Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Genre: Fantasy/
Time Travel/ YA/ Romance
Approximate
word count: 85-90,000 words
Availability
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Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Rodney Jones resides in Richmond, Indiana, where he spends
his days pecking at a laptop. “His life-long ambition was to become an artist
until he discovered a latent affinity for writing… In writing, the words are
creating images, the images are telling a story, and the story evokes feelings…”
His other interests include science, politics, travel, gardening, music,
whiskey and chocolate.
Description:
“With her senior year looming, Tess McKinnon has two
goals: hanging out with her best friend, Liz, and avoiding her judgmental,
alcoholic mother. Then yummy John Bartley arrives—to tell Mrs. McKinnon that
her daughter is dead. Distinctly still alive, Tess is baffled by John’s tales
of 1800s time travel, rewritten lives, and love. She knows she’s never seen him
before, but her feelings refuse to be denied.
When Tess and John discover an aged newspaper clipping
that indicates John’s uncle was hanged for Tess’s murder in 1875, John decides
to return to his time to save his uncle’s life. Not really sure she even
believes in this time travel stuff, Tess checks the article after John leaves.
The words have changed, and she is horrified to find that John has been hanged
instead.
Armed with determination and modern ingenuity, Tess must
abandon her past and risk her future for a chance to catch her own killer and
find her first love for the second time.”
Appraisal:
After the devastating turn of events in 1875 Greendale, John is beside
himself with joy to find Tess alive and well in Wallingford during her own time,
around 2009. Their re-introduction happens the same day and plays out
practically the same way it did in The
Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains. John has his full memory of the time
they spent together, Tess has no memory of knowing John or the events that
unfolded when she was in 1875.
Unfortunately, John has to convince Tess he is not crazy and begin to
reestablish his relationship with her. The chapters alternate between John’s
point-of-view and Tess’s so we get a clear view of what they are thinking and
feeling. We also get a good picture of Tess’s mother and Tess’s best friend,
Liz, who ends up being her confidant. When John goes back to his time, in 1875,
to rescue his uncle, he is not prepared for the danger this puts him in. In the
meantime, Tess is busy contacting a coin collector to sell John’s old coins he
earned working at the Grist Mill for his uncle. He also had in his possession his
favorite book, Twenty Thousand Leagues
under the Sea, which happened to be a first edition.
This story is the result of the Butterfly Effect that happens when
events in the past are altered. It’s an interesting phenomenon to explore in
fiction. Tess is a smart young girl with a lot of savvy. Taking steps into the
past she is up for the challenge to change history. The turn of events at the
end of this book caught me off-guard. It’s not very often that happens. Kudos
to Rodney Jones for a wonderful adventure into the past.
FYI:
All the
Butterflies in the World is the sequel to The Sun, the Moon, and Maybe the Trains. I would highly recommend
reading book one first.
Format/Typo
Issues:
Even though I read an advanced reader copy, I found no significant
proofing or formatting issues.
Rating: ***** Five stars
Rating: ***** Five stars
2 comments:
This does look very interesting.
Thanks for dropping in and commenting, Mary Preston.
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