Time Between Us

By Author / Illustrator

Tamara Ireland Stone

Genre

Adventure

Publisher

Penguin Random House Children's UK

ISBN

9780857531155

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

25-10-2012

Synopsis

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet. Why would they? Anna is sixteen in 1995, fiercely determined to leave her quiet town and finally travel the world. Bennett's seventeen in 2012, living in San Francisco and trying to control his ability to travel through time - an incredible gift, but also an unpredictable curse, which constantly threatens to separate him from the people he loves. When Bennett suddenly finds himself in Anna's world, they are inescapably drawn to one another - it's almost as if they have met before. But they both know, deep down, that it can never last. For no matter how desperate Bennett is to stay with Anna, his condition will inevitably knock him right back to where he belongs - and Anna will be left to pick up the pieces.

Reviews

This is most definitely a romantic novel, but it also has an element of fantasy, since it involves travel in time and space. The book is set mainly in Chicago in 1995, where the heroine, 16 year old Anna, is in high school. Anna is a great character, she works hard at school and in her father's bookshop, and even though she is much poorer than her classmates at her private school, she is not self-pitying or isolated. Instead she is determined to work hard and fulfil her ambitions to travel and see the world. She loves to run, and takes part in races, and it is while she is training that she has her first, somewhat mysterious encounter with Bennett. Unknown to Anna, Bennett is from the future, and the two were never meant to meet. However, circumstances conspire to bring them together, and the relationship develops... I loved the time-travel premise and the complications that ensue and also enjoyed how Anna's other relationships and friendships are portrayed by the author. My only slight criticism is the ending, which I found a little bit confusing. However, this was not enough to spoil the story. I think this book will be a massive hot with teenage girls and have already passed it on to one of our Y10 students to try.