“There are risks, but progress is always dangerous, isn't it? Most of the time, walls don't get dismantled brick by brick. Someone has to crash through them.”
Imagine if you could take back or change a really terrible moment in your life. I am not taking about your boyfriend/girlfriend breaking up with you; I am talking about someone really close to you dying. If you were a genius, would you try to figure out time travel? Would you play God and try to change all the "bad" things in this world? If killing 3 people saved the life of millions, would you pull the trigger? Can loving someone blind you? Those are some of the moral questions addressed, and sometimes left unanswered in Cristin Terrill's All Our Yesterdays.
The book opens with Em. She has been locked in a cell, where everyday she stares, out of fear and curiosity, at the drain in her cell. There is something about it she just can't shake. Finn, who is her partner in crime (or so we can assume at this point in the novel), is in the cell next to her. She communicates with him through an air vent. One night she decides to keep her plastic spoon from her meal (this causes major problems later). With Finn's singing to disguise her, Em sets to work on the screws of the drain. Once the grate is off the drain, Em finds a plastic freezer bag with a single sheet of paper in it. That doesn't seem so remarkable; however, something catches Em's eyes. She recognizes the writing. She should, it belongs to her. What she doesn't recognize is what is written: "You have to kill him."
What occurs after is some major brutallity (they are in prison), an escape and eventually travel through time. Em and Finn must go back in time to stop the creation of Cassandra, the time machine. The person who has created this machine has become quite a... monster. He has changed so much in history, with the help of a uber-bad guy, that the world is unrecognizable and that person does not want Em and Finn to stop him. Something so innocent as wanting desperately to change the unchangeable (hence the creation of the time machine), has blown up and taken innocent lives with its creation. Here's the kicker, this isn't the first time that Em and Finn have tried to change the future outcomes (hence the note in Em's handwriting). This is about the 15th time they have tried, never yeilding different results... perhaps this new target will be the end of all the troubles. Will Em and Finn be able to save the world? And Miranda, will she be able to save the boy she loves? Better question, how do Em and Finn's story cross with Miranda and James?
I really liked this book! It was such a sh*t storm of confusion, because you start off with 3 sets of characters and then 3 more are added on (along with some supporting cast). Eventually, the reader is given enough information that they an begin to piece the story together. The story flips back and forth from present day to 4 years before, along with some flash back memories. I am not a scientist so I did not see an issues with the time travel aspect of the story (so sue me). At first I was upset to hear this would not be a stand alone book, but part of the Cassandra Chronicles. I can agree with many bloggers and reviewers on Goodreads.com about the neat ending. It seems like all the loose ends had been tied or cut off at the end, really the end is terribly good; however, I almost forgot about an important character as did everyone else in the book. You might not know who it is, but remember the character that serves as the catalyst to drive the invention of the time machine? Here is another hint, his name starts with an R... everyone forget him? I think he is a solid reason why we might see all these characters (minus one... maybe.. idk) again.
Thank You NetGalley, solid 4/5 stars.
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