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Erasing Time #1
Time Riders
Sheridan and Taylor are ordinary college students until a mistake by twenty-fourth century scientists drags them 300 years into the future. They find themselves in Tachames, a colorful, orderly, and completely corrupt city. Religion is banned. All citizens are tracked. As the government and a mafialike organization called the Dakine struggle for power over the population, Sheridan and Taylor search for a way to escape the deadly walls of doomed Tachames. Echo, a mysterious, brilliant "wordsmith," says he'll help them escape; Sheridan is drawn to him and wants to trust him, but Echo has secrets of his own.
Time Riders is an exciting and suspenseful adventure through an Orwellian world of lost freedom and humanity; yet the novel is interlaced with the humor of Sheridan and Taylor communicating through twentieth-century idioms that bewilder their Tachamesian hosts, while preserving their secrets and freedom.
292 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2012
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6193 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Hill
23 books376 followersC.J. Hill is the pseudonym for a popular young adult author who makes her fantasy debut with Slayers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 350 reviews
October 28, 2012
As a big fan of science-fiction and fascinated, though wary, of time travel, I was very intrigued by this novel the second I heard of it. Even though some of it felt forced, I was happy with the originality of the futuristic world and the way time travel was woven into the plot.
Time travel is a very, very tricky prospect to play with. I was satisfied by the way CJ Hill explains how it works in this novel. Albeit there being a lot of science details I didn't completely comprehend, I found it was a smooth explanation that avoids bizarre time loops and infinite paradoxes. The reason for the scientists to want to play with time travel is a bit weak, however. I kept forgetting why it was imperative to get a hold of this Tyler, lessening the threat I felt towards the government. There is an integration of different groups which are essentially controlling this society (think Mafia and religious groups) that makes it more sinister, or atmospheric, while keeping it within the realms of probability.
The world 400 year in the future that Taylor and Sheridan get thrown in is obviously very different from our present: Language has evolved, fashion is incredibly bizarre, society as a whole is a brand new world. There is a large dystopian feel that is compelling and gives a very dreary tone to the plot. Nonetheless, the world building is not as complex as I was hoping. For the most part, we're stuck inside this city; a bubble with an intimidating political system, but no real-world description or history. How do people outside the city live? How bad is it out there? What happened to bring about this future? What we do get is a lot of inner city living which is at least fairly well thought out -- especially the realistic evolution of language. The fashion, though not exactly far fetched, seems... implausible. But, who knows what's in store!? Despite it being interesting, in the end I felt we spent too much time running around in detours to get to the real plot. I was craving to see the outside world, to journey to where they were planning to go. Not until the last 100 pages do we get a glimpse of this vast, post-apocalyptic setting these twins got warped in. Even then, it's only a glimpse. However, this last quarter becomes intense and exciting where we're learning to fear this big futuristic world, begin getting the truth alongside its own citizens, and seeing the results of a war long past gone. Finally getting to the big picture. This is what I love about post-apocalyptic settings and I'm thinking the next book will be more my speed.
The inclusion of twins in this novel is unique and gives us a different character dynamic to study. Both girls are vastly different from one another and, even though only one of the two sisters gets a perspective, we get to know both of them individually. Taylor is the smart science geek, whilst Sheridan is fascinated by English and literature. This gives us a very intelligent plot with lots of scientific/programming data, as well as some literature and religion details. On the other hand, besides this shell, the characters aren't very highly developed. They have roles to play, and they play them well, but their personalities don't stand out and breathe life within them. This is the same for our male -- and future -- perspective, Ethan, which I found mostly one-dimensional and unconvincing. There was a big lack of communication between him and the girls that became irritating, and the biggest reason for the plot to take so long to lift off.
One thing to, sadly, have survived 400 years, is insta-love. Or at least an insta... whatever this was. Not surprisingly with an instant "fling", the romance in this novel is bland with little to no chemistry. Luckily it doesn't appear to be a big part of the plot, leaving it a minor issue for now.
Even though I seem to be mentioning a lot of negatives, the premise in Erasing Time is very engaging and I was thoroughly intrigued by this new world, and especially riveted by its last 100 pages. It's an animated futuristic setting that is equally enchanting and terrifying.
--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
Time travel is a very, very tricky prospect to play with. I was satisfied by the way CJ Hill explains how it works in this novel. Albeit there being a lot of science details I didn't completely comprehend, I found it was a smooth explanation that avoids bizarre time loops and infinite paradoxes. The reason for the scientists to want to play with time travel is a bit weak, however. I kept forgetting why it was imperative to get a hold of this Tyler, lessening the threat I felt towards the government. There is an integration of different groups which are essentially controlling this society (think Mafia and religious groups) that makes it more sinister, or atmospheric, while keeping it within the realms of probability.
The world 400 year in the future that Taylor and Sheridan get thrown in is obviously very different from our present: Language has evolved, fashion is incredibly bizarre, society as a whole is a brand new world. There is a large dystopian feel that is compelling and gives a very dreary tone to the plot. Nonetheless, the world building is not as complex as I was hoping. For the most part, we're stuck inside this city; a bubble with an intimidating political system, but no real-world description or history. How do people outside the city live? How bad is it out there? What happened to bring about this future? What we do get is a lot of inner city living which is at least fairly well thought out -- especially the realistic evolution of language. The fashion, though not exactly far fetched, seems... implausible. But, who knows what's in store!? Despite it being interesting, in the end I felt we spent too much time running around in detours to get to the real plot. I was craving to see the outside world, to journey to where they were planning to go. Not until the last 100 pages do we get a glimpse of this vast, post-apocalyptic setting these twins got warped in. Even then, it's only a glimpse. However, this last quarter becomes intense and exciting where we're learning to fear this big futuristic world, begin getting the truth alongside its own citizens, and seeing the results of a war long past gone. Finally getting to the big picture. This is what I love about post-apocalyptic settings and I'm thinking the next book will be more my speed.
The inclusion of twins in this novel is unique and gives us a different character dynamic to study. Both girls are vastly different from one another and, even though only one of the two sisters gets a perspective, we get to know both of them individually. Taylor is the smart science geek, whilst Sheridan is fascinated by English and literature. This gives us a very intelligent plot with lots of scientific/programming data, as well as some literature and religion details. On the other hand, besides this shell, the characters aren't very highly developed. They have roles to play, and they play them well, but their personalities don't stand out and breathe life within them. This is the same for our male -- and future -- perspective, Ethan, which I found mostly one-dimensional and unconvincing. There was a big lack of communication between him and the girls that became irritating, and the biggest reason for the plot to take so long to lift off.
One thing to, sadly, have survived 400 years, is insta-love. Or at least an insta... whatever this was. Not surprisingly with an instant "fling", the romance in this novel is bland with little to no chemistry. Luckily it doesn't appear to be a big part of the plot, leaving it a minor issue for now.
Even though I seem to be mentioning a lot of negatives, the premise in Erasing Time is very engaging and I was thoroughly intrigued by this new world, and especially riveted by its last 100 pages. It's an animated futuristic setting that is equally enchanting and terrifying.
--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
February 22, 2023
I saw a post from the author that this series is now available on KU and so I decided to read them again. I love the dystopian world-building the author does with this one, very believable and fun to see her vision of what the future would be like 400+ years from now. I liked the time travel aspect, taking someone from our present time and dropping them in the future.
The story is told from Sheridan (our time) and Echo (future) POVs. Sheridan wants to trust Echo, but her sister doesn’t and she has a lot of doubts. Sheridan was a likable character; I loved her love for books. She has a lot of heart and stands up for what she believes in. I liked that she wouldn't change her beliefs. Her twin Taylor was smart (obviously) but came across kind of cold at times. I liked Echo a lot, Rallison can always write great leading men!
The story flows nicely, lots of things going on to keep you on your toes and wondering what will happen next. It ends in a way that you for sure what to have the second book on hand so you can continue this fun journey with Sheridan, Echo and everyone else. Would definitely recommend to any Dystopian fans.
Content Rated PG
Clean romance, mild kissing. No language, and mild violence - non-descriptive death and fighting. Slightly religious, more in the fact that religion is outlawed in the future and how the main characters adjust to that. Not preachy.
The story is told from Sheridan (our time) and Echo (future) POVs. Sheridan wants to trust Echo, but her sister doesn’t and she has a lot of doubts. Sheridan was a likable character; I loved her love for books. She has a lot of heart and stands up for what she believes in. I liked that she wouldn't change her beliefs. Her twin Taylor was smart (obviously) but came across kind of cold at times. I liked Echo a lot, Rallison can always write great leading men!
The story flows nicely, lots of things going on to keep you on your toes and wondering what will happen next. It ends in a way that you for sure what to have the second book on hand so you can continue this fun journey with Sheridan, Echo and everyone else. Would definitely recommend to any Dystopian fans.
Content Rated PG
Clean romance, mild kissing. No language, and mild violence - non-descriptive death and fighting. Slightly religious, more in the fact that religion is outlawed in the future and how the main characters adjust to that. Not preachy.
July 14, 2021
4.5 stars for this YA time travel romance.
Taylor and Sheridan are 18 yr old identical twins who get sucked 400 years into the future to the 25th century. Taylor is super smart and already getting her graduate degree in college, while Sheridan is of "regular" intelligence. Because Taylor has lightened and cut her hair, hides her freckles and wears contacts the scientists who brought them to the future don't know they're twins. Things are VERY different in the future--cities are domed and you're not free to travel from one city to another, there aren't any animals--even pets, the government surgically implants crystals in all the citizen's wrists and uses them to keep track of everyone, religion has been outlawed, and the language has changed so much they don't understand what anyone says. They're assigned a linguist, Echo, who has specialized in the language of the 21st century and acts as a translator between the girls and the scientists.
The author does a great job letting the reader get to know each of the twins individually, which is good because they are really different in their interests and personality. Of course they pretend to be each other once they realize what the government and the scientists will do when they learn or figure out Taylor's secret. Echo also has a big secret of his own which we find out about in the last few chapters.
