willac's review against another edition
4.0
Elena Martinez is a disadvantaged teenager living in a foster home, so when she is recruited for a secret project and offered more money than she has ever seen in her life, she can't say no. This money would allow her to get her own place, go to college, never have to rely on anyone ever again.
When she finds out that the secret project involves time travel, she is hesitant, but how bad could it be? It would either work, or it wouldn't, and in any event it seems that she will be guaranteed the money, so she agrees.
Of course, something goes wrong and Elena and her fellow time travelers are soon on the run. They have a mystery to solve, and they have to be back at the portal in 24 hours or they will be lost in the future forever, or worse.
I was provided a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
When she finds out that the secret project involves time travel, she is hesitant, but how bad could it be? It would either work, or it wouldn't, and in any event it seems that she will be guaranteed the money, so she agrees.
Of course, something goes wrong and Elena and her fellow time travelers are soon on the run. They have a mystery to solve, and they have to be back at the portal in 24 hours or they will be lost in the future forever, or worse.
I was provided a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
iggyebab's review against another edition
4.0
A thrilling sci-fi ride into the future and back. 5 teenagers are offered an opportunity to make a lot of money by participating in a"test" Four of the 5 are foster children who have been bounced from home to group home to the streets. They are told that they are to bring back tech information about the future and that each has been selected for a specific skill they possess. Of course, things are not what they seem and thing quickly go awry.
The story moved quickly and was interesting and thrilling. This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. It is different from anything that I have read before.
The story moved quickly and was interesting and thrilling. This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. It is different from anything that I have read before.
librosconte's review against another edition
4.0
"'Hay más tiempo que vida.' (...) Hay algo reconfortante en la previsibilidad del tiempo. Independientemente de lo que pase, siempre hay sesenta segundos en un minuto, sesenta minutos en una hora y veinticuatro horas en un día. (...) En todos estos años, incluso en los momentos más oscuros, nunca deseé más que esos sesenta segundos, sesenta minutos y veinticuatro horas.
Ahora, daría cualquier cosa por tener más tiempo."
Este libro me gustó mucho. Nunca antes había leído sobre viajes en el tiempo y esta experiencia me pareció buenísima.
A pesar de no ser tan partidaria de los capítulos cortos, pienso que esta clase de historias, llena de acción, necesita esa agilidad en la narración. Es más, se agradece. Eso hace que la historia enganche y fluya mucho más rápido. De por sí la historia ya es super llevadera y atrapa mucho por el misterio que rodea la situación de Elena y los demás adolescentes, pero creo que la simple escritura que presenta este libro, junto a los capítulos cortos cargados de acción y adrenalina, hacen que quieras leerte el libro en una sentada. Y, por mi parte, lo hubiese hecho si no hubiede estado entre parciales. Aún así, lo leía rapidísimo cada vez que me sentaba con este libro.
Muchas gracias a la editorial por el ejemplar 💖
--- Reseña completa en mi bookstagram: Libros con(té)
snazel's review against another edition
3.0
A really interesting future, and characters I enjoyed. But the main character's motivations REALLY hinge on attraction to this guy she's met, and as that's something I've never experienced, I couldn't really follow it. I just hoped she knew what she was doing a lot. I mostly just wanted to stay in the future and explore the tech. It's cooler there.
A much better use of memory than Into The Dim, my other girl-with-eidetic-memory-time-travels books his month. It seemed like a real way for her mind to work, rather than a convenient computer-like superpower.
But I wish I was more surprised that the bi girl gets killed.
A much better use of memory than Into The Dim, my other girl-with-eidetic-memory-time-travels books his month. It seemed like a real way for her mind to work, rather than a convenient computer-like superpower.
