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Tempest A Novel The Tempest Trilogy Julie Cross Books

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Tempest A Novel The Tempest Trilogy Julie Cross Books

This new YA time travel novel has a bit of buzz (I see it on many of the book blogs I troll looking for candidates to review The Darkening Dream), but I read it -- and quickly -- because of the superficial similarities to my second novel, Untimed. Both are YA time travel, both have a mail protagonist (although he's a 19 year old in this book, and 15 in mine).

But that's about where the similarity ends. Although don't get me wrong, Tempest is a great book. It's one of the best YA's I've read in the last year or so, on par with Before I Fall. The beginning is slightly awkward although the 1st person past voice is good. The author's "I'm a time traveling teen intro" felt slightly forced, but as soon as he's attacked by mysterious secret agent dudes and forced back from 2009 to 2007 (maybe 10% in) the book rocks along and I read the whole thing in a single sitting. Overall it nicely balances an interesting new scenario, likable characters, a compelling romance, a good mystery, and a touch of pathos. Good stuff.

Tempest borrows lightly from the brilliant The Time Traveler's Wife too, and while it has a novel take on time travel it's really more of an action mystery, and most importantly a romance. Untimed on the other hand, which is even heavier on the action, and has a romance (less emphasized), really focuses on the history part of time travel. I visit four centuries, all heavily researched, and explore the big impact individual people can have on the broad sweep of history. Tempest sticks mostly to the personal. The things that change in this novel are all of an intimate nature, having to do with the protagonist and his family. Namely the author is a woman and its all about the relationships: Jackson and his girlfriend, his father, his best friend, and his sister. Not that this is bad, as these relationships are really well done, its just different. The time travel action is confined mostly to a couple years back and is rarely intricate, avoiding most overlap and paradox. All the material stuff occurs between 2007 and 2009 with only a few touristic visits to the decade prior. It's mostly all in New York city.

This leaves a lot of time to focus on the Jackson / Holly romance. We see it in three modes: as it existed before the novel opens, as he recreates it two years earlier from scratch in alternate 2007, and as he upgrades it on his return. As I said, this is a nicely done romance and really the core of the novel. Both characters felt natural to me, their passion genuine, young, and hopeful. Two major elements interjected a top fight bittersweet note: the problematic nature of a time traveler / normal romance and Jackson's relationship with his dead twin sister (which because of time travel, lingers on, just a bit).

The mystery element was also good. The book succeeds in NOT revealing exactly what is really going on with the time travelers and even which of two (or even possibly three) factions is actually in the right. This is something I also tried to do in Untimed, and works pretty well here, even if the whole "secret agent" thing and nomenclature of "Enemies of Time" is a bit cheesy. Essentially Cross pulls it off. But the villains are nowhere near as cool as my Tick-Tocks

And I totally wanted to keep reading. But because of the pacing of the traditional publishing system we have to wait a year for the sequel!

Andy Gavin, author of The Darkening Dream


Tags : Amazon.com: Tempest: A Novel (The Tempest Trilogy) (9780312568894): Julie Cross: Books,Julie Cross,Tempest: A Novel (The Tempest Trilogy),St. Martin's Griffin,0312568894,Science Fiction - General,JUVENILE FICTION Science Fiction,Science fiction,Science fiction.,Spies,Spies;Fiction.,Time travel;Fiction.,Action & Adventure - General,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fiction,Love & Romance,Romance General,Science Fiction Fantasy (Young Adult),Science fiction (Children's Teenage),Time Travel,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Young Adult Fiction Science Fiction General,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Young Adult FictionTime Travel

Tempest A Novel The Tempest Trilogy Julie Cross Books Reviews

19 year old Jackson Meyer is a time-traveler. But it isn't as awesome as it sounds; all he can really do is go back in time a couple of hours maybe days and he has never been able to time-jump to the future. And no it isn't like all those other time-traveling books or movies. If he sneezes while he's in the past it will not cause the future to change. As long as he comes back to his home base-the present-then what happens in his time jumps doesn't change anything. His father is extremely wealthy and very secretive and doesn't really pay attention to Jackson. Even though Jackson is rich, he still goes to a normal college and even volunteers with his girlfriend Holly Flynn and Adam Silverman at a kids youth camp.

On October 30, 2009, two men barge into Holly's dorm and she is shot, Jackson tries to time jump but he somehow ends up going back all the way to September 9, 2007. No matter what or how many times he tries to jump back (or forward actually) he can't. Instead, each time he jumps he goes back more years and always ends up returning to September 9, 2007. He decides to make the most out of his situation and sets out to find Holly and Adam and to figure out what his dad is up to. He gets a job as a handyman at the same place Holly used to teach gymnastics. But can he get Holly to fall for him in 2007? And can he change something in the past to prevent Holly from being shot? And can he change his home base back to 2009, or is he stuck in 2007?