I really liked when the girls used all kinds of 20th and 21st century phrases (“burning the midnight oil, get your ducks in a row, kick the bucket, between a rock and a hard place, up a creek without a paddle, nip this in the bud" to speak in code with each other because even though Echo and his father are linguist they didn't understand them and thought they were speaking another language. Parts of history seemed to have been erased so a lot of things were totally misinterpreted and the misinformation has now been accepted as fact. The girls had to explain that animals never spoke and we don't worship Santa Claus, among other things. I laughed out loud a few times.
If this is the future I don't want to live there. This is different than the usual genres of books I read but I enjoyed it and want to see what happens in the sequel Echo in Time.
Thank you to the author for a copy of this book on Audible. This did not influence my views on the book.
Taylor and Sheridan are 18 yr old identical twins who get sucked 400 years into the future to the 25th century. Taylor is super smart and already getting her graduate degree in college, while Sheridan is of "regular" intelligence. Because Taylor has lightened and cut her hair, hides her freckles and wears contacts the scientists who brought them to the future don't know they're twins. Things are VERY different in the future--cities are domed and you're not free to travel from one city to another, there aren't any animals--even pets, the government surgically implants crystals in all the citizen's wrists and uses them to keep track of everyone, religion has been outlawed, and the language has changed so much they don't understand what anyone says. They're assigned a linguist, Echo, who has specialized in the language of the 21st century and acts as a translator between the girls and the scientists.
The author does a great job letting the reader get to know each of the twins individually, which is good because they are really different in their interests and personality. Of course they pretend to be each other once they realize what the government and the scientists will do when they learn or figure out Taylor's secret. Echo also has a big secret of his own which we find out about in the last few chapters.
I really liked when the girls used all kinds of 20th and 21st century phrases (“burning the midnight oil, get your ducks in a row, kick the bucket, between a rock and a hard place, up a creek without a paddle, nip this in the bud" to speak in code with each other because even though Echo and his father are linguist they didn't understand them and thought they were speaking another language. Parts of history seemed to have been erased so a lot of things were totally misinterpreted and the misinformation has now been accepted as fact. The girls had to explain that animals never spoke and we don't worship Santa Claus, among other things. I laughed out loud a few times.
If this is the future I don't want to live there. This is different than the usual genres of books I read but I enjoyed it and want to see what happens in the sequel Echo in Time.
Thank you to the author for a copy of this book on Audible. This did not influence my views on the book.
August 29, 2012
booknook — Young Adult book reviews
Erasing Time is sandwiched somewhere between 'awesome' and 'ridiculous.' It's fun to imagine what our world will be like 400 years from now, including new fashion trends, language evolution, and so on. But some of the things in Erasing Time just seemed silly. For example, the people in the future claim that they study the past by reading old accounts, stories, texts, and watching old movies. But they view children's stories like Winnie the Pooh and Little Red Riding Hood as real life accounts, so they say that Sheridan and Taylor must be lying when they say animals didn't used to talk. The people in the future wouldn't know because animals are supposedly extinct. But surely if they have access to old texts, they could read factual books about how animals communicate. And if this society is so incredibly advanced and doing things like curing aging, then surely they can tell the difference between a scientific text and a children's book. Things like that just seemed a little ridiculous to me.
I was kind of disappointed by some of the things that were left out in the book, like a lot of the science and technology. For example, here are a few things Taylor asked:
But we never actually get to see the answers to any of those questions! The author just says something like, "Jeth answered all her questions but Sheridan tuned out." But I would have loved to have more information. I was really curious about this futuristic world C.J. Hill created and I wanted to know more about it, but felt like I wasn't getting the juicy details I craved.
There was a small romance in Erasing Time, but unfortunately I didn't connect with it at all. Echo and Sheridan start falling for each other but I kind of feel like it came out of nowhere. A day and a half after they meet, they're kissing. But where did that come from? I still don't even understand why they kissed. There had been a little flirting but it was so minimal and so corny, that I never even imagined they'd actually kiss. And then as the story continued, I literally couldn't tell if they were ignoring the kissing incident and just being friends, or if they were officially dating. The romance had no chemistry and very poor development to the point where I couldn't even tell if it was supposed to be a romance or not!
Despite all my issues with this book, it was an interesting and engaging read. It was part frustrating, part ridiculous, but also very interesting. The main thing that this book has going for it is that there are so many twists and turns. For a large part of the book, you have no idea which characters to trust. C.J. Hill was constantly teasing me, leading to believe that Echo was a good guy, then had me thinking he might actually be bad, then thinking he's good again, etc. Then the same thing for some of the side characters.
This book is full of action, conspiracy, and secret organizations.. and of course, time travel. Erasing Time wasn't perfect—there were some inconsistencies and unanswered questions—but it was an interesting story that kept me turning pages.
Erasing Time is sandwiched somewhere between 'awesome' and 'ridiculous.' It's fun to imagine what our world will be like 400 years from now, including new fashion trends, language evolution, and so on. But some of the things in Erasing Time just seemed silly. For example, the people in the future claim that they study the past by reading old accounts, stories, texts, and watching old movies. But they view children's stories like Winnie the Pooh and Little Red Riding Hood as real life accounts, so they say that Sheridan and Taylor must be lying when they say animals didn't used to talk. The people in the future wouldn't know because animals are supposedly extinct. But surely if they have access to old texts, they could read factual books about how animals communicate. And if this society is so incredibly advanced and doing things like curing aging, then surely they can tell the difference between a scientific text and a children's book. Things like that just seemed a little ridiculous to me.
I was kind of disappointed by some of the things that were left out in the book, like a lot of the science and technology. For example, here are a few things Taylor asked:
"Is garbage taken outside the city?" "How is fresh air ventilated inside?" "Where does the city get the raw materials to build things?" "Tell me about the material that covers the city? How does it withstand the rain and snow beating down on it year after year?"
—ARC of Erasing Time, Pages 100-102
But we never actually get to see the answers to any of those questions! The author just says something like, "Jeth answered all her questions but Sheridan tuned out." But I would have loved to have more information. I was really curious about this futuristic world C.J. Hill created and I wanted to know more about it, but felt like I wasn't getting the juicy details I craved.
There was a small romance in Erasing Time, but unfortunately I didn't connect with it at all. Echo and Sheridan start falling for each other but I kind of feel like it came out of nowhere. A day and a half after they meet, they're kissing. But where did that come from? I still don't even understand why they kissed. There had been a little flirting but it was so minimal and so corny, that I never even imagined they'd actually kiss. And then as the story continued, I literally couldn't tell if they were ignoring the kissing incident and just being friends, or if they were officially dating. The romance had no chemistry and very poor development to the point where I couldn't even tell if it was supposed to be a romance or not!
Despite all my issues with this book, it was an interesting and engaging read. It was part frustrating, part ridiculous, but also very interesting. The main thing that this book has going for it is that there are so many twists and turns. For a large part of the book, you have no idea which characters to trust. C.J. Hill was constantly teasing me, leading to believe that Echo was a good guy, then had me thinking he might actually be bad, then thinking he's good again, etc. Then the same thing for some of the side characters.
This book is full of action, conspiracy, and secret organizations.. and of course, time travel. Erasing Time wasn't perfect—there were some inconsistencies and unanswered questions—but it was an interesting story that kept me turning pages.
October 24, 2012
One night, when I was about 80% of the way finished with this book, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I didn't WANT to go to sleep, but I kept dozing off and reading the same sentence again and again (not out of boredom, out of complete exhaustion). So what did I do? Went to sleep and woke up extra EARLY the next morning so I could finish reading it before my son woke up and daily tasks began. I'm NOT a morning person, but I couldn't stand it--the book was so good I had to finish it quick! Now I'm DYING waiting for book #2!
The story is told mostly from the point of view of one of the twins, Sheridan. Some portions are from the POV of a male character, Echo. Both were interesting characters and I enjoyed being in each head equally. The futuristic society portrayed in this story is wonderful. Now, don't misread this, when I say wonderful I don't mean I wish I lived there. I smiply mean it was a well-thought out world that was fun to read about! I loved learning all the details of the city, Traventon and the people who inhabit it. The story was well-paced and definitely surprised me a couple times!
The story is told mostly from the point of view of one of the twins, Sheridan. Some portions are from the POV of a male character, Echo. Both were interesting characters and I enjoyed being in each head equally. The futuristic society portrayed in this story is wonderful. Now, don't misread this, when I say wonderful I don't mean I wish I lived there. I smiply mean it was a well-thought out world that was fun to read about! I loved learning all the details of the city, Traventon and the people who inhabit it. The story was well-paced and definitely surprised me a couple times!
July 6, 2012
Erasing Time
paints an amazingly thrilling portrait of the strength and love between two sisters, as they take incredible risks against what seems like a backdrop of overwhelming odds facing them. It's an epic battle full of action and intense moments, where they find themselves fighting for their own survival in a world that's choatic and confusing for them. C.J. Hill brings this amazing story to life with wonderfully developed characters, thrill-seeking danger and action, and a wonderfully written plot. Taylor and Sheridan, two twins, find themselves thrust 400 years into the future with no way at all to get back home. They are as lost and confused as anyone would be, not knowing who to trust, and questioning everything around them. Together, the two of them, must trust the only person the have come to know - a young man named Echo who has secrets of his own.
They soon find themselves smack in the middle of a war between the Dakine and the government, in a dangerous web of trechary riddle with lies and dark violence. The vivid detail and imagery brought to life on the pages, pops with mind blowing sparks, that will keep readers deeply engaged in the story it has to tell. If the government is powerfully enough to pull off creating this new devastatingly perfect weapon for their use, it could change the whole world around them as far as warfare goes spinning the future into a cataclysmic chaotic world out of control. The futuristic world filled with time travel meets dystopia, is fuel injected with so much wonderfully crafted intense filled moments that will have readers gasping. There are incredibly amazing emotional moments that will have readers tied up in knots. The dangerous twists and turns and the mysterious secretive machinations are enough to keep definitely keep them invested.
