A review by rebeccatc
Timebound by Rysa Walker

4.0

For a debut YA novel this was very good. First, I thought the author did a good job of making her narrator sound like a 16 year old girl. At times it almost seemed that the book had been written by a teenager. I saw one review criticizing Kate for sharing sensitive information with her best friend, but this is exactly what a girl her age would do! Second, Kate is pleasingly unlike the more typical YA heroines. She is not crippled by insecurity or shyness, but has a realistic view of her abilities. She doesn't waste time in denial or self-pity, but takes up the mantle of her responsibility and sets out to save both herself and those she cares about. She enters into a sweet romance, but doesn't allow it to cloud her judgment. The paradox of competing timelines was complicated, but not impossible to follow. The historical setting of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 was an interesting one for Kate's journey back in time. The love triangle is believable because it is set up in a way that does not make Kate seem wishy washy or indecisive. The bad guys -- The Cyrists -- are a real threat both to Kate personally and to the free world. I am looking forward to reading the sequel.