J. King’s Reviews > A Time to Tell > Status Update

Still don't get the characters, like real people sometimes, and these characters do seem to be based on real people. The patterns are too consistent. I suspect they mean a great deal to Maria, the author, and I hope to talk to her about them after I write my review.

I'm noticing a few themes that recur throughout this story, maybe a clue to understanding these characters. They still behave in ways that feel random to me, but perhaps the randomness has some grander purpose.

A bit of Wow! here. This changes everything, doesn't it? (Although I would have hoped Gloria would do the dirty work, for Cara's sake.)

This last scene made me laugh. The MST3K crew kept whispering in my head. I think I'm tired. Need sleep...

Don't understand Claire's reaction, although— No. Don't get it, not after 9 years of happy & peaceful marriage. Again, sudden.

Many of these character changes seem sudden to me, plotted, insufficient internal motivation for the change. Why I dropped Philip Pullman!

BTW, in the US, just by changing your name, you won't escape the police. Probably in the UK, too.

Some of these scenes degenerate into laundry-list scenes. "Where are the car keys?" "I thought you had them!" "Not me!" Oy vey.

What changed Ben? He had some transformative experience that hasn't even been alluded to here.

Why is Rosie so personally invested in Cara coming to London with her?