Trigger warnings: Gun violence, hospitalisation, blood depiction, emesis, surgery, imprisonment, physical injury, murder, death of a friend, suicide, grief and loss depiction, kidnapping, death of parents
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Note that I bought this book and now I own it. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

Last year I purchased this book since one of the two libraries I go to gave this book away since it was too old or only a few people read it before I did and to be honest after reading some ok fantasy books, to say the least I switched to sci-fi and I'm glad I read this because this was a step up from the last novels however... I still think it could've received improvements here and there but it was otherwise an enjoyable read. Where do I begin? It starts with the main character Em whose full and last name I don't even know and not long after that it was already action-packed as she used a spoon out of all things to escape prison but I'm not sure why she got in there in the first place and now she meets this other major character called Finn. Only a few pages later they discover a time machine and so they travel four years back to alter the past to change the future and all they have to do is to kill another guy called James. Sounds simple right? No. This is where the book turns into a slow burn with much more steady pacing and it got more intriguing when it introduced another POV from Marina, everything looked normal for her until Em came along to start her mission, Nate got shot on live TV and it all fell apart from there. Nate is necessary to the plot since there were some clues involving him that led Em to the antagonist James who will ruin the world in the future and she tries to kill him. Multiple times. But it didn't work, he just got away somehow and only towards the end of the book there was another James somehow, one character killed himself and it was all an unclear mess at the end and oh did I mention the characters weren't the most fleshed out people ever? Wow. That's a low note. Also, there's a sequel but I have no idea what it was about and the library that used to have this probably won't get it, considering they got their last batch this year.

Update: I have received word from the author, and she won't write a sequel since she thinks it won't be as good as the first book. ( )

This book was intense! I feel like I just disembarked from a roller coaster as I've been holding my breath for so long. Intense on the emotions, intense on the action, and even at points intense on the thoughts it provoked...this was a good one.

This book is written with alternating chapters from Em's perspective and from Marina's perspective. It took a couple of chapters to figure out who Em was. I initially found myself enjoying Marina's chapters more just because I understood what was going on completely while I felt lost in Em's chapters for a while.

One of the most intriguing points was seeing how Em saw the past, specifically her past self. At the same time, the reasoning behind her cynicism was really sad.

James--oh my goodness James. What a well crafted character. I am impressed. It took me a while to realise I was impressed, but looking back at his backstory and his emotions--well, he's a lot more believable than I thought he was going to be.

And Finn was my favourite character. Finn is perfect. Hearing about his postcards was heartbreaking but just made me love him more.

I honestly didn't really care much for Em or for Marina, the former being too cynical and the latter too naive and obsessive, but I'll survive. Marina's relationship with Sophie and Tamsin was cool to read about.

I have one qualm with the ending that didn't make sense, but I'll suspend my disbelief.

I'm very glad there's supposedly no sequel. A sequel would ruin how pure and fantastic this book is. Though I'll totally read another book by Terrill.

Though I haven't enjoyed action-packed books like this in a while, this is a really stellar read and I wish I'd read it when I was younger. ( )

Teenage time travellers trying to save the world, but in an interesting, character-driven, and exciting way. I've not read quite this book before and once I got the swing of it - switching between the same few characters in the present and the future - it was a good story and plot. ( )

A little confusing but very exciting. Mysterious. This will be a surefire hit. Girl and boy appeal. ( )

Well done, innovative debut novel. Em and Finn are imprisoned in adjacent cells while their captors seek information in a dystopic future. They manage a daring escape, aided by a guard, and go back in time to thwart their captors plans. Meanwhile, their earlier selves Marina (Em) is crazy about her neighbor James, who is a brilliant scientist with some emotional issues because his parents died and he is being cared for by his older brother, an aspiring politician. Interesting situations where the future incarnations come across their earlier versions. ( )