Most of the book is spent with Jackson in 2007 and several years in the past. The different timelines were not confusing and works very well with the story. He ends up being able to talk to his twin sister (who died) several times in the past. We also get to see Jackson appreciate Holly more and as he tries to win her over again. The friendship between Jackson and Adam was awesome and there was plenty of great secondary characters.

Tempest is the second book I read about time travel and I liked this one a lot better. Part of it is because from the beginning of the book the author writes "forget everything you know about time travel..." It didn't get too technical or scientific. The ending was sad but great and shows how much Jackson has grown as a character throughout the book. Plus the book cover is awesome! Tempest was a really fantastic read with plenty of action and surprises to keep you hooked! Can't wait to read the next book in the Tempest Trilogy.

Check out the Tempest e-book novella Tomorrow is Today to hold you up until the next book. It takes place before Tempest and it's free on .

5 out of 5 stars!

***
My favorite non-spoiler Tempest quotes
-There's too many dates to remember, too many times. Do I even exist anywhere? Am I actually someone if I don't have a home base?

-"Idiot! You coulda been killed."
Only in New York City could someone materialize out of thin air and get no more than the usual angry driver reactions.

-Widespread panic may occur upon mentioning John and Kate will split up, thus ending the show John & Kate Plus 8.

-I rubbed the blurriness out of my eyes and sat up from the bench I had passed out on in the cell. My jail cell. Because I'm a badass criminal. Or a really irresponsible time traveler who fails to collect proper and authentic documentation.

-"Do you mean 007 Holly or the other one?"
"007 Holly?"
"Yeah, it sounds much cooler than 2007 Holly."

-Was it possible to cheat on Holly with Holly? Was she too young to be kissing someone my age? Would it be the same as kissing my Holly?

***
Read more of my reviews at[...]
This new YA time travel novel has a bit of buzz (I see it on many of the book blogs I troll looking for candidates to review The Darkening Dream), but I read it -- and quickly -- because of the superficial similarities to my second novel, Untimed. Both are YA time travel, both have a mail protagonist (although he's a 19 year old in this book, and 15 in mine).

But that's about where the similarity ends. Although don't get me wrong, Tempest is a great book. It's one of the best YA's I've read in the last year or so, on par with Before I Fall. The beginning is slightly awkward although the 1st person past voice is good. The author's "I'm a time traveling teen intro" felt slightly forced, but as soon as he's attacked by mysterious secret agent dudes and forced back from 2009 to 2007 (maybe 10% in) the book rocks along and I read the whole thing in a single sitting. Overall it nicely balances an interesting new scenario, likable characters, a compelling romance, a good mystery, and a touch of pathos. Good stuff.

Tempest borrows lightly from the brilliant The Time Traveler's Wife too, and while it has a novel take on time travel it's really more of an action mystery, and most importantly a romance. Untimed on the other hand, which is even heavier on the action, and has a romance (less emphasized), really focuses on the history part of time travel. I visit four centuries, all heavily researched, and explore the big impact individual people can have on the broad sweep of history. Tempest sticks mostly to the personal. The things that change in this novel are all of an intimate nature, having to do with the protagonist and his family. Namely the author is a woman and its all about the relationships Jackson and his girlfriend, his father, his best friend, and his sister. Not that this is bad, as these relationships are really well done, its just different. The time travel action is confined mostly to a couple years back and is rarely intricate, avoiding most overlap and paradox. All the material stuff occurs between 2007 and 2009 with only a few touristic visits to the decade prior. It's mostly all in New York city.

This leaves a lot of time to focus on the Jackson / Holly romance. We see it in three modes as it existed before the novel opens, as he recreates it two years earlier from scratch in alternate 2007, and as he upgrades it on his return. As I said, this is a nicely done romance and really the core of the novel. Both characters felt natural to me, their passion genuine, young, and hopeful. Two major elements interjected a top fight bittersweet note the problematic nature of a time traveler / normal romance and Jackson's relationship with his dead twin sister (which because of time travel, lingers on, just a bit).

The mystery element was also good. The book succeeds in NOT revealing exactly what is really going on with the time travelers and even which of two (or even possibly three) factions is actually in the right. This is something I also tried to do in Untimed, and works pretty well here, even if the whole "secret agent" thing and nomenclature of "Enemies of Time" is a bit cheesy. Essentially Cross pulls it off. But the villains are nowhere near as cool as my Tick-Tocks

And I totally wanted to keep reading. But because of the pacing of the traditional publishing system we have to wait a year for the sequel!

Andy Gavin, author of The Darkening Dream