Tempest by Julie Cross

Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

Tempest

by Julie Cross

Release Date: January 17th, 2012

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The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world

Time travel is something that I don’t really see enough of in the young adult reading world, and it really is a shame because when it’s done right – well the result is Tempest! Time travel is something so magical, and mystical that it really doesn’t have many rules or any real logic behind it. An author can simply create their own rules and not really fear stepping on anyone’s toes or using another’s material because of how broad a stretch time traveling lore has grown. It’s been done to death in movies but has slowly been working its way into books, which is great because - for readers like me – it’s something new and exciting to dive into reading.

Jackson Meyer, our main protagonist, is a 19 year old college student that seems to have everything going for him including a best friend that know about his secret and a sweet, loving girlfriend. However, his secret – the ability to jump through time – doesn’t always make for a perfect dating life, and his girlfriend, Holly, is beginning to really question being with Jackson and his commitment to their relationship. Just when Jackson tries to explain everything to her – BAM – Holly is shot in the chest by two men in black (MIB much?) and Jackson somehow jumps back to 2007; this is problematic because Jackson has never been able to jump that far EVER! Jackson soon discovers that he cannot get back to his own time, and has taken the place of himself in 2007.

That being said, Tempest is really a delight to open from start to finish. Julie Cross actually uses time travel in more of a scientific way, and uses science and genetics to explain how Jackson can actually travel or not travel to different periods of time. What really got my excitement was the interactions between Jackson and the supporting characters including – my favorite – Adam! I felt like Adam deserved more page time and – maybe I am a sucker for the sidekick - hopefully he’ll get more focus in the second installment!

Holly, Jackson’s girlfriend, I felt was really now as heavily focuses on and kind of was there as something for Jackson to focus on. She was not really developed much, and there was some focus on her past and home life that ultimately went nowhere, and I felt was only really there to make readers see her as being really important to Jackson. It is my hope that Holly does not become one of the classic “pretty girlfriends in distress”, and instead gets some of that martial arts, spy training that Jackson received.  Julie

Cross throws readers for a loop using two characters that I hope will be expanded upon the next book: Courtney, Jackson’s dead sister, and a little redheaded girl from the future. *Let me just say that the moments between Jackson and Courtney and very sweet, with a heartbreaking last moments that left me with many questions.

Characterization and interaction is the main focus in this story. Jackson and Adam definitely share the top spot for best interaction/one-liners and are my new favorite dynamic duo thus far! The real action and fighting does not occur until the last part of the book, but there is plenty of mystery and suspense to keep readers interested and invested in accompanying Jackson on his journey!

I am a sucker for Doctor Who, so the idea of alternate time-lines and the balance being thrown for a time loop really gets me excited! Add in the secret spy stuff, some kick-butt fighting, great one-liners and sidekicks, and an intense cliffhanger . . . . well . . . let’s just say that this is a read that I would love to jump ahead for the second installment!

RATING

4 out of 5