All Our Yesterdays - Cristin Terrill

 

Young Adult

Pages: 368

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion 

Release Date: September 3, 2013

Goodreads / Amazon

"You have to kill him."

Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She's tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present-imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend James since they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America's most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James's life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina's hopes for their future. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. Em and Marina are in a race against time that only one of them can win.

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

This is the most ambitious, wonderfully gripping and thoroughly enjoyable read of 2013. It's hard to believe that this is Terrill's debut, since it was so wonderfully well done. From the opening scene we find Em, imprisoned and obsessing over a drain. Such a dark, emotional start. In a very psychological way I was hooked from right there. We meet the boy on the adjacent cell as well, and our trilling ride through time begins.

I loved how we were simply thrown into the plot as if we had arrived late to a meeting. It gave that urgent need-to-figure-this-out feeling that pushed me in a rush through the whole book. Em finds a note from herself that states "you have to kill him" and we figure out pretty soon who she needs to kill but her inner struggle to fulfill this task, gracefully intertwined with a love triangle and the fact that it has everything to do with "saving the world" made for a creative adventure and an action-filled story.

The romance was PERFECT. It never took over the story, there was no yucky insta-love, the love triangle was never mushy or pushed, but I was obviously rooting for the right guy all the way. His character was one of my favorite parts of the novel, and my favorite scene out of the whole book--the one I went back to read several times-- was when we figure out in the early pages who he is in Marina's story. What a EXCELLENT introduction. I felt that awesome girly-giddy feeling that reminds me why I read YA.

Without further ado, this is one time travel adventure you wont want to miss. With its superb cinematic feel this book is sure my favorite so far of 2013. Highly recommended to anyone who loves dystopia, time travel and/or romance. It has a bit for every crowd.

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Additional Info:

All Our Yesterdays has a prequel web series! In Past is Prologue, meet Em and Finn and learn about the secret they're keeping from the man they call only "the doctor" in this story that leads up to the beginning of the novel. All four episodes are now available on Cristin's website!

Also, Cristin will be participating in a Twitter Chat on September 17. Details HERE!