Review of "Timebound"

"I've never seen you this young."

     As far as Rysa Walker's young adult novel Timebound is concerned, you don't have to be from the future to travel through time and space. Prudence Katherine Pierce-Keller, commonly known as "Kate", is an ordinary girl with two ordinary divorced parents. She spends half her time at Dad's and half at Mom's, attending a prestigious private school thanks to her father's new position as a math teacher. When Mom's mother, also named Katherine, appears from the woodwork with news that she has cancer, Kate quickly agrees that spending time with the old woman is a good idea. What she doesn't know is that Katherine has a secret--and it's tied to the medallion around her neck, the one Mom swears doesn't glow blue. It has to do with the stranger who mugs her on the Metro, and his friend, who acts like he's been in love with her for years. If Katherine is right, someone from the future has been messing with the timeline, and if Kate doesn't stop them, the people she loves won't die. They'll have never existed.

     Kate's adventure is not the average time-travel story. Her grandmother is a historian from CHRONOS, a company in the future which sends observers to experience and take notes on the most crucial points in history. They don't change anything--or they aren't supposed to. Ever since she was stranded in the past, Katherine has been fighting to bring the timeline back on track. The only problem with that plan is that she can't travel through time without going to the future first...and, as far as her medallion is concerned, that's now impossible. Kate, on the other hand, has a strong, second-hand strain of the time-travelling gene, which means she can jump whenever and wherever she wants. Her only mentors are an old woman and her roommate, while her enemy has an army at his back. The only person she can confide in is a boy who won't know she exists if she succeeds. Win or lose, someone is going to get the short end of the stick. Kate can only hope it isn't her.

     There is no single time and place Kate has to visit in order to save the world. For now, her main focus is the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, where an assassin from the future and a serial killer are both about to strike. The setting is beautifully done, with so much detail and historical context that readers may lose themselves in this vivid glimpse of the past. It isn't just the backdrop, either. The people Kate encounters are well-rounded and dynamic, no matter how long or brief their acquaintance might be. They feel like people on a fundamental level whether they're from the past, present, future, or some strange blend thereof. And that makes Kate's world authentic.

     Like many of its YA counterparts, this story boasts an impressive love triangle. First in line for Kate's hand is Kiernan, a boy from the past and her alternate future, who is irrevocably in love with her. He's also the grandfather of Katherine's roommate, which should be weird but somehow isn't. Even with his Kate absent from this new timeline, Kiernan is devoted to the cause of righting the wrongs of the wayward time travellers who are destroying history. Then there's Trey, a boy from the present who quickly falls in love with Kate, but who stands to lose everything once she sets things right. Both boys are startlingly realistic and essential to the plot, which is deliciously refreshing. The romance doesn't proceed beyond kissing, though two characters plan to change that once the timeline is stable. Foul language is kept to a minimum, and the violence is kept carefully PG-13.

     I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fascinating novel about love, time travel, and the lengths someone will go to in order to keep their family safe. There's action, romance, and a great deal of American history that hasn't made it into modern history books. The characters are realistic, lovable, and dynamic, full of subtle idiosyncrasies that make them stand out. With high stakes on both a personal and world-wild scale, readers will be glued to the edges of their seats for every page. For a relatable cast,  expansive worldbuilding, and a breathtaking plot, Rysa Walker's Timebound more than deserves five stars.