back, and try to explain to me those parts that confused me, you know..the time travel parts..I'm really wanting to take on Dr. Who!

A new month has started and you know what that means? It is time to announce our September Reads!

For the September read along is:  Hourglass by Myra McEntire


One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut. (This book description is from GoodReads)


The Mystery Corner read is: The Snowman by Jo Nesbo and Don Bartlett

The night the first snow falls a young boy wakes to find his mother gone. He walks through the silent house, but finds only wet footprints on the stairs. In the garden looms a solitary figure: a snowman bathed in cold moonlight, its black eyes glaring up at the bedroom windows. Round its neck is his mother's pink scarf. Inspector Harry Hole is convinced there is a link between the disappearance and a menacing letter he received some months earlier. As Harry and his team delve into unsolved case files, they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years. When a second woman disappears Harry's suspicions are confirmed: he is a pawn in a deadly game. For the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his turf, a killer who will drive him to the brink of insanity. A brilliant thriller with a pace that never lets up, The Snowman confirms Jo Nesbø's position as an international star of crime fiction.  (This book description is from GoodReads)

Movie/Book Night read is: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.



In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't. (This book description comes from GoodReads)

As always we hope that everyone joins in on the reading fun!