I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys time travel with dystopic elements entwined. It was stunning and I found it particularly amazing!
They soon find themselves smack in the middle of a war between the Dakine and the government, in a dangerous web of trechary riddle with lies and dark violence. The vivid detail and imagery brought to life on the pages, pops with mind blowing sparks, that will keep readers deeply engaged in the story it has to tell. If the government is powerfully enough to pull off creating this new devastatingly perfect weapon for their use, it could change the whole world around them as far as warfare goes spinning the future into a cataclysmic chaotic world out of control. The futuristic world filled with time travel meets dystopia, is fuel injected with so much wonderfully crafted intense filled moments that will have readers gasping. There are incredibly amazing emotional moments that will have readers tied up in knots. The dangerous twists and turns and the mysterious secretive machinations are enough to keep definitely keep them invested.
I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys time travel with dystopic elements entwined. It was stunning and I found it particularly amazing!
October 30, 2012
An interesting story about twins who are thrust into the future. Taylor is super smart and is an up-and-coming name in the science world and her twin Sheridan is more average. I liked that it wasn't all dark and dreary like some of the other dystopian/futuristic books are.
Content: clean.
Content: clean.
May 18, 2019
This is a backlist read from 2012, but I found myself really enjoying it. It's been a while since I've read a science fiction/time travel novel that I enjoyed. While the prose wasn't stellar, the story itself was really well plotted out. Some of the twists were obvious, but I enjoyed it. And the way the twins integrated into the future was also well done. I found myself swept away by the story and immediately put the sequel on my TBR.
May 26, 2012
This is going to be one of those reviews where I'm still trying to figure out what I thought of the book. I just can't seem to decide if I liked it or not. The vast majority of the novel I was forcing myself to read it while the end had me wanting for more. It was just a peculiar read, so this is probably going to be a peculiar review.
First of all the whole time jumping plot just seemed weak to me. It's not an issue of plausibility, more so an issue with convincing the audience. In a sci-fi novel time travel is perfectly okay because it is SCI-FI. The genre umbrella's physically impossible things. Granted, this book should probably be considered sci-fi, hell it's set in the future, but it just...I don't know- failed to convince me? The future world just lacked real depth. If you're going to plop two 21st century girls 400 years in the future I just think really detailed and in depth world building is required. A lot of things have of course changed. I applaud the author for thinking about the language differences. Naturally they still speak english, but it has evolved so much that it's barely recognizable. So yes, that was well thought out. But the fashion of the future-just- I couldn't take it seriously. It seemed gimmicky and ridiculous. I just can't take a character seriously when he has bright blue hair with a matching crescent moon on his face. Can't. Sorry.
Also, the reason for Sheridan and Taylor being brought to the future seemed really weak to me as well. Taylor is of Stephen Hawking type level intelligence and apparently the future can't live without her. Only problem is, that Sheridan got dragged along to the future with her. The whole reason for them being there dealt with something that Taylor helped build, and yet I feel like I knew nothing about it. I mean I have a beginners understanding of physics. Maybe intermediate because I'm a little science nerd and like interstellar physics, but even with that I was sitting there going "how is this possible?" The author just kind of gave you basic facts and didn't explain anything. It just kind of bugged me.
I liked Sheridan and Taylor well enough. Taylor was a bit of an annoying, condescending jerk, but she wasn't too terrible. Then again, you never get her POV in the whole book, so I could be judging too harshly. I even enjoyed Echo's POV a lot. The one thing that I thought was done really well was the political atmosphere of the novel. You have the thought controlling government, the corrupt Dakine who basically control the government, and the Doctor Worshippers who are supposedly mad. The groups interactions with each other were pretty interesting and were very dynamic. I thought it was well done.
Ironically enough it wasn't until over half way through the novel when Sheridan and Taylor are pretty much on the run non-stop that it got GOOD. I went from having to force myself to read, to forcing myself to go to bed. Suddenly the story was gripping, and interesting and pulled some very big twists that I didn't even have an inkling about. That being said, I was severely disappointed that it ended where it did. I felt like the story was JUST getting started and bam it's over.
I think pacing was my biggest issue. If this had been paced correctly then those little things that bugged me wouldn't have made as big as an impact. I'll still probably read the sequel (because with that ending there BETTER be a sequel), and truly I feel like this story is just getting started. So I'm gonna stick with it. So really, I have no opinion with good vs bad. I'll just leave it as this story is promising and you need to read it for yourself to form an opinion.
First of all the whole time jumping plot just seemed weak to me. It's not an issue of plausibility, more so an issue with convincing the audience. In a sci-fi novel time travel is perfectly okay because it is SCI-FI. The genre umbrella's physically impossible things. Granted, this book should probably be considered sci-fi, hell it's set in the future, but it just...I don't know- failed to convince me? The future world just lacked real depth. If you're going to plop two 21st century girls 400 years in the future I just think really detailed and in depth world building is required. A lot of things have of course changed. I applaud the author for thinking about the language differences. Naturally they still speak english, but it has evolved so much that it's barely recognizable. So yes, that was well thought out. But the fashion of the future-just- I couldn't take it seriously. It seemed gimmicky and ridiculous. I just can't take a character seriously when he has bright blue hair with a matching crescent moon on his face. Can't. Sorry.
Also, the reason for Sheridan and Taylor being brought to the future seemed really weak to me as well. Taylor is of Stephen Hawking type level intelligence and apparently the future can't live without her. Only problem is, that Sheridan got dragged along to the future with her. The whole reason for them being there dealt with something that Taylor helped build, and yet I feel like I knew nothing about it. I mean I have a beginners understanding of physics. Maybe intermediate because I'm a little science nerd and like interstellar physics, but even with that I was sitting there going "how is this possible?" The author just kind of gave you basic facts and didn't explain anything. It just kind of bugged me.
I liked Sheridan and Taylor well enough. Taylor was a bit of an annoying, condescending jerk, but she wasn't too terrible. Then again, you never get her POV in the whole book, so I could be judging too harshly. I even enjoyed Echo's POV a lot. The one thing that I thought was done really well was the political atmosphere of the novel. You have the thought controlling government, the corrupt Dakine who basically control the government, and the Doctor Worshippers who are supposedly mad. The groups interactions with each other were pretty interesting and were very dynamic. I thought it was well done.
Ironically enough it wasn't until over half way through the novel when Sheridan and Taylor are pretty much on the run non-stop that it got GOOD. I went from having to force myself to read, to forcing myself to go to bed. Suddenly the story was gripping, and interesting and pulled some very big twists that I didn't even have an inkling about. That being said, I was severely disappointed that it ended where it did. I felt like the story was JUST getting started and bam it's over.
I think pacing was my biggest issue. If this had been paced correctly then those little things that bugged me wouldn't have made as big as an impact. I'll still probably read the sequel (because with that ending there BETTER be a sequel), and truly I feel like this story is just getting started. So I'm gonna stick with it. So really, I have no opinion with good vs bad. I'll just leave it as this story is promising and you need to read it for yourself to form an opinion.
November 29, 2017
This book was amazing!! I've read plenty of young adult novels, and I've never seen anything like this. The structure of this book and the revealings of each character were extremely interesting and held my attention. Erasing Time was so good that I read it in only a few days. I can't wait to read the next one!
May 17, 2012
The characters in this book were so insanely unique, even the twins Taylor and Sheridan were completely different. And the people who live in Traventon? So phenomenally eccentric in the most amazing way!
GAH! I don’t even know how to explain to you how much I loved the world in this book! It was so freaking fantastically awesome and SO dystopian! The people who live there believe that animals used to talk based off of our 'records’- Winnie the Pooh and Little Red Riding Hood. They don’t understand slag words such as ‘totally’ and they think we worship Santa! Ha! (That scene was absolutely adorable!)
And speaking of adorable…I absolutely LOVED Echo, the boy Sheridan and Taylor meet when they first get to Traventon! I mean the boy has blue freakin' hair. YEP. BLUE HAIR! I'm in love!! And he's also such a sweetheart! He helps Sheridan and Taylor throughout the whole book when he doesn’t have to. But since Echo and his dad, Jeth, are wordsmiths who study terms and customs that came from 400 years prior to their time, Echo is utterly captivated by the girls. His point of view was one favorite things about this novel!
But my most favoritest thing about this novel!? SKIN DYES!! They’re tattoos that you can change at any freaking time!! SO AMAZE!! Just check out what I mean:
“When it came to dying their faces, Taylor covered her cheeks and eyelids with blue-and-white swirls that looked like spinning wheels. Sheridan went with a flesh-tone face dye to erase her freckles, then Echo painted a succession of gold stars that dipped around one eyebrow and down onto her cheek. Elise applied lip and eyeliner dye, then transformed Sheridan’s eyelids into two golden patches.”
SO FREAKING BOMB, RIGHT?! Right.
But that’s not to say that Traventon is without its dangers. There are plenty of people who would love to hurt Sheridan and Taylor and there’s a dangerous gang in this world as well. But Echo sticks by their side and tries to protect them through any means necessary.
And THEN! There was this one COMPLETELY INSANE twist that hit me in the gut and I was like, “WHOA.” And I wanted to cry. It drastically changed how I felt about a certain character. Insane.
I am EAGARLY awaiting to see what happens next with Taylor, Sheridan and Echo! I canNOT wait to dive back into their world!
GAH! I don’t even know how to explain to you how much I loved the world in this book! It was so freaking fantastically awesome and SO dystopian! The people who live there believe that animals used to talk based off of our 'records’- Winnie the Pooh and Little Red Riding Hood. They don’t understand slag words such as ‘totally’ and they think we worship Santa! Ha! (That scene was absolutely adorable!)
And speaking of adorable…I absolutely LOVED Echo, the boy Sheridan and Taylor meet when they first get to Traventon! I mean the boy has blue freakin' hair. YEP. BLUE HAIR! I'm in love!! And he's also such a sweetheart! He helps Sheridan and Taylor throughout the whole book when he doesn’t have to. But since Echo and his dad, Jeth, are wordsmiths who study terms and customs that came from 400 years prior to their time, Echo is utterly captivated by the girls. His point of view was one favorite things about this novel!
