Author: Shay West
Release Date: 23rd June 2014
Publisher: -
Find on: Goodreads
Quick Review: Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, and her father for walking out.
To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It’s bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad; now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past – and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?
Detailed Review: I'm not into time-travel books. However, I have read a few. The best one I've read so far has got to be All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill.
To be honest, the title didn't even give off the fact that this would be about time travel. But this did nothing to change my opinion of the book.
That completely changed after I read Dangerous Reflections. I feel that from reading this one book has taught me more than I could ever learn in two years of history. Ok, that may be an exaggeration but you get what I mean. This book rivals All Our Yesterdays with it's smooth writing, sudden changes of direction in the story and realistic characters.
Surprisingly I could feel a connection with the characters even though the book was written in third person. Usually I'm unable to find a sense of connection to the main character when this type of writing is used but somehow with this book, it was... different.
I didn't just like the aspect of time-travel in the book, I also liked the aspect of high school. The author doesn't just create problems in the past, she creates problems in Alex's life as well. She has a deadbeat dad, financial situation, a bully and a crush who treats her like garbage to deal with, not counting the times when she has to travel back in time to save the lives of people she doesn't know, which could affect the future and cause severe repercussions.
I just love how the author could fit so much action into one chapter and then move on into 'normal' mode in the next. Normal as in high school. And even high school isn't pleasant except the fact that she has friends and one of them knows about her gift for time travel (it was an accident).
The antagonists in the story were really well-planned. The Master definitely was creepy and Drifter wasn't really nice either. Not with those cold, soulless eyes... They, like Alex, have the ability to travel through time. But they have a different agenda. They want to change the past and what's stopping them is Alex.
I thought that Alex had lots of courage to face the challenges her gift threw at her- which was to not let Drifter change the past. She also has to deal with high school problems and her financial situation. Her perseverance in these matters are to be admired because really if the lines blurred between reality and fantasy, which do you believe? Yet, she moves on and meets those challenges head-on. Her love for her family and friends were also great as it actually contrasts her to Master and Drifter and makes her out to be someone caring and soulful, unlike them. Her talent for acting, later discovered in the book has not only helped her gain popularity in school, it has also helped her survive in life-and-death situations when she's on her time-travel expeditions. Her thirst for history never fails her either. Now I can preach to my friends and family how important History is. I guess I just found the best reason *winks*
And time-travelling through a mirror? That's just cool.
Moving on, there's just one part in the book that leaves me curious... (I really don't want to spoil it for you so I'll keep my mouth shut) BUT it was to do with her father. Just saying. I'll leave your imagination to do the thinking. It's actually one of the twists in there.
There were many twists. Some small, some big, but as effective.
The author uses a type of technique; I don't even know if she used it on purpose or if it came out naturally for her. If you looked at the story as a whole, it may seem like quite a simple story about a girl who can time-travel and has problems in school and at home. But if you broke it down, it's actually more complex than you think. I really like this type of writing.
Brief Review: I honestly love how the author not only brings in the challenges of having the ability to time-travel, but also the difficulties of growing up in this book. Teen crushes, bullies, high school, you name it. West's writing skills were top-notch in this book. Her simplicity only made this book more complicated than it actually seemed. And if you want some history lessons, this book makes the best teacher; it's never boring!
Final Rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing!'
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