Rewrite Redemption by J.H. Walker

Blurb

She’s sixteen. He’s seventeen. They don’t know each other…at least not yet.

She has a secret and her whole life revolves around keeping it. Every few months and with little warning, she simply disappears, pulled into the past for hours or even days. She’s terrified it will happen in front of someone, changing her life forever. So far, the only witnesses have been her parents, and that didn’t end well. She has no control over it and no idea why it happens to her.

She wants answers.

He has answers—at least he understands what’s going on. He has a secret, too. He’s part of an organization that goes back in time to rewrite reality. But he also has a problem. He broke the organization’s number-one rule by altering his own timeline. As punishment, he’s been blocked from time travel, which is most unfortunate. Because the changes he made to his timeline, accidentally resulted in disaster for his family. A disaster he’s now prevented from repairing. No one can travel beneath the organization’s radar except a Shadow. But they’re rare, so rare he’s never even met one.

Then he moves to her town.

My Perspective

This is the twentieth book I read from my post Credit Where Credit’s Due. I read about Rewrite Redemption by J.H. Walker at Ramblings In The Skye. You can read their thoughts on the book here.

Rewrite Redemption is mainly about A.J., a sixteen year old girl who is able to travel back in time. However not by her own will, it happens randomly and not always at the best of times. Struggling to survive high school without her secret becoming known, A.J. hides behind dark glasses and a large hoodie, her only friends being Lex and iPod. However one day that all changes when a new boy moves into town, he too having her ability.

I really enjoyed this book. The premise of time travel has always interested me so i like to read books that explore it. This was a completely different take on it, which i appreciated it and it reminded me slightly of the ISOs in Tron: Legacy.

A.J. is easy to like and root for. My heart really went out to her because of what happened with her parents and you really want everything to work out for her. Lex and iPod were great best friends and you couldn’t help but like them too. Constantine on the other hand had me in two different minds. He was a great guy who was easy to like however he also annoyed me and i didn’t like everything about him and his attitude. However in a way it was good because it meant he wasn’t perfect.

Obviously as the premise of the book is time travel, you kind of get the obvious that everything is probably going to work out well because they can just go back in time and “fix” things. However the journey on how and what the end result will be was not what i expected. I had some inklings about things however didn’t know if the author was going to go there or not and I’m really glad that they did.

As it is a young adults book, there is teenage romance throughout, which didn’t have me rolling my eyes as much as i thought. It was very present however i enjoyed it more than i thought i would. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of eye rolling, corny moments – however the story was interesting enough that it was able to carry them without it losing my attention.

The explanations and science behind everything was a little far fetched however explained it quite well and was to some extent plausible. Obviously you have to suspend some belief when it comes to time travel however this was a good example of it not being ridiculously impossible.

I did find that some of the book may have been a bit unnecessary. I found that the story got a bit bogged down by the amount of inner dialogue. I felt it would have been a bit more interesting had some of that been trimmed down and that it would have flowed a bit faster.

Overall it was a really enjoyable book that i would definitely recommend if you like young adult science fiction.

Malia’s Miracles (Devya’s Children: Volume 3) by Julie C. Gilbert

Blurb

How much is one life worth?

Danielle Matheson faces a difficult decision: helplessly watch Christy’s mother die of cancer or ask Jillian and her genetically Gifted siblings to risk their freedom to save her.

Once committed to the cause, Jillian, Malia, and Michio turn their full attention to fighting the cancer, but more danger awaits them. Defeating the disease and dodging government agents soon become the least of their worries when measured against the race against time to rescue one girl from certain death.

My Perspective

This is the third book in the Devya’s Children series, Ashlynn’s Dreams being the first and Nadia’s Tears being the second.

Having escaped Dr Devya’s compound, Malia is now being adopted into the Davidson family. However only a day after the adoption, Danielle’s friend Christy calls from the hospital because her mother is dying. Jillian, Danielle, Malia and Michio make their way to be with Christy and her sister. However not prepared to just watch and wait while cancer claims its next victim, Danielle asks Malia whether Devya’s children can save her.

Malia’s Miracles pretty much follows on from Nadia’s Tears.

The concepts in this book were quite thought provoking. Having the gifts and abilities to possibly cure someone of disease, do you choose to save them even though you are meddling with the “Space-time Continuum”? I think it dealt with it really well, allowing the reader to explore and decide for themselves.

Both Jillian and Danielle continue to grow more and more and I’m finding that my favourite character is probably Danielle. She’s really relateable (is that a word?) and down to earth. I like Jillian however i think because of her gifts, it is harder to connect with her. It’s hard to not to both like and be baffled by Malia and the others.

Again, as in the previous two books, the story was written as many letters and journal entries compiled together as case evidence to the Devya’s Children project. I have become completely accustomed to the style now having read the previous two books.

In this story, i found it to be even more of a stretch in its believability however again, as it comes under Sci Fi, really anything is possible. There also wasn’t as much explanation of some occurrences as there were in the previous two books, it was more of a “it happened because it could” so i don’t know if I’m just missing something or what.