But I wish I was more surprised that the bi girl gets killed.
pagesplotsandpints's review against another edition
3.0
Initial Impressions 3/3/16: 3 - 3.5 stars
I actually had kind of a hard time with this book in the beginning and unfortunately, that really kind of set the tone. I liked and disliked that the book really didn't waste time hopping to the time travel aspects. It was great that there wasn't an overly detailed amount of set-up and the time travel did happen relatively early in the book to get straight to the action. I really would have liked some more intro to how this concept was possible, why they wanted to do it (or why they wanted the kids to think they were doing it), and a little bit of the science behind it. Instead, it was sort of like, "Okay, you're here. Okay, into the future! BYE" It felt very quick and I just wanted a bit more intro.
I also had a hard time with some of the advances that were expected to be thirty years into the future. Being that we just hit the actual date that was in Back to the Future Part II and we made fun of things like flying cars, hoverboards, and silly technology, I couldn't shake that feeling like there were a few TOO many big changes for 30 years later. BttF was just an easy parallel to make because of the same time leap.
Once the book started progressing, it really got into the plot which was the exciting part! There were some nice twists and some cool surprises. I still did have a little trouble with the writing -- not that it was "bad" but I just wasn't clicking with it for some reason and I was having a hard time staying engaged with the characters. I really didn't want to stop reading but I did a thing that I NEVER do... and I skipped ahead. GASP. I wanted to see what was happening and if I did want to keep reading to get there. I only spoiled a little bit for myself and thought it was a cool twist so I kept on reading and mostly liked how the book wrapped up.
This was such a weird read for me and I don't know why. For some reason I just didn't fully click with it and I just couldn't shake the feeling like I was looking for something MORE. It was a quick read and had some interesting ideas but I just wished I had gotten more hooked.
Silly but real mash-ups I felt: Back to the Future meets Hot Tub Time Machine 2 meets The Breakfast Club
Review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 3/28/16: I'm always so impressed with the different ways authors explain how time travel is possible in their stories and I’m constantly floored by the way science and fiction blend. FUTURE SHOCK ended up not really working for me on that level so it was a hard adjustment to make while reading.
As a whole, this book was… okay for me. The very first chapter started out great and the book really didn’t waste any time getting into the meat of the story. That’s usually something I appreciate because it’s hard when I get halfway through a book to feel a chance in pacing or action, but with FUTURE SHOCK, I really felt like things moved a little too fast. There didn’t seem to be much explanation at all about how the time travel worked and yes, the teens involved in this project were in great need of the money that they were offered in exchange for participating but I feel like someone should have asked a few more questions before BAM, kids in the future. It was a little hard to make such a quick leap from not even knowing time travel was possible to fully accepting and not even needing answers before agreeing to be shot ahead in time.
Aside from the characters getting to know more about the process, I personally also wanted to know so much more. How was it possible? Who designed the technology? What’s the science behind it? I felt like the book glossed over the explanation and it was mentioned briefly instead of really being a solid part of groundwork that made up the book.
FUTURE SHOCK just felt a little inside the box for me. The time travel aspect felt like something I’ve read so many times before and there wasn’t too much that made this book really stand apart from the rest. There were a few twists that kept me reading and there were a couple dynamic characters (although two of the secondary characters felt exactly the same to me) but it just felt like it fit into too many different molds and didn’t really stand out as something unique and noteworthy. I waffled back and forth for a while, wondering if I really wanted to continue and I did something I NEVER do — I skipped to the end to see if it was worth reading. I actually did like the little twist that I discovered (YES, I spoiled the book for myself. Let’s all gasp!) so I kept on reading but I still didn’t find myself as engaged as I had hoped. Once the book wrapped up, I was still happy with the twist but I still found myself feeling less than impressed.
Don’t get me wrong — FUTURE SHOCK wasn’t a bad book. I just didn’t feel like it stood out at all for me. It was a solid, middle-of-the-road read but not one I’d really lean towards recommending. There are just so many more impressive and creative time travel or alternate universe stories that I would recommend first. It was nice to read a stand alone though because so often time travel books turn into series so it was great to read it and have the full story.
