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time travel looking forward well written young adult science fiction really enjoyed twists and turns storyline great read highly recommend forward to the next character development wait to read worlds fair page turner great book well done forward to reading fast paced hard to put
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Barrestwin
4.0 out of 5 stars ... It's Complicated...
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2019
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First: I'm 62, not 17. And this is a book written very well indeed, escpecially for a first try, for young adults.
I think it could be enjoyed by many persons from a clever 7 to 107. Just maybe not all the different parts equally.
So, to avoid spoilers, because even a little could spoil :
Five (5) stars. The Time Travel Mechanics. If it were bread, the flour would come from Anderson and Stross. The yeast from Bester. The seeds on top, the kneading and baking from Mrs Walker. Very tasty.
Five (5) stars. The made up religion. Nasty (but true) bits and pieces from most major religions, and some of their offshots, in a well mixed salad, with good seasoning.
Four (4) stars. The Heroine (17, remember), intelligent, but a bit naïve. Too trusting. Now and again hormone driven (yes, of course). At times emptyheaded (ditto). But sooo much better than Mr Stross's heroine, who is older, educated, etc, but too often a complete ninny. There is teenage romance, very modern, supermoralistic USA style. Try to control your gag reflex. The other characters could take some fleshing out. A side dish.
Four and a half (4.5) stars. Plot. Again Mr Anderson, but also Mr Fritz Leiber (Big Time). Now, Mr Leiber doesn't really take sides. Possibly I am influenced by that, but... I am not sure that this is simply black and white. Well done, Mrs Walker! I see a possibility of more than 2 sides too. At least in the future. Half a star subtracted, because I just can't understand why "The villan" would want to eliminate "x". Doesn't make sense. But otherwise... As complicated as only time travel can get. A worthy main course.
For desert? Not nescessary, there are enough sugary confections consumed by the cast...
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J. Bickley
5.0 out of 5 stars YA, but I still enjoyed it
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2018
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This was a delightful story, intended for a YA audience, but I loved it, nevertheless.

Timebound is a fascinating story with, as you might guess, time travel as its basis. The main protagonist is young Kate, who learns from her grandmother (also Kate or Katherine) that she has the ability to control/manipulate the "Chronos Key," which allows her to travel through time.

Teenaged Kate has felt some time shifts, recently, but believed them to be panic attacks. What was really happening, though, is that her grandfather was working some evil plan to change the time line altogether, which is a violation of the Chronos policies. They intend time travel to be used solely for observation. He believes that it should be used to change things for the "better." The problem is, who gets to decide what is better?

A major portion of this story revolves around the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, which I am already familiar with, having read Erik Larson's great book, Devil in White City, a non-fiction account of the fair and the serial killer running amok during the fair. I was happy to see that Ms. Walker gave a shout out to Larson's book in her acknowledgments.

There are plenty of scenes that made my head hurt (not literally) because of obvious issues that time travel would cause, especially making short jumps around current times. At one point, during the Fair, there would have been two of Kate's grandmother present at the same time. They had to be very careful not to run into each other. Don't think about that too hard. As I said, it will make your head hurt.

I won't provide spoilers, as I try to always keep from that. But the main plot of this story revolves around efforts to restore the time line after Kate's grandfather manages to kill her grandmother, which makes her parents "disappear." Her dad did not actually disappear, but he did not know who she was, as she was not actually her dad in the new time line. Her mother, however, never existed in that time line, because Saul (her grandfather) killed her grandmother before her mother was even born.

The only reason teenaged Kate managed to continue to exist was that she was under the protection of the Chronos key she was carrying at the time of the time shift.

That's probably enough explanation. Now I need to get my hands on the second volume of this story.
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Robert
4.0 out of 5 stars A Great, Fun, and Fast Read
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2016
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Thanks to Amazon I discovered this book when the company offered 3 free specified downloads, Timebound being one of them. I hadn't realized it at the time that I was reading a young adult book (while in my 30's), but I didn't mind one bit because I remember being captivated by similar books when I was a young adult. I'm not sure if the genre made it naturally easy to read or if it was the story, but I lean on the side of the author and commend her for a very fun read overall.