But my most favoritest thing about this novel!? SKIN DYES!! They’re tattoos that you can change at any freaking time!! SO AMAZE!! Just check out what I mean:
“When it came to dying their faces, Taylor covered her cheeks and eyelids with blue-and-white swirls that looked like spinning wheels. Sheridan went with a flesh-tone face dye to erase her freckles, then Echo painted a succession of gold stars that dipped around one eyebrow and down onto her cheek. Elise applied lip and eyeliner dye, then transformed Sheridan’s eyelids into two golden patches.”
SO FREAKING BOMB, RIGHT?! Right.
But that’s not to say that Traventon is without its dangers. There are plenty of people who would love to hurt Sheridan and Taylor and there’s a dangerous gang in this world as well. But Echo sticks by their side and tries to protect them through any means necessary.
And THEN! There was this one COMPLETELY INSANE twist that hit me in the gut and I was like, “WHOA.” And I wanted to cry. It drastically changed how I felt about a certain character. Insane.
I am EAGARLY awaiting to see what happens next with Taylor, Sheridan and Echo! I canNOT wait to dive back into their world!
April 12, 2016
Sheridan and Taylor are identical twins looking alike on the outside but quite possibly different on the inside. Sheridan is quiet, responsible and wants to be an English teacher. Taylor is outgoing, arrogant and wants to be a scientist. When they suddenly get sucked into the year 2246, they find that society had changed. Humans live in domed cities which are protected by a force field from the rebels. Technology has advanced so rapidly, they realize that the Maxine that brought them into the future is to be used as a weapon. Then there’s Echo. He’s hot, smart and cunning but which side is he really on?
Sheridan’s interest in Echo seems to be premature. Maybe the fact that he’s into her is a big factor of her crush. Taylor who seems to be genius is also kind of bitch. Especially when she makes statements that hurts her twin sister.
Love the technology in this one. The fashion? Not so much. I wouldn’t color my hair a different shade as they would. They do mark their faces with symbols though. It seems rather colorful. Kind of like the Capital in The Hunger Games. I love the futuristic setting that C.J. has built. Really loved it.
I cannot wait until the next book. There’s so many questions I need to get answered.
Sheridan’s interest in Echo seems to be premature. Maybe the fact that he’s into her is a big factor of her crush. Taylor who seems to be genius is also kind of bitch. Especially when she makes statements that hurts her twin sister.
Love the technology in this one. The fashion? Not so much. I wouldn’t color my hair a different shade as they would. They do mark their faces with symbols though. It seems rather colorful. Kind of like the Capital in The Hunger Games. I love the futuristic setting that C.J. has built. Really loved it.
I cannot wait until the next book. There’s so many questions I need to get answered.
August 24, 2012
You know how when a book is good, like really good, you completely stop the rest of your life for it?
Like instead of grocery shopping or looking for a job, you just sit on the swing outside and read. And the weather is wonderful and you could be relaxing in the pool, but you’d rather sit beside the pool and dive into a book like your life depends on it.
Yeah, this is totally that book.
I completely forgot the environment around me and was thrown into Erasing Time. It took some time to get the feel for the book. Third person POV always distracts me! Ugh, I don’t know what my problem with it is, but I don’t enjoy reading it.
However, once the action and adventure started, I was hooked. Line and sinker.
There are constant twists and happenings. Once I would decide that this was that, I was immediately proved wrong.
Surprises. Everywhere.
Shocking surprises that made me grin, laugh, and cry all at the same time!
So yeah, this turned out to be way better than I expected. Great character development, great sci-fi adventures. Dystopian is becoming my new favorite craving.
Like instead of grocery shopping or looking for a job, you just sit on the swing outside and read. And the weather is wonderful and you could be relaxing in the pool, but you’d rather sit beside the pool and dive into a book like your life depends on it.
Yeah, this is totally that book.
I completely forgot the environment around me and was thrown into Erasing Time. It took some time to get the feel for the book. Third person POV always distracts me! Ugh, I don’t know what my problem with it is, but I don’t enjoy reading it.
However, once the action and adventure started, I was hooked. Line and sinker.
There are constant twists and happenings. Once I would decide that this was that, I was immediately proved wrong.
Surprises. Everywhere.
Shocking surprises that made me grin, laugh, and cry all at the same time!
So yeah, this turned out to be way better than I expected. Great character development, great sci-fi adventures. Dystopian is becoming my new favorite craving.
July 23, 2017
I had a lot of high hopes for this one, but it just turned out to be ok. Not bad, but definitely didn't keep me interested, and I ended up skimming pages at the end.
The good:
-interesting story line
-main heroine was a normal down to earth person
-talked about religion in a way that didn't bash it
-that plot twist at the end was pretty cool
The bad:
-romance felt a bit too forced and awkward (I mean around 10 pages into the book, the main heroine was already kissing the love interest *rolls eyes*. There was no buildup or any reasons on which they based their relationship}
-writing style was not interesting, and I felt that it made the book bland and as a result, also made the characters seem juvenile. It was hard to connect to the story and characters because of the writing, and the only word I have for it is plain. Not bad, but not engaging either.
The good:
-interesting story line
-main heroine was a normal down to earth person
-talked about religion in a way that didn't bash it
-that plot twist at the end was pretty cool
The bad:
-romance felt a bit too forced and awkward (I mean around 10 pages into the book, the main heroine was already kissing the love interest *rolls eyes*. There was no buildup or any reasons on which they based their relationship}
-writing style was not interesting, and I felt that it made the book bland and as a result, also made the characters seem juvenile. It was hard to connect to the story and characters because of the writing, and the only word I have for it is plain. Not bad, but not engaging either.
September 24, 2012
This was an exciting book of adventure and intrigue. Time travel always makes for interesting subject matter. I enjoyed the twin aspect in this book and also the funny misconceptions that the future world had about our time. I enjoyed all the slang phrases the twins use to confuse the people around them like “burning the midnight oil, get your ducks in a row, kick the bucket, between a rock and a hard place, up a creek without a paddle, nip this in the bud…” I was amazed at how many the author came up with. We really do use a lot of weird phrases. It added a fun element to the book. This is a YA book and one I am happy to pass off to my teenagers to read.
April 24, 2023
Science-fiction, time-travel, action-adventure, YA romance
A time machine snatches fifteen-year-old, twin sisters, Sheridan and Taylor, and catapults them to a frightening, dystopian society four centuries in the future within the former United States. It's a one-way trip with no means to return home, and their only hope for survival is to rely on their intelligence, courage, and personal integrity--and the vital assistance of a mysterious teenage boy named Echo.
I rarely read adult science fiction, especially dystopian novels, but I do occasionally read books of that type if they are written as teen novels, and especially if the YA author is someone whose work I greatly enjoy. C.J. Hill AKA Janette Rallison is one of those authors. Under her own name of Rallison, she has written many hilarious, YA, romantic comedies. In contrast, her fantasy/sci fi novels written under the Hill pseudonym are thrilling dramas with only occasional comic relief, as is the case with this book.
Whether the novel is comedy or drama, one thing a reader can count on from Rallison are stories of great emotional depth with the very moving theme of healing and redemption. As a result, her books invariably produce the much coveted response in readers of, "I laughed, I cried, I sighed." Before I read this book, I considered Hill/Rallison one of the most talented YA authors writing today, and this book has only reinforced that opinion. I consider every book she's written for young adults, as well as this one, a "keeper."
Hill/Rallison does an outstanding job of characterization in this book. Her main characters and important secondary characters are strongly and convincingly drawn, and Echo and Sheridan are quite sympathetic.
Most adult romance novels over the past almost thirty years have been written in the dual point of view (POV) of the heroine and her romantic interest, but currently very few YA romances are written this way. Instead, the primary convention is to use a single, first-person ("I") POV. I was delighted to discover that Rallison offers both the POV of Echo and of Sheridan. There is no confusion at all to the reader when the POV switches, because she employs only one POV per chapter, and each chapter is headed with the name of the POV character. It added immensely to my enjoyment of this story having Echo's POV. He is a fascinatingly complex character. If the publisher had created a cover strongly featuring Echo, there is a good chance that teen boys might have read and enjoyed this book because of him. Unfortunately, both the cover featuring the two sisters and the way the book has been marketed essentially insures that the vast majority of readers will be teen girls and adult women and few boys or men will be likely to read it.
Another happy difference in this novel is that, unlike the majority of YA romances these days, it does not imitate Twilight and throw in a third-wheel romantic interest to create a romantic triangle.
The world-building of this book is outstanding. The explanation for the creation of the time machine is unique and plausible, and the transportation, architecture, commerce, food, clothing and entertainment choices of the citizens of Echo's society are all shown in enough detail to make this world come vividly to life. The political power structure and the means it utilizes for controlling its citizens are convincingly drawn with a fascinating use of technology for both mind control and brute force. The author also offers a much more understandable historical justification for the loss of democracy over time than many other YA dystopians I've read.
One aspect of this future world especially impressed me as a former English teacher who, as part of my masters degree program, studied linguistics (the structure and history of language formation) and several foreign languages, including Spanish. Hill/Rallison very logically constructed the language of her world as a type of "Spanglish," a mixture of English and Spanish with simplified, phonetic spellings of words.
There are three central threads of this book, and for my taste, all three are done extremely well. First, there is significant personal growth within both Echo and Sheridan that springs substantially out of their romantic relationship. This is something that every good romance plot needs to accomplish and not nearly enough manage to achieve. Second, the villains of her action-adventure plot are not merely predictably power-hungry and cruel, but have larger motivations that prevent them from being one-dimensional, Snidley Whiplash buffoons. Third, the author's story forces the protagonists to make difficult, ethical choices--vs. merely allowing them to stumble into dumb, immature mistakes. This is a source of major conflict and trouble in both the romance and the action-adventure plots. I love it when a novelist writes this type of sophisticated story. Integrity is a costly virtue to maintain in any era, and a rich source of danger and adventure in a dystopian, futuristic plot in particular. And for action-adventure plots in general, the most effective ones are those in which the protagonists are willing to sacrifice themselves for the safety and well-being of others, as both of these protagonists are abundantly willing to do in this story.