I actually had kind of a hard time with this book in the beginning and unfortunately, that really kind of set the tone. I liked and disliked that the book really didn't waste time hopping to the time travel aspects. It was great that there wasn't an overly detailed amount of set-up and the time travel did happen relatively early in the book to get straight to the action. I really would have liked some more intro to how this concept was possible, why they wanted to do it (or why they wanted the kids to think they were doing it), and a little bit of the science behind it. Instead, it was sort of like, "Okay, you're here. Okay, into the future! BYE" It felt very quick and I just wanted a bit more intro.
I also had a hard time with some of the advances that were expected to be thirty years into the future. Being that we just hit the actual date that was in Back to the Future Part II and we made fun of things like flying cars, hoverboards, and silly technology, I couldn't shake that feeling like there were a few TOO many big changes for 30 years later. BttF was just an easy parallel to make because of the same time leap.
Once the book started progressing, it really got into the plot which was the exciting part! There were some nice twists and some cool surprises. I still did have a little trouble with the writing -- not that it was "bad" but I just wasn't clicking with it for some reason and I was having a hard time staying engaged with the characters. I really didn't want to stop reading but I did a thing that I NEVER do... and I skipped ahead. GASP. I wanted to see what was happening and if I did want to keep reading to get there. I only spoiled a little bit for myself and thought it was a cool twist so I kept on reading and mostly liked how the book wrapped up.
This was such a weird read for me and I don't know why. For some reason I just didn't fully click with it and I just couldn't shake the feeling like I was looking for something MORE. It was a quick read and had some interesting ideas but I just wished I had gotten more hooked.
Silly but real mash-ups I felt: Back to the Future meets Hot Tub Time Machine 2 meets The Breakfast Club
Review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 3/28/16: I'm always so impressed with the different ways authors explain how time travel is possible in their stories and I’m constantly floored by the way science and fiction blend. FUTURE SHOCK ended up not really working for me on that level so it was a hard adjustment to make while reading.
As a whole, this book was… okay for me. The very first chapter started out great and the book really didn’t waste any time getting into the meat of the story. That’s usually something I appreciate because it’s hard when I get halfway through a book to feel a chance in pacing or action, but with FUTURE SHOCK, I really felt like things moved a little too fast. There didn’t seem to be much explanation at all about how the time travel worked and yes, the teens involved in this project were in great need of the money that they were offered in exchange for participating but I feel like someone should have asked a few more questions before BAM, kids in the future. It was a little hard to make such a quick leap from not even knowing time travel was possible to fully accepting and not even needing answers before agreeing to be shot ahead in time.
Aside from the characters getting to know more about the process, I personally also wanted to know so much more. How was it possible? Who designed the technology? What’s the science behind it? I felt like the book glossed over the explanation and it was mentioned briefly instead of really being a solid part of groundwork that made up the book.
FUTURE SHOCK just felt a little inside the box for me. The time travel aspect felt like something I’ve read so many times before and there wasn’t too much that made this book really stand apart from the rest. There were a few twists that kept me reading and there were a couple dynamic characters (although two of the secondary characters felt exactly the same to me) but it just felt like it fit into too many different molds and didn’t really stand out as something unique and noteworthy. I waffled back and forth for a while, wondering if I really wanted to continue and I did something I NEVER do — I skipped to the end to see if it was worth reading. I actually did like the little twist that I discovered (YES, I spoiled the book for myself. Let’s all gasp!) so I kept on reading but I still didn’t find myself as engaged as I had hoped. Once the book wrapped up, I was still happy with the twist but I still found myself feeling less than impressed.
Don’t get me wrong — FUTURE SHOCK wasn’t a bad book. I just didn’t feel like it stood out at all for me. It was a solid, middle-of-the-road read but not one I’d really lean towards recommending. There are just so many more impressive and creative time travel or alternate universe stories that I would recommend first. It was nice to read a stand alone though because so often time travel books turn into series so it was great to read it and have the full story.
