2012 YA must read! Tempest by Julie Cross

A 2012 must read!

Title: Tempest

Author: Julie Cross

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books

Published: January 2012

ISBN: 978 0230 756267

Price: £9.99 HB

Rating 5/5 with merits – I want more!!!!

The cover on this shows two teens split and falling through the sky trying to reach each other.  I like the hues used for the clouds and the lightening.

Jackson is a time traveller.  As he and his friend Adam record and try to make scientific sense out of the how, why and duration of Jackson’s time jumps, Jackson keeps notes which form parts of the story.  This is a really impressive read – I truly didn’t want to put it down from the moment I started reading.  All the characters seem so life like and real, and the dimension that is added to them with Jackson jumping through time really makes each character come into their own and gives them added depth. 

The plot in this is so very well constructed – it manages to jump around time zones with seamless effort.  Jackson and his girlfriend are soul mates (in this I guess it is similar to The Time Traveller’s Wife).  When Holly lies bleeding in his arms, there’s nothing Jackson can do but to try and go back and see why it happened and hope that he can prevent it.  What follows is an emotional torrent as Jackson jumps to different times and finds out more than he ever knew about his family and those around him.     He must re-evaluate those he trusts and decide what to do next.  Some of the scenes in this are heart string pullers!  The ending of the book was a heart stopper for me….not something I saw coming!

A really fast paced dazzler of a book, which I wish didn’t have to end….I want more, and am so pleased this is a trilogy!!  This is definitely going to be a favourite for many in 2012..it’s certainly made it into my top list for 2012 releases, and I can’t wait for the second book – for a debut novelist this is amazing, and has set the bar for 2012 very high for my future reads!

IMO, if you loved The Time Traveller’s Wife, then this will offer you a teen equivalent whilst dealing with other issues such as grief, love, family and identity.  Just like the Time Traveller’s Wife, I can see this being a huge hit at the box office – it’s been pre-empted by Summit Entertainment for a feature film…if this goes ahead then it’s one I’ll be seeing as I’d love to see this on the cinema.  Actually I'm a bit gutted I couldn't find a book trailer for it!

Book synopsis:

Jackson Meyer is hiding a secret. He can time-travel. But he doesn't know how he does it, how to control it or what it means. When Jackson, and his girlfriend Holly, find themselves in fatal danger, Jackson panics and catapaults himself two years into his past, further than he's ever managed before, and this time he can't find a way back to the future. All the rules of time-travel he's experienced so far have been broken and Jackson has no choice but to pretend to be his younger self whilst he figures out a solution. Jackson is tearing himself apart with guilt and frustration, wondering if Holly survived. He's also become the target of an unknown enemy force and it seems even his dad is lying to him. Jackson is racing against time to save the girl he loves, but to do that he must first discover the truth about his family and himself. And stay alive.

Source – Many thanks to Macmillan Children’s Books, a copy was received in return for an honest review.