Hill/Rallison is well-known for writing "clean reads," with no swearing, drugs, alcohol or sexual situations, and this is definitely the case for this book. In my opinion, this type of artistic choice means that this author stands out in a refreshing way in the field of YA fiction. The latter is increasingly dominated by excruciatingly dark books containing mature subject matter that editors from the Big Six publishers label "edgy" and "gritty." This is so much the case that many, if not most editors--and unfortunately many who review YA--have come to assume that if a YA book is not filled with adult content it must be aimed at children and doesn't "deserve" the title of YA.
This is only one woman's opinion, but I strongly disagree with this attitude. In the same manner that publishers of adult romance novels offer, and clearly label, "clean reads" for the extremely large segment of the fans of that genre who prefer that type of story, it would be a welcome service from publishers of YA if they would market novels for teens in the same way, making it obvious when a YA novel contains mature content. Until such time as they choose to do this, the only means for a potential buyer to make an informed choice is through seeking out YA reviews that describe the nature of a teen book's content.
Finally, I have good news for fans of this book: I visited Rallison's website and asked her via email if there would be any other books about Echo, Sheridan and Taylor. She replied that she originally intended this book to be a standalone, but her publisher, Harper, asked her to write a sequel. It has the working title of "Echo in Time" and will be released in 2013.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Fantasy World-Building: 5 stars
Action-Adventure Plot: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
Reread via audiobook 4/23/23: I had an opportunity to purchase the audiobook version of this novel through Amazon's Whispersync. Unfortunately, I struggled to finish it. The voice talent is a British male, who does an inferior job with an American accent and female voices, which makes him an extremely problematic choice as narrator, given the fact that two of the most important characters are teenage, American girls. In addition, the fact that the future world portrayed in this time travel novel is a Big Brother, socialist-dictatorship type of dystopian-utopia negatively stands out to me far more in 2023 than it did in 2011. I suppose I had not yet gotten as burned out on YA dystopians back then as I am today due to the fact that, in the intervening 12 years, there have been an endless parade of YA dystopian novels that are even more depressing than this one. For all those reasons, I struggled to finish this book and started skimming about 1/3 of the way in just to get through to the end.
A time machine snatches fifteen-year-old, twin sisters, Sheridan and Taylor, and catapults them to a frightening, dystopian society four centuries in the future within the former United States. It's a one-way trip with no means to return home, and their only hope for survival is to rely on their intelligence, courage, and personal integrity--and the vital assistance of a mysterious teenage boy named Echo.
I rarely read adult science fiction, especially dystopian novels, but I do occasionally read books of that type if they are written as teen novels, and especially if the YA author is someone whose work I greatly enjoy. C.J. Hill AKA Janette Rallison is one of those authors. Under her own name of Rallison, she has written many hilarious, YA, romantic comedies. In contrast, her fantasy/sci fi novels written under the Hill pseudonym are thrilling dramas with only occasional comic relief, as is the case with this book.
Whether the novel is comedy or drama, one thing a reader can count on from Rallison are stories of great emotional depth with the very moving theme of healing and redemption. As a result, her books invariably produce the much coveted response in readers of, "I laughed, I cried, I sighed." Before I read this book, I considered Hill/Rallison one of the most talented YA authors writing today, and this book has only reinforced that opinion. I consider every book she's written for young adults, as well as this one, a "keeper."
Hill/Rallison does an outstanding job of characterization in this book. Her main characters and important secondary characters are strongly and convincingly drawn, and Echo and Sheridan are quite sympathetic.
Most adult romance novels over the past almost thirty years have been written in the dual point of view (POV) of the heroine and her romantic interest, but currently very few YA romances are written this way. Instead, the primary convention is to use a single, first-person ("I") POV. I was delighted to discover that Rallison offers both the POV of Echo and of Sheridan. There is no confusion at all to the reader when the POV switches, because she employs only one POV per chapter, and each chapter is headed with the name of the POV character. It added immensely to my enjoyment of this story having Echo's POV. He is a fascinatingly complex character. If the publisher had created a cover strongly featuring Echo, there is a good chance that teen boys might have read and enjoyed this book because of him. Unfortunately, both the cover featuring the two sisters and the way the book has been marketed essentially insures that the vast majority of readers will be teen girls and adult women and few boys or men will be likely to read it.
Another happy difference in this novel is that, unlike the majority of YA romances these days, it does not imitate Twilight and throw in a third-wheel romantic interest to create a romantic triangle.
The world-building of this book is outstanding. The explanation for the creation of the time machine is unique and plausible, and the transportation, architecture, commerce, food, clothing and entertainment choices of the citizens of Echo's society are all shown in enough detail to make this world come vividly to life. The political power structure and the means it utilizes for controlling its citizens are convincingly drawn with a fascinating use of technology for both mind control and brute force. The author also offers a much more understandable historical justification for the loss of democracy over time than many other YA dystopians I've read.
One aspect of this future world especially impressed me as a former English teacher who, as part of my masters degree program, studied linguistics (the structure and history of language formation) and several foreign languages, including Spanish. Hill/Rallison very logically constructed the language of her world as a type of "Spanglish," a mixture of English and Spanish with simplified, phonetic spellings of words.
There are three central threads of this book, and for my taste, all three are done extremely well. First, there is significant personal growth within both Echo and Sheridan that springs substantially out of their romantic relationship. This is something that every good romance plot needs to accomplish and not nearly enough manage to achieve. Second, the villains of her action-adventure plot are not merely predictably power-hungry and cruel, but have larger motivations that prevent them from being one-dimensional, Snidley Whiplash buffoons. Third, the author's story forces the protagonists to make difficult, ethical choices--vs. merely allowing them to stumble into dumb, immature mistakes. This is a source of major conflict and trouble in both the romance and the action-adventure plots. I love it when a novelist writes this type of sophisticated story. Integrity is a costly virtue to maintain in any era, and a rich source of danger and adventure in a dystopian, futuristic plot in particular. And for action-adventure plots in general, the most effective ones are those in which the protagonists are willing to sacrifice themselves for the safety and well-being of others, as both of these protagonists are abundantly willing to do in this story.
Hill/Rallison is well-known for writing "clean reads," with no swearing, drugs, alcohol or sexual situations, and this is definitely the case for this book. In my opinion, this type of artistic choice means that this author stands out in a refreshing way in the field of YA fiction. The latter is increasingly dominated by excruciatingly dark books containing mature subject matter that editors from the Big Six publishers label "edgy" and "gritty." This is so much the case that many, if not most editors--and unfortunately many who review YA--have come to assume that if a YA book is not filled with adult content it must be aimed at children and doesn't "deserve" the title of YA.
This is only one woman's opinion, but I strongly disagree with this attitude. In the same manner that publishers of adult romance novels offer, and clearly label, "clean reads" for the extremely large segment of the fans of that genre who prefer that type of story, it would be a welcome service from publishers of YA if they would market novels for teens in the same way, making it obvious when a YA novel contains mature content. Until such time as they choose to do this, the only means for a potential buyer to make an informed choice is through seeking out YA reviews that describe the nature of a teen book's content.
Finally, I have good news for fans of this book: I visited Rallison's website and asked her via email if there would be any other books about Echo, Sheridan and Taylor. She replied that she originally intended this book to be a standalone, but her publisher, Harper, asked her to write a sequel. It has the working title of "Echo in Time" and will be released in 2013.
I rate this book as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Fantasy World-Building: 5 stars
Action-Adventure Plot: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
Reread via audiobook 4/23/23: I had an opportunity to purchase the audiobook version of this novel through Amazon's Whispersync. Unfortunately, I struggled to finish it. The voice talent is a British male, who does an inferior job with an American accent and female voices, which makes him an extremely problematic choice as narrator, given the fact that two of the most important characters are teenage, American girls. In addition, the fact that the future world portrayed in this time travel novel is a Big Brother, socialist-dictatorship type of dystopian-utopia negatively stands out to me far more in 2023 than it did in 2011. I suppose I had not yet gotten as burned out on YA dystopians back then as I am today due to the fact that, in the intervening 12 years, there have been an endless parade of YA dystopian novels that are even more depressing than this one. For all those reasons, I struggled to finish this book and started skimming about 1/3 of the way in just to get through to the end.
June 23, 2017
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
When twins Sheridan and Taylor wake up 400 years in the future, they find a changed world: domed cities, no animals, and a language that's so different, it barely sounds like English. And the worst news: They can't go back home.
The twenty-fifth-century government transported the girls to their city hoping to find a famous scientist to help perfect a devastating new weapon. The same government has implanted tracking devices in the citizens, limiting and examining everything they do. Taylor and Sheridan have to find a way out of the city before the government discovers their secrets. To complicate matters, the moblike Dakine has interest in getting hold of them too. The only way for the girls to elude their pursuers is to put their trust in Echo, a guy with secrets of his own. The trio must put their faith in the unknown to make a harrowing escape into the wilds beyond the city.
MY TAKE
I didn't know what to expect from this book, not having read the blurb. I received the audiobook from a drawing. The narrator did a good job. It surprised me a little at first that he had an English accent since the two girls are from Tennessee, but it worked really well since they were pulled 400 years into the future.
And what a future. An ultra-controlled society in a closed city. A place where the people are taught that all animals are dead, killed by the people in our time. Sheridan and Taylor are fortunate to be initially put in the care of two historians, Echo and his father Jeff. But then the complications and manipulations begin, and the girls start wondering who they can trust. Echo is a complicated character.
Just when the story started feeling a little like a treadmill where the girls were moving but not seeming to get anywhere, things burst open and things turn a little crazy.
The story has some nice twists. Most I figured out ahead of time, but one--wow. I totally didn't see that coming. Well done!
