When the past and the present collide…
Hailey Kent knows how she wants to spend the summer before her junior year in high school: hanging out at the pool with Jenna, her BFF; riding her new trail bike on Vermont’s country roads; and flirting with Jenna’s hot older brother, Cody.
Hailey’s plans are shattered when a post-graduation accident puts her brother into a coma. Feeling guilty for not stopping him from going out that night, she seeks solace in exploring an old house and its overgrown gardens.
A mysterious correlation of events propels her back in time to the Vietnam War era, where she realizes she can use her knowledge of one boy’s fate to save his life.
But first, Hailey needs to convince him of her sanity.
PUBLISHER: Red Adept Publishing
PAGES: 198
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The publisher gave me a copy of this book to read and review (from BB). This has, in no way, altered my opinion of the book and what is written below is a 100% honest review.
This book was definitely not what I expected… in a good way! I love getting my hands on time travel books, and this one was no exception. I mean, time travel is nothing new to me. Every once in a while, I travel to the nearest Circle K (strange things are afoot) and rewind to the time of So-crates and Napoleon in the tradition of Bill and Ted. Just a normal day for me. No big. Hailey Kent is just an normal sixteen-year-old girl who loves riding her bike around town and hanging out with her best friend, Jenna. When Jenna’s grandmother, Susan Wells, shares that her childhood flame’s house is located on Redemption Hill, Jenna and Hailey vote to go check it out. Finding it in a horrible state of disrepair, the dynamic duo vow to clean up the space. When Hailey’s bike is stolen, Susan gives her her old, childhood bike. For some reason, Hailey finds herself transported back to the past when she rides this bike up Redemption Hill.
Changing something in the past can mean waking up to a completely different future…
MORAL RATING:
G: kissing and I’m pretty sure that’s it… 🙂
THE GOOD:
This book is split into two parts. Some reviewers say that they were thrown into a confused state when switching from Part I to Part II, but I acclimated really easily! This book was a fun read. I liked how this book showed the consequences of Hailey’s impulsive decisions that she made in the past. Part I deals with her present life and Part II deals with the outcome of the things she imparted to a certain someone in the past that completely revolutionized her future! I haven’t read a book that dealt with that aspect before, so Correlation was refreshing! The writing flowed smoothly and kept my attention.
THE BAD:
At first, I had problems with Hailey’s narration and voice. In the first couple of pages she complains (A LOT) because she’s upset that her brother’s high school graduation is the same day as her birthday. Honestly, I sort of wanted to slap her in the face (an. Like, GIRL, high school graduation is a flippin’ big deal. Your birthday happens every year. Take a chill pill. Then, when her brother gets in a car crash after whinepocalypse, she starts to feel badly about all of her complaining about him. I don’t really believe in karma, but THANKYOUVERYMUCH KARMA. Serves you right, Hailey Kent.
I’m snapping my fingers in a Z-Formation right about now, but you can’t really see that over the interwebs. That being said, Hailey did grow on me. She was only unbearable for the first couple chapters, but I grew to love her inquisitive spirit and thirst for the truth. Also, her love interest with Peter seemed way too fast-paced and unrealistic. I don’t usually say this, but I think the book would have been better without any romance. It didn’t add anything and felt unnecessary to me.
I felt that this book ended strangely. There’s never really any explanation of the time travel or how it happened. The reader knows that the old bike had something to do with her trips to the past, but it’s never really fleshed out or explained fully. I don’t need a play-by-play or scientific definition/algorithm about the specifics of time travel, but I wished it had been speculated about more.
SOUNDTRACK:
Matt Corby has such a lovely, lovely voice. I feel like his voice — this song in particular — really fits this book. Hailey is lost, searching for a resolution after her brother ends up in a coma. She blames herself for his accident and she finds solace in the past. In the end, I feel like she finds her perfect resolution.
MY VERDICT:
I’d give this one a 3/5 heart rating! It was a nice “filler” read, but I don’t feel that attached to it. I’d recommend this one for anyone that wants to read a lighthearted, clean YA time travel story with just a touch of romance.
"I Think I'm Obsessed" 