The story is about a young girl named Kate, who discovers her familial connections with real historians who can jump back and forth in time to record and analyze events. The focus of this plot was the 1893 world's fair in Chicago complete with Mayor Carter Harrison Sr.'s assassination and a notorious serial killer who was famed during that era. The backstory of time traveling however was the main centerpiece where Kate was tasked to going back in time to save her family and their existence. It was the perfect combination of adventure and connections with few touches of romance.

I will say that the slight pitfall at least for me as a reader and aspiring writer was the rhetoric and different phrases that the author used with Kate's language in the book. Kate is supposed to be a teenager, one who is also just handling the shock of this whole other world she is involved in, and some phrases were clearly not how a teenager would express themselves. For example a 16 year old would never in a million years say, "bloody awful horrid rotten shoes," which honestly sounds like some old grandma from England, or call a band aid an "adhesive bandage." Just things like that threw me off.

Overall however, even with my busy season it was a fun and quick read. Plus it fed my sci-fi and historical novel fix. So I leave you with this quote that I appreciate very much from the novel: "History is sacred - like a nature hike. 'Leave only footprints, take only memories." Thanks Rysa Walker for the great read!
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Top reviews from other countries

David P
5.0 out of 5 stars Really rather good, very cleverly thought out
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2015
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I adore time travel stories, always have ever since I first saw The Time Machine (the original, of course) about 50 years ago and was totally mesmerised when the little model version he builds first is set going and disappears from the table top, travelling off in time for ever. I thought deeply about that for weeks afterwards, wondering what would happen to it.

The way that time travel is implemented in this story is actually pretty complex, with the travellers not only frequently encountering other versions of themselves but actively exploiting this paradoxical feature, and yet it is handled really cleverly and you never end up scratching your head trying to grasp what is happening. Having seen that this won a Young Adult Fiction prize I'm not entirely sure that I'm the target audience the author had in mind (as you can tell from the fact I watched The Time Machine nearly 50 years ago) but it really is very good and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and as I write this review I am already well in to the sequel.
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Ruth
5.0 out of 5 stars The ravages of time
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2018
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This timeless saga is something for teens to turning greys.
My 70+ mind reaches back to my youthful past and is never quite sure what is fact and what is fiction, but this fantasy soars way beyond those realms and transports the reader to a whole new way of being. It is full of action, adventure, happiness, sorrow, comfort, hardship, and, just about every emotion imaginable.
My tired eyes often cause me to listen to audiobooks, but the best of reading is that your mind visualises the author’s words, not the narrator’s concept.
This is definitely a book for reading - and for anyone with time to come back to in small bursts or read in a marathon chunk.
I will watch for more of this author.
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Mike Fisher
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2014
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Time travel fascinates me and this is an interesting perspective. The timelines are well managed and explained and whilst the story is interesting it just unfolds rather than grabbing hold of your total interest. Would I read part two? Yes I probably would to find out where the writer is taking the story, but perhaps this book's end lacks the normal end of a book that seems destined to lead to a part two. A really strong link to hold onto and desire to find out what happens next.
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Georgiana
4.0 out of 5 stars Teen Time Travel Written With Skill
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2014
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I don't ordinarily gravitate towards time travel fantasies as I find there are too many opportunities for plot holes, which can really ruin the experience of reading a book. I bought Timebound on a Kindle recommendation and I was pleasantly surprised: it is something of an exception. Rysa Walker has written this novel very cleverly, so that the reader doesn't feel like any inconsistencies have to be ignored to enjoy the plot.

The storyline was more complex than I was expecting: Walker is not simply occupied with the novelty of time travel and weaves in an interesting subplot about a cult-like religion and this certainly made Timebound a more compelling read.

This is an enjoyable YA fantasy that, stylistically, reminds me more of Meg Cabot than Cassandra Clare (for readers looking for a reference point).
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Norah
5.0 out of 5 stars Confused and need help
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2016
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Enjoyed this book really but am so confused by one point. When the people time travel they physical move their whole body between one place and time to another. So how can they meet themselves? Kate said she didn't want to go backwards and forwards to the house too often because there would be too many of her wandering around. I want to read the next book but until I get an answer to this I just can't.

I emailed Rysa to ask her to explain. I really wasn't expecting a reply. But she replied to me on a Sunday night which was so nice of her. I now understand and am no longer confused!! I thought this book was great and can now read the next one in the series
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