The book does have religious references (the girls are daughters of a minister, after all, and find themselves in a society where religion is banned), but I didn't find it preachy. It's also the beginning of a series, so while there's resolution for their situation at the moment, the story is obviously not finished. I look forward to reading the next book.
4 1/2 stars.
When twins Sheridan and Taylor wake up 400 years in the future, they find a changed world: domed cities, no animals, and a language that's so different, it barely sounds like English. And the worst news: They can't go back home.
The twenty-fifth-century government transported the girls to their city hoping to find a famous scientist to help perfect a devastating new weapon. The same government has implanted tracking devices in the citizens, limiting and examining everything they do. Taylor and Sheridan have to find a way out of the city before the government discovers their secrets. To complicate matters, the moblike Dakine has interest in getting hold of them too. The only way for the girls to elude their pursuers is to put their trust in Echo, a guy with secrets of his own. The trio must put their faith in the unknown to make a harrowing escape into the wilds beyond the city.
MY TAKE
I didn't know what to expect from this book, not having read the blurb. I received the audiobook from a drawing. The narrator did a good job. It surprised me a little at first that he had an English accent since the two girls are from Tennessee, but it worked really well since they were pulled 400 years into the future.
And what a future. An ultra-controlled society in a closed city. A place where the people are taught that all animals are dead, killed by the people in our time. Sheridan and Taylor are fortunate to be initially put in the care of two historians, Echo and his father Jeff. But then the complications and manipulations begin, and the girls start wondering who they can trust. Echo is a complicated character.
Just when the story started feeling a little like a treadmill where the girls were moving but not seeming to get anywhere, things burst open and things turn a little crazy.
The story has some nice twists. Most I figured out ahead of time, but one--wow. I totally didn't see that coming. Well done!
The book does have religious references (the girls are daughters of a minister, after all, and find themselves in a society where religion is banned), but I didn't find it preachy. It's also the beginning of a series, so while there's resolution for their situation at the moment, the story is obviously not finished. I look forward to reading the next book.
4 1/2 stars.
October 1, 2016
This review is also available on my blog, Bows & Bullets Reviews
Sheridan & Taylor are far from home with no hope of ever getting back. They were yanked 400 years into the future and now must work together to find a way out of the city before the new controlling government can orders the crystal tracking implants to be surgically implanted or, worse, decide they can't risk the liability of the girls and order their memory erased. The only way out of the city is to trust Echo, a future boy with more secrets than they can ever hope to uncover. Without him they are lost, but with him, they may end up in worse trouble. Can they trust him?
Though this book has vaguely caught my eye in the past, it wasn't until I learned that C J Hill is a pseudonym for Janette Rallison that I really grew interested in it. I have only read one of her books, but it was full of sparkling wit that kept me giggling the entire novel, yet somehow still managing to be heartfelt. Once that little tidbit was revealed, I was super-excited to see what she did in this dystopian. Would her humor translate to the new genre? The answer is yes! It really does, so, even though this is a serious dystopian, with all the serious issues that entails, Hill's/Rallison's humor still shines through. We get much more than her humor here, with a depth to the story that I wasn't entirely expecting. I knew the writing would be competent, but I wasn't quite expecting the world to pull me in the way it did.
Something else I loved was that the main character was the "normal" twin. Sheridan is not stupid by any stretch of the imaginations, but her sister Taylor is overly intelligent, graduating from college before her eighteenth birthday. Sheridan is still in high school with plans to pursue a degree in literature when they are pulled into the future. Feeling even more out of place because she doesn't have the scientific mind of her sister and she isn't pestering people with questions, just trying to take it all in. She is the one who comes up with the majority of the ideas and she is the one they end up relying on in the end. Something that should have bothered me but didn't was how religious Sheridan is. Somehow Hill manages to write a preacher's kid who is devote in her belief without coming off as pushy. Imagine my surprise, right? From the moment Sheridan mentions her beliefs, I prepared for the inevitable push of religious beliefs onto the audience. It was almost like I could feel it coming, but it never really did. Bravo, to say the least.
Then we had Echo He was a bit of a conundrum before we learn his big secret. He claims to not be part of the local gang, but knows all about them, even the deep secret stuff. He swears to protect Sheridan, but doesn't really back it up in the beginning. He tells them one thing in his translations, but says something completely different when he speaks to everyone else in the new English. He is a big part of the humor element because of his mistake beliefs and ideas of the 21st Century. When he asks about the talking animals, I almost feel in the floor laughing so hard. Once you learn his secret, one that I really didn't see coming by the way, you can't help but empathize with the guy. I just wanted to give the poor guy a hug, not to mention hug the author for the ability to keep the charade up until the very end. The light romance between him and Sheridan was so sweet, especially because she is never the twin that gets a date, they always prefer Taylor.
Taylor is a character I both loved and hated. The bond between the twins is obvious, but sometimes I became really irritated at how she reacted to Sheridan. She looks down on her desire to study literature, believing that science degrees are much more important and the way she treats Sheridan's attraction to Echo was highly irritating. The fact that she is the "smart" one but can't come up with the answers in the end is what redeems her and her anger at Sheridan for always taking her place in dangerous situations.
There are several side characters that all play a role, but really it's all about these three. This was gloriously free of a love triangle, no playing the sisters off each other for their affections or an additional male lead. No major cliffhangers, just the knowledge that the fight to save civilization isn't over, and no insta-love. Sheridan and Echo are very attracted to one another, but they don't go beyond the liking phase. It was amazing and refreshing and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one. I have added all of C J Hill's/Janette Rallison's books to my wishlist....well all the ones that weren't already there and I now truly want to get my hands on Slayers!
That's a bit off the subject. If you are looking for a dystopian a little off the beaten past, this is for you. You are looking for a story to make you smile, this is it as well. If you are looking for a twist you don't see coming, well, do I really need to say it again? This has something for everyone and manages to bring in religion without it being overpowering! What more can you ask for?
Sheridan & Taylor are far from home with no hope of ever getting back. They were yanked 400 years into the future and now must work together to find a way out of the city before the new controlling government can orders the crystal tracking implants to be surgically implanted or, worse, decide they can't risk the liability of the girls and order their memory erased. The only way out of the city is to trust Echo, a future boy with more secrets than they can ever hope to uncover. Without him they are lost, but with him, they may end up in worse trouble. Can they trust him?
Though this book has vaguely caught my eye in the past, it wasn't until I learned that C J Hill is a pseudonym for Janette Rallison that I really grew interested in it. I have only read one of her books, but it was full of sparkling wit that kept me giggling the entire novel, yet somehow still managing to be heartfelt. Once that little tidbit was revealed, I was super-excited to see what she did in this dystopian. Would her humor translate to the new genre? The answer is yes! It really does, so, even though this is a serious dystopian, with all the serious issues that entails, Hill's/Rallison's humor still shines through. We get much more than her humor here, with a depth to the story that I wasn't entirely expecting. I knew the writing would be competent, but I wasn't quite expecting the world to pull me in the way it did.
Something else I loved was that the main character was the "normal" twin. Sheridan is not stupid by any stretch of the imaginations, but her sister Taylor is overly intelligent, graduating from college before her eighteenth birthday. Sheridan is still in high school with plans to pursue a degree in literature when they are pulled into the future. Feeling even more out of place because she doesn't have the scientific mind of her sister and she isn't pestering people with questions, just trying to take it all in. She is the one who comes up with the majority of the ideas and she is the one they end up relying on in the end. Something that should have bothered me but didn't was how religious Sheridan is. Somehow Hill manages to write a preacher's kid who is devote in her belief without coming off as pushy. Imagine my surprise, right? From the moment Sheridan mentions her beliefs, I prepared for the inevitable push of religious beliefs onto the audience. It was almost like I could feel it coming, but it never really did. Bravo, to say the least.
Then we had Echo He was a bit of a conundrum before we learn his big secret. He claims to not be part of the local gang, but knows all about them, even the deep secret stuff. He swears to protect Sheridan, but doesn't really back it up in the beginning. He tells them one thing in his translations, but says something completely different when he speaks to everyone else in the new English. He is a big part of the humor element because of his mistake beliefs and ideas of the 21st Century. When he asks about the talking animals, I almost feel in the floor laughing so hard. Once you learn his secret, one that I really didn't see coming by the way, you can't help but empathize with the guy. I just wanted to give the poor guy a hug, not to mention hug the author for the ability to keep the charade up until the very end. The light romance between him and Sheridan was so sweet, especially because she is never the twin that gets a date, they always prefer Taylor.
Taylor is a character I both loved and hated. The bond between the twins is obvious, but sometimes I became really irritated at how she reacted to Sheridan. She looks down on her desire to study literature, believing that science degrees are much more important and the way she treats Sheridan's attraction to Echo was highly irritating. The fact that she is the "smart" one but can't come up with the answers in the end is what redeems her and her anger at Sheridan for always taking her place in dangerous situations.
There are several side characters that all play a role, but really it's all about these three. This was gloriously free of a love triangle, no playing the sisters off each other for their affections or an additional male lead. No major cliffhangers, just the knowledge that the fight to save civilization isn't over, and no insta-love. Sheridan and Echo are very attracted to one another, but they don't go beyond the liking phase. It was amazing and refreshing and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one. I have added all of C J Hill's/Janette Rallison's books to my wishlist....well all the ones that weren't already there and I now truly want to get my hands on Slayers!
That's a bit off the subject. If you are looking for a dystopian a little off the beaten past, this is for you. You are looking for a story to make you smile, this is it as well. If you are looking for a twist you don't see coming, well, do I really need to say it again? This has something for everyone and manages to bring in religion without it being overpowering! What more can you ask for?
March 29, 2023
This was a nice break from all the Regency romance I’ve been reading lately. I thought the romance part in this story was a bit unnecessary. It would have been a fine story without it. It was interesting to me that religion played such a big part here… but also wasn’t a religious book. Like… religion in history? I don’t know how to describe it. I just liked how it was weaved into the regular story. Sometimes dystopian books are super heavy emotionally. But this one had just enough dystopian elements without being to overwhelming for me.