Overall the story was enjoyable, interesting and thought provoking. I’m really curious to next see where Devya’s children are headed, especially as Danielle is starting college.

I would definitely recommend this book if you like YA and/or YA Sci Fi however it’s probably best for you to read Volume 1 first (Ashylnn’s Dreams).

This review is based on a digital copy provided by the author.

Nadia’s Tears (Devya’s Children: Volume 2) by Julie C. Gilbert

Blurb

Jillian must enter Nadia’s dreams to wake her from a mysterious coma. In Nadia’s dreams, Jillian meets several versions of her sister, including the elegant Queen Elena, fierce Naidine, and heartbroken Nadie. Meanwhile, Danielle must save her friend Christy from making choices that could get them both killed.

My Perspective

This is the second book in the Devya’s Children series, Ashlynn’s Dreams being the first.

Jillian and Danielle have returned home safely and are trying to settle back in to a normal life again. However Jillian is concerned for the safety of her other siblings who are still under the supervision of Dr Devya. Able to keep in contact with them through her dreams, she becomes extremely worried when Nadia becomes silent. When she finds out Nadia is in a coma and the scientists are unable to wake her, Jillian decides to return to Dr Devya to help save Nadia even if it means she might never return.

Nadia’s Tears follows closely on from Ashlynn’s Dreams. I found this book a little slower to start off with however there was a lot more suspense and buildup throughout.

Jillian is learning more and more about her ‘gift’ and she is continually putting others first before herself. You can’t help but like her. Unlike the previous book, Danielle really stood out more than Jillian. She has grown, become a lot stronger person and I really admire her character.

Again the story was written as many letters and journal entries compiled together as case evidence to the Devya’s Children project. It’s an unusual style however it’s clever and it works well within the parameters of the story. It flowed well and I was accustomed to the format due to reading the first book.

There were some parts of the story that I found to be a stretch in being believable however as it comes under Sci Fi, really anything is possible.

Nadia’s Tears is a great sequel that really builds on from Ashlynn’s Dreams. YA Sci Fi is not a genre I would usually pick however the Devya’s Children series is starting to change my mind.

I would definitely recommend this book if you like YA and/or YA Sci Fi however it’s probably best for you to read Volume 1 first (Ashylnn’s Dreams) as it will give a greater understanding and depth to Nadia’s Tears.

This review is based on a digital copy provided by the author.

Ashlynn’s Dreams (Devya’s Children: Volume 1) by Julie C. Gilbert

Blurb

Before she was kidnapped, Jillian Marie Antel Blairington was just an average bright, brave, headstrong child. She was excited for life in a new house with her Momma and new Daddy. Afterward, she’s all that … and so much more.

Held in a scientific facility, Jillian discovers her past-a family she never knew and a power she doesn’t understand. With her ability now activated, she can enter and even shape a person’s dreams. Jillian’s been kidnapped, and her Gift has been triggered, so she can locate and save Benjamin Connelly, a brother she never even knew she had. She’d better master this strange ability quickly, though, because her life isn’t the only one at stake. Her babysitter, Danielle Matheson, is being held as a hostage to ensure Jillian’s full cooperation. Slowly, Jillian begins to learn more about her captor and the other genetically altered children held at the facility.

Join Jillian as she tries to survive the training being forced upon her, find her unknown brother, escape with Danielle, and work her way back to a normal life once more.

My Perspective

Ashlynn’s Dreams is about a twelve year old girl, Jillian, who is kidnapped along with her babysitter, Danielle. They are taken to a facility where Jillian learns that she is not who she thought she was. Created to shape dreams, her captors have tasked her with finding Benny, the twin she never knew she had.

Being a YA Sci Fi, i wouldn’t generally be interested in reading this kind of book, however i found i quite enjoyed it. I would almost call it a YA Psychological Sci Fi.

The story was very cleverly written. Instead of your usual format, it was many letters and journal entries compiled together as case evidence to the kidnapping. At first it was a little discombobulating however i soon got used to it. It was really interesting and made it seem almost like a true story. You were dribbled information throughout, making you want to read more and more so you understood what was going on.

Jillian is extremely likeable and you really get to know and understand her. I also liked Danielle, however i felt sorry for her more than i did Jillian. I felt that Jillian was a stronger character and would be able to make it through her ordeal whether Danielle seemed more like she could tip off the edge. The other characters fascinated me however some you wouldn’t say were likeable.

The essence of this story is one that many ponder, the fine line between morality and tampering with people to help the greater good. I think the story was quite unbiased in giving both sides of the story. It was slightly horrifying in some parts however and it does make you wonder what really goes on in the world.

I did find that Jillian’s accent changed – it was quite a heavy Southern accent at the beginning and then not so much throughout. I think though that the author meant to write it like that to clearly portray the “before” Jillian and the “after” Jillian and how she was quite a different person because of what she went through.

Overall i found this a really interesting book, especially considering it’s one that i would not probably read. I would definitely recommend it to YA readers.

This review is based on a digital copy provided by the author.