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
4.0
Okay, so 2 confessions for this book:
1-I totally confused this author with Patricia Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson series not once, but twice. To be fair, the covers of these look a bit similar. I bought this one ages ago on my Kindle, but never got around to reading it. I think I found it at a good price and bought it, but filed it away and never got to it again. That was the first time I mistook the author for the other Briggs.
2-The second time, I saw the third book in this series come up as an eARC on Edelweiss and thought I recognized the author and the title looked familiar. So, I checked and I already owned number 1. So, I went back to find number 1 on my Kindle and read it so I could maybe end up getting the third if I liked the first one well enough.
So, good news, I did really like this one, though I didn't realize it was an entirely different author until I came here to GR to review it! I feel silly.
So, this is a YA SF story with time travel. I'm not super up on time travel paradoxes, but from a non-super science-y person's POV, I feel the author did well with it here. She acknowledged a few things and left some things open. The story was good. I liked the MC a lot as well as the side characters. The story was good and I did not guess the twist at all. It felt like it was going to play out exactly how it had already played out once. Not going to elaborate any more because spoilers, but I was happy with this one.
I don't like to read series books one after another, so I'll read something else, then probably buy the 2nd so I can d/l the ARC for the third! And I'll definitely recommend this one to my daughter. She'd dig it.
1-I totally confused this author with Patricia Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson series not once, but twice. To be fair, the covers of these look a bit similar. I bought this one ages ago on my Kindle, but never got around to reading it. I think I found it at a good price and bought it, but filed it away and never got to it again. That was the first time I mistook the author for the other Briggs.
2-The second time, I saw the third book in this series come up as an eARC on Edelweiss and thought I recognized the author and the title looked familiar. So, I checked and I already owned number 1. So, I went back to find number 1 on my Kindle and read it so I could maybe end up getting the third if I liked the first one well enough.
So, good news, I did really like this one, though I didn't realize it was an entirely different author until I came here to GR to review it! I feel silly.
So, this is a YA SF story with time travel. I'm not super up on time travel paradoxes, but from a non-super science-y person's POV, I feel the author did well with it here. She acknowledged a few things and left some things open. The story was good. I liked the MC a lot as well as the side characters. The story was good and I did not guess the twist at all. It felt like it was going to play out exactly how it had already played out once. Not going to elaborate any more because spoilers, but I was happy with this one.
I don't like to read series books one after another, so I'll read something else, then probably buy the 2nd so I can d/l the ARC for the third! And I'll definitely recommend this one to my daughter. She'd dig it.
imzadirose's review against another edition
5.0
272 pages
Another time travel book and this one was FANTASTIC!! It's not often that you have a time travel book go into the future as this one did and I really liked that, it was done really well. It had great characters and a great story and it kept me guessing all the way through it. Something goes wrong and they don't end up going where they were expecting to and they find some stuff out that they shouldn't, so they set out to change things. No one knows who is on whose side and the main characters are hiding their own secrets for different reasons.
One of the better time travel books I have read, and I have read a lot. Wish it could have been a series somehow, but it was a perfect stand alone book. Very enjoyable, I highly recommend!
Setting = A
Plot = A+
Conflict = A+
Characters = A
Theme = A+
Another time travel book and this one was FANTASTIC!! It's not often that you have a time travel book go into the future as this one did and I really liked that, it was done really well. It had great characters and a great story and it kept me guessing all the way through it. Something goes wrong and they don't end up going where they were expecting to and they find some stuff out that they shouldn't, so they set out to change things. No one knows who is on whose side and the main characters are hiding their own secrets for different reasons.
One of the better time travel books I have read, and I have read a lot. Wish it could have been a series somehow, but it was a perfect stand alone book. Very enjoyable, I highly recommend!
Setting = A
Plot = A+
Conflict = A+
Characters = A
Theme = A+
liz_keeney's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
delaneybull's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting premise, but the pacing felt weird and rushed in the future. I would have liked more time for the characters to get to know each other before returning to the past, but I like that the ending wasn't perfect. This definitely read like a standalone, so it'll be interesting to see where the series goes next.