July 1, 2020
This seemed more like the typical teen romance deposited into a time travel / dystopian future. The best part about it was that English triumphed over science. The girl who planned to major in English solved the problem the science girl couldn't. Three cheers for English and history!
June 29, 2012
Review on http://wordsareinnermusic.blogspot.com
Let me start out by saying that I had no idea what to expect from this book. I ended up reading two books having to do with twins back to back, and honestly I wasn’t sure how well that was going to work for me. The other side of this is the fact that I was a little nervous about the whole 400 years in the future aspect. I adore science fiction, when its written well, and sometimes when its not I just want to cry myself to sleep at night. Now, after all that, I just like you to know that I enjoyed Erasing Time. Tremendously.
Literally, I flew through this book in one sitting (with lots of stops because I was at work, but still).
Erasing Time follows the story of two girls, who are twins, and get stuck 400 years in the future. Apparently, the world is falling apart and only someone from our time can save it (Or help destroy it. You know them political types). Sheridan and Taylor are both likable characters. They’re twins and sisters, but different like night and day. I really enjoyed the writing of them together, it was a nice contrast. Personally, I felt more drawn to Sheldon, the reserved twin. I felt like her character was one I could relate to more and I was rooting for her the whole book.Then, there is Echo. Oh Echo, the broken hero of the story. His character has a lot of potential behind it. There is depth, there is warrior, and there is the romantic. This maybe a little spoilery but there is no love triangle in this book, which made me insanely happy. I can’t say if that will change or not in the next one, it might, but as of right now, I’m glad its just one girl and one boy. Sometimes I just get so tired of the whole triangle thing, its nice to read something without it.
Overall, this book was an interesting read! C.J. created a very realistic futuristic world, full of twists and turns. While I would have like a bit more character and relationship development (seriously, they just fall into the whole relationship thing) this is a good beginning to a series. C.J.’s use of words and descriptions will transport you 400 years in the future and take you on a journey like no other!
Let me start out by saying that I had no idea what to expect from this book. I ended up reading two books having to do with twins back to back, and honestly I wasn’t sure how well that was going to work for me. The other side of this is the fact that I was a little nervous about the whole 400 years in the future aspect. I adore science fiction, when its written well, and sometimes when its not I just want to cry myself to sleep at night. Now, after all that, I just like you to know that I enjoyed Erasing Time. Tremendously.
Literally, I flew through this book in one sitting (with lots of stops because I was at work, but still).
Erasing Time follows the story of two girls, who are twins, and get stuck 400 years in the future. Apparently, the world is falling apart and only someone from our time can save it (Or help destroy it. You know them political types). Sheridan and Taylor are both likable characters. They’re twins and sisters, but different like night and day. I really enjoyed the writing of them together, it was a nice contrast. Personally, I felt more drawn to Sheldon, the reserved twin. I felt like her character was one I could relate to more and I was rooting for her the whole book.Then, there is Echo. Oh Echo, the broken hero of the story. His character has a lot of potential behind it. There is depth, there is warrior, and there is the romantic. This maybe a little spoilery but there is no love triangle in this book, which made me insanely happy. I can’t say if that will change or not in the next one, it might, but as of right now, I’m glad its just one girl and one boy. Sometimes I just get so tired of the whole triangle thing, its nice to read something without it.
Overall, this book was an interesting read! C.J. created a very realistic futuristic world, full of twists and turns. While I would have like a bit more character and relationship development (seriously, they just fall into the whole relationship thing) this is a good beginning to a series. C.J.’s use of words and descriptions will transport you 400 years in the future and take you on a journey like no other!
September 25, 2012
I LOVE LOVE LOVE anything by Janette Rallison/C.J.Hill. She takes very cool ideas and makes them unique, funny and a totally joyride. So naturally I was very excited to hear about this new dystopia novel, let alone win a copy from CJ. (Thank You!)
I totally loved the society. It had many of the familiar Dystopian elements while having a unique trend and feel to it! It wasn't overdone either. It was right and good and awesome. :) YAY dystopia. So we have these twins with two different personalities and all of a sudden they are whisked away into the future. Then they learn they can't get back. YIKES. Panic time. Sheridan and Taylor find themselves in a pretty twisty predicament with no easy way out.
I wish I could spill my guts about things, but alas, no. Let me just say that I liked the realistical reaction of the girls, and thatI was easy to connect with Sheridan. I really wish Taylor had gotten her own POV moments, because she'd have a CRAZY GENIUS voice. YAY! But even without her, I still loved her character and getting to know her.
Echo..you are the riddle, wrapped in a mystery.You're hot, and full of secrets. You've got an interesting voice. Yet, as a romantic interest...you move to fast! That was my main issue with the romance. Obv, it's Insta-Attraction. But it was still fast to when they Kiss. After that I didn't feel as much development or their characters and relationship, something I totally love. So while that could've been showed more, I don't condemn them. They're gonna be so great in the next book!
The plot was MAGNIFIQUE! Secrets, logic, genius brains, smart problem solving, BETRAYAL, ack ack ack. YES. One thing I found really interesting was how she used Religious phrases/names as a Code. No, I'm not telling you anything else. But it was really neat how she did that without pinpointing any specific beliefs. Okay, so this was another great book full of adventure, futuristic bad-guys and some sweet romance. If you like all the above, this is a book for you! PLUS, it's a Clean Read!
4.5 Stars
I totally loved the society. It had many of the familiar Dystopian elements while having a unique trend and feel to it! It wasn't overdone either. It was right and good and awesome. :) YAY dystopia. So we have these twins with two different personalities and all of a sudden they are whisked away into the future. Then they learn they can't get back. YIKES. Panic time. Sheridan and Taylor find themselves in a pretty twisty predicament with no easy way out.
I wish I could spill my guts about things, but alas, no. Let me just say that I liked the realistical reaction of the girls, and thatI was easy to connect with Sheridan. I really wish Taylor had gotten her own POV moments, because she'd have a CRAZY GENIUS voice. YAY! But even without her, I still loved her character and getting to know her.
Echo..you are the riddle, wrapped in a mystery.You're hot, and full of secrets. You've got an interesting voice. Yet, as a romantic interest...you move to fast! That was my main issue with the romance. Obv, it's Insta-Attraction. But it was still fast to when they Kiss. After that I didn't feel as much development or their characters and relationship, something I totally love. So while that could've been showed more, I don't condemn them. They're gonna be so great in the next book!
The plot was MAGNIFIQUE! Secrets, logic, genius brains, smart problem solving, BETRAYAL, ack ack ack. YES. One thing I found really interesting was how she used Religious phrases/names as a Code. No, I'm not telling you anything else. But it was really neat how she did that without pinpointing any specific beliefs. Okay, so this was another great book full of adventure, futuristic bad-guys and some sweet romance. If you like all the above, this is a book for you! PLUS, it's a Clean Read!
4.5 Stars
February 15, 2013
Twins Sheridan and Taylor couldn't be more different, both intelligent, Taylor is into physics and a genius while Sheridan is more the bookish type. Taylor is helping Sheridan with her physics while getting ready for a date of her own when their whole world is turned upside down. They are sucked into a whole new world, 400 years into the future. Things are very different in the 25th century. There are no animals and all of the people are gathered into domed cities to protect them from the elements and other cities. Unfortunately for the twins, there are scientists in the 25th century that want a man named Tyler Sherwood, who was a genius in a field of learning that they want help with. So these scientists decided to find his DNA signal and suck Tyler from his life in the 21st century and bring him to the 25th century so that he can help them. What the scientists don't realize is that identical twins share their DNA and that's how they end up sucking the twins into their time. They also don't realize that these unassuming teenage girls are very smart, and they have some secrets that they don't want the government to realize. These girls must figure out who to trust. Can they trust Echo, a smart guy that they've just met that obviously have secrets of their own? Or should they trust only each other and rely on their own intelligence to get them out of this mess?
I have to say that I LOVED this book! I love the characters of Taylor and Sheridan. They are both strong, amazing young women, who don't just turn over and play dead when things don't go their way, they figure a way out of their problems instead. I love the character of Echo, I like the way he is an honorable man. I like the way Taylor, Sheridan and Echo's secrets stay that way, until at a proper time they are revealed. This book was full of action, adventure and imagination. I can't wait for the second book in this series!
I have to say that I LOVED this book! I love the characters of Taylor and Sheridan. They are both strong, amazing young women, who don't just turn over and play dead when things don't go their way, they figure a way out of their problems instead. I love the character of Echo, I like the way he is an honorable man. I like the way Taylor, Sheridan and Echo's secrets stay that way, until at a proper time they are revealed. This book was full of action, adventure and imagination. I can't wait for the second book in this series!
June 11, 2012
I am quickly becoming a big fan of sci-fi and action thriller books. Which is beyond shocking to me. I seriously thought that NEVER would happen to me! Add that to the fact that I have always been fascinated by stories of twin's and this book was a total must read for me!
This review is really challenging for me, because I have really mixed views on it. While I love dystopian, sci-fi and time travel, (which this book has all 3 of!) it fell really flat for me. I was literally forcing myself to read this one. Normally I can finish a book in 2 or 3 days. This one took me over a week! Not because it was difficult to understand or hard to follow, simply because I had to force myself to read it.
Again, the plot itself had the markings for something really epic that would be a serious contender for my fave read of 2012. For me though, the plot somehow just didn't transfer onto the written page. It was slow, boring, and I really had to make myself finish it. In fact, if I weren't borrowing this one from a friend, I probably wouldn't have finished it at all.
Now here's where the mixed feelings come in. Around the last 60 pages the book really picked up and I really got into it! I wish the 300 pages before it had been more like it! But sadly they were not, and then...it ended. *sighs* So you can see my dilema! Right? It almost felt like 2 completely different books smushed together.
All in all I didn't enjoy this one, it was a little too slow paced for me. However, the ending of the book was much better for me, and I am curious about where the author will take this story in the next book!
