Extra Life

by Derek Nikitas

A time-bending and mind-bending thriller about a troubled teen who messes with his own past—and by doing so jeopardizes the future.

Two years after being expelled from high school, Horace “Russ” Vale has started to get his life back on track. But living in the shadow of a major film studio has made Russ more than a little obsessed with movies. When Russ decides to make his own short movie, he cooks up a crazy plan to recruit the slightly unhinged star of a hit teen soap opera. And gets himself into heaps of trouble in the process.

Just when everything falls apart, Russ is shocked to receive a message on his cell phone—from himself. This “Future Russ” gives him a chance to fix his mistakes by leaping twelve hours into the past. Russ can’t resist, figuring the day can’t get any weirder or worse.

But he couldn’t be more wrong. Because as soon as Russ tampers with time and space, he sparks dangerous glitches he can’t control, including alternate versions of himself. Russ’s sanity and the lives of everyone he cares about are at risk if he can’t find a way to regain control of his past, present and future.

In Extra Life, acclaimed author Derek Nikitas has written a riveting and pop-culture savvy thriller that surprises with every turn of the page.

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Teen, Time Travel, Young Adult Science Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2015

About the author

Derek Nikitas is the Edgar-award nominated author of the crime/mystery novels *Pyres* and *The Long Division* (a Washington Post Best Book of 2009 selection).

He has also written a science fiction adventure novel for Young Adults called *Extra Life* and has co-written several "Bookshots" books with bestselling novelist James Patterson, including *Diary of a Succubus* and *You've Been Warned--Again.*

He lives in Rhode Island.

Reviews

[Nicholas Tavares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extra Life by Derek Nikitas is a book about a boy name Russ who finds himself in some trouble. Russ Vale is given a chance to redo a day that didn’t go as planned. By leaping twelve hours into the past he can try alter the past for his benefit. He knows what he needs to change unfortunately things have a turn for the worst. As a result of time travel Russ messes with space and this causes dangerous glitches to appear. Glitches such as clones of himself put Russ and everyone he knows in serious danger. This leaves only Russ to alter the past again in order to make things go back to normal. In the end Russ fixes the vast majority of his mistakes and the clones are removed, however every now and again Russ notices small glitches in the world around him that only he will detect. He is stuck to live with these glitches for going back in time again would do even more danger.
I enjoyed this book to an extent. The plot was very interesting and appealing however at times was very confusing. The multi-world scenario was hard to follow and connecting the actions to the universe they took place in was difficult. Through the confusion this was a great book. I personally love the idea of time travel and the altering of the space timeline. This type of plot lets the readers imagination run free and wild. Anyone with a creative mindset and interest in the theory of another universe would enjoy this book. However this is a more advanced read for any student high school and above, I would give it a 4 star rating because the plot was very intriguing but hard to interpret.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gets really good when about halfway through shit starts hitting the fan. Interesting read for sure. Does things differently than other books.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book was a bit of a surreal experience for me, because it was written by a former professor of mine. (In the back of the book, on the acknowledgements page, is a list of people I know very well, and seeing that in a nationally-published work is very odd.) This book is really quite original in plot and utilizes it brilliantly. The story can get a bit confusing and convoluted sometimes, keeping track of who's who and the timeline (time travel is a messy-enough business to just READ, much less attempt), but I must greatly applaud Derek for keeping it both complex and consistent--and easy enough to follow. Clearly, a lot of work had been put into it, and it pays off. The book just kept getting more and more engaging as it went along, without being predictable at all, and the resolution is satisfying and believable. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction or YA. (Or both!)

[Deri Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always fun to find the unexpected in the familiar, and Extra Life definitely delivers the unexpected in both the YA and time travel spectrums. Nikitas gives us a protagonist that is flawed yet sympathetic, with a strong voice that propels the story forward at a breakneck pace. The story's twists and turns makes it a definite page turner. Also, I'm a sucker for all things time travel, so I was pleasantly surprised to see such a unique take on the concept. It's such a fun story, you don't have to love YA or time travel to enjoy it. I put it in the top five YA/Sci-Fi books I've read in recent years.

[TheSaint · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again I pick up a book without really knowing anything about it. But I was pleasantly surprised to find, at about a quarter of the way through, that I was not, in fact, in the midst of a vapid, teenage-angsty, drama-filled, lust story. I was in the world of the multi-verse and time travel and myriad butterfly-wing possibilities.

Bless the author for doing a great job of keeping the timelines straight!

[Alice Kuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you were given a second chance? Or in Russ Vale's case a chance to redo a day. Russ is given a chance to fix his mistakes by leaping twelve hours into the past. He knows what he needs to change unfortunately things do not go as planned. A real page turner, a bit slow in some parts. Great book for the lovers of time travel and second chances.

[S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best time-travel novel I've ever read!

[Patty Welch cable · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book...but it made my brain REALLY hurt!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made me dizzy, but it was fun. Think Back to the Future on an acid trip.

[Love2read]

If you enjoy time travel you will definitely enjoy this story. Clear writing and hard concept to clearly write about.

[T.J. Burns]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.