This review is really challenging for me, because I have really mixed views on it. While I love dystopian, sci-fi and time travel, (which this book has all 3 of!) it fell really flat for me. I was literally forcing myself to read this one. Normally I can finish a book in 2 or 3 days. This one took me over a week! Not because it was difficult to understand or hard to follow, simply because I had to force myself to read it.
Again, the plot itself had the markings for something really epic that would be a serious contender for my fave read of 2012. For me though, the plot somehow just didn't transfer onto the written page. It was slow, boring, and I really had to make myself finish it. In fact, if I weren't borrowing this one from a friend, I probably wouldn't have finished it at all.
Now here's where the mixed feelings come in. Around the last 60 pages the book really picked up and I really got into it! I wish the 300 pages before it had been more like it! But sadly they were not, and then...it ended. *sighs* So you can see my dilema! Right? It almost felt like 2 completely different books smushed together.
All in all I didn't enjoy this one, it was a little too slow paced for me. However, the ending of the book was much better for me, and I am curious about where the author will take this story in the next book!
July 14, 2014
Reviewed on Kathryn Cooper Writes
I was slightly afraid to read a sci-fi book since I’m not a big sci-fi reader, BUT I had to read this since C.J. Hill (aka Janette Rallison) is my favorite author. I knew I would like it but was interested to see how she would write a sci-fi. Wow, I loved it! She must have done a lot of science research for this book. I didn’t understand everything Taylor said but hey neither did Sheridan. I’m not a science genius.
I really enjoyed the romance even though I didn’t know how to trust Echo. There were chapters from his point of view, and I still didn’t know if I could trust the guy. Super mysterious. I thought I had figured out his secrets, but I did not!
Taylor and Sheridan were great. The twin sister relationship was fun to see, so real and easy to connect with. Sometimes you agree and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you make selfish decisions and sometimes heroic ones. Loved loved it.
I loved how Sheridan and Taylor were from our time but found themselves 400 years in the future. Even the English dialect had changed. Erasing Time was a great book for anyone who loves dystopian romance or sci-fi books with romance.
Content Ratings: (content details found on kathryncooperwrites.com)
Sexual Content: mild
Language: none/ made up cursing
Violence: mild/moderate
*I received the book from the publisher. I am not paid for my reviews. My reviews are solely my opinion.*
I was slightly afraid to read a sci-fi book since I’m not a big sci-fi reader, BUT I had to read this since C.J. Hill (aka Janette Rallison) is my favorite author. I knew I would like it but was interested to see how she would write a sci-fi. Wow, I loved it! She must have done a lot of science research for this book. I didn’t understand everything Taylor said but hey neither did Sheridan. I’m not a science genius.
I really enjoyed the romance even though I didn’t know how to trust Echo. There were chapters from his point of view, and I still didn’t know if I could trust the guy. Super mysterious. I thought I had figured out his secrets, but I did not!
Taylor and Sheridan were great. The twin sister relationship was fun to see, so real and easy to connect with. Sometimes you agree and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you make selfish decisions and sometimes heroic ones. Loved loved it.
I loved how Sheridan and Taylor were from our time but found themselves 400 years in the future. Even the English dialect had changed. Erasing Time was a great book for anyone who loves dystopian romance or sci-fi books with romance.
Content Ratings: (content details found on kathryncooperwrites.com)
Sexual Content: mild
Language: none/ made up cursing
Violence: mild/moderate
*I received the book from the publisher. I am not paid for my reviews. My reviews are solely my opinion.*
November 14, 2019
This was a really interesting read! XD
First off: it had time travel! TIME TRAVEL!!!
And I absolutely LOVE time travel!!!
So what is this book about Hmmmmmmmmmm?
Well...
Taylor and Sheiridan Bradford were just having a completely normal day when a mysterious light appears in the room! Next thing you know, they're 400 years in the future...
and there's no why back.
But the question is, why were they even taken into the future in the first place?
Well, the scientists made a "Time Strainer" which is what they called the time machine. They wanted to take a scientist named Tyler Sherwood from the 21st century to their time period. According to the scientists, Tyler Sherwood would help them solve the world's problems.
A.K.A. help them build weapons!!
And the twins are going to make sure that the scientists don't get what they want! How they do that without getting captured, killed, and/or their memory wiped? That's the difficult part...
P.S. Just thought I should warn you that in the future, everyone dresses like Lady Gaga. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
Overall, this book gets about 3.5 stars!
First off: it had time travel! TIME TRAVEL!!!
And I absolutely LOVE time travel!!!
So what is this book about Hmmmmmmmmmm?
Well...
Taylor and Sheiridan Bradford were just having a completely normal day when a mysterious light appears in the room! Next thing you know, they're 400 years in the future...
and there's no why back.
But the question is, why were they even taken into the future in the first place?
Well, the scientists made a "Time Strainer" which is what they called the time machine. They wanted to take a scientist named Tyler Sherwood from the 21st century to their time period. According to the scientists, Tyler Sherwood would help them solve the world's problems.
A.K.A. help them build weapons!!
And the twins are going to make sure that the scientists don't get what they want! How they do that without getting captured, killed, and/or their memory wiped? That's the difficult part...
P.S. Just thought I should warn you that in the future, everyone dresses like Lady Gaga. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
Overall, this book gets about 3.5 stars!
August 22, 2012
College twins Sheridan and Taylor are zapped into the future where God and doctors seem to be no longer relevant. Unfortunately for the twins, they find themselves suddenly very relevant and expendable as near-prisoners. The teens, invited to their first darty (a dance party), get to spend time with one of their handlers, a handsome but mysterious young man named Echo, who may or may not be interested in their welfare. Even before agreeing to go to the darty, the twins know that in order to stay alive they need to escape the city of Traverton. For scientists wish to erase the twin’s 21st century memories, a dangerous mob-like society wants to use them, and even the Vikers, the starving one-armed criminals, would eat them, if they could get ahold of them. C. J. Hill creates a believable, but frightening, new world where our unlikely heroes meet the future to discover that the world has ended as they knew it. Once the story is set, this thriller pours on the action, including a Da Vinci Code like mystery. Teens will root for the twins, and for more of their story.
Tim Loge
Teen Librarian
Chandler Public Library
Tim Loge
Teen Librarian
Chandler Public Library
February 11, 2014
Audience: YA (Clean)
Genre: Dystopian, Action-Adventure
Length: 368 pgs.
Rating: ***** (Fantastic book that I loved!)
Review: I read a novella of Janette Rallison's a while ago, and when I saw that one of her YA novels written under her pen name C.J. Hill was on sale, I bought it. I knew it would be fun, the it promised to be pretty action packed too. I've read a lot (A LOT) of romance lately, so I wanted a change. I LOVED this book. So interesting and so in depth. I could tell that there was a lot of research done, and everything seemed so original, yet the future she created seemed like a totally natural progression from today. It was mind blowing and awesome.
Content: Rated 1-5; 1 being minor instances, 5 being saturated
Sex - 0
Language - 0 (The future people use a future swear words throughout, but since it's not a swear word to us, it seems like saying, "oh, gosh."
Violence - 1 (Some violent scenes are described and there're some fights, but nothing graphic.)
Overall rating - PG
Source: Bought on Kindle during a promotional sale.
Read more at http://raneesclark.blogspot.com
Genre: Dystopian, Action-Adventure
Length: 368 pgs.
Rating: ***** (Fantastic book that I loved!)
Review: I read a novella of Janette Rallison's a while ago, and when I saw that one of her YA novels written under her pen name C.J. Hill was on sale, I bought it. I knew it would be fun, the it promised to be pretty action packed too. I've read a lot (A LOT) of romance lately, so I wanted a change. I LOVED this book. So interesting and so in depth. I could tell that there was a lot of research done, and everything seemed so original, yet the future she created seemed like a totally natural progression from today. It was mind blowing and awesome.
Content: Rated 1-5; 1 being minor instances, 5 being saturated
Sex - 0
Language - 0 (The future people use a future swear words throughout, but since it's not a swear word to us, it seems like saying, "oh, gosh."
Violence - 1 (Some violent scenes are described and there're some fights, but nothing graphic.)
Overall rating - PG
Source: Bought on Kindle during a promotional sale.
Read more at http://raneesclark.blogspot.com
September 8, 2012
Taylor and Sheridan Bradford find themselves drawn over four hundred years in the future. the government was looking for an important scientist and instead got teenage twins. Language has changed, democracy is gone, the fashions are extreme, and everyone is ranked by money, popularity, job, etc. Taylor and Sheridan just want to get home, but that might not be an option. Now they need to learn how to survive in this new time, and how not to be used by the government or mafia-like group called the Dakine.
Science fiction with a blend of humor. I loved hearing Echo's perspective of our time period, gems like: do all animals talk? Based on the stories and "evidence" that has survived from our time period like Winnie the Pooh. I laughed out loud multiple times.
A promising new series, yet wrapped up well enough for book one. Some twists along the way, and for me, a sweet romance. Although I am having trouble getting past Echo's long blue hair.
Science fiction with a blend of humor. I loved hearing Echo's perspective of our time period, gems like: do all animals talk? Based on the stories and "evidence" that has survived from our time period like Winnie the Pooh. I laughed out loud multiple times.
A promising new series, yet wrapped up well enough for book one. Some twists along the way, and for me, a sweet romance. Although I am having trouble getting past Echo's long blue hair.
December 4, 2012
This book started out interesting but I thought faded in the end. There was a bit of akwardness with the religion theme. It seemed placed in there without a good examination of it. I also never really got a feel for why the society was the way it was. There also didn't seem to be much emotion over the loss of the family that the two girls experienced. They were ripped away from everything that they knew and yet in a moment seemed to be completely adjusted to the fact that they would never see their family again. You never really got to know much about their life before arriving in the future except for the fact that Taylor was very smart. I also never really understood exactly who the Dakine were and what the difference between them and the government was. All in all I felt that the premise was interesting but did not really deliver because it got sidetracked. I couldn't understand exactly where the author's focus was supposed to be other than the twin motif.
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