I received this book for free from HMH Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
TITLE: Time Bomb
AUTHOR: Joelle Charbonneau
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
PUBLICATION DATE: March 13th 2018
Source: HMH Teen
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RATING:
A congressman's daughter who has to be perfect. A star quarterback with a secret. A guy who's tired of being ignored. A clarinet player who's done trying to fit in. An orphaned rebel who wants to teach someone a lesson. A guy who wants people to see him, not his religion.
They couldn't be more different, but before the morning's over, they'll all be trapped in a school that's been rocked by a bombing. When they hear that someone inside is the bomber, they'll also be looking to one another for answers.
Setting the Scene:
Mood Before Reading
Got a bookish hangover from reading Illunimae.
Review in 8 Words
Good characters and message but a tad predictable.
Review:
Overall, I had a nice time reading Time Bomb. It’s a quick read, and while I liked enjoyed the story, it lacked some of the traditional thriller qualities.
Time Bomb is much more character driven than plot driven, which is unusual for a thriller. And while I loved watching the characters develop as I turned the pages, it did take something away from the thriller. I was just way more invested in the characters themselves than trying to figure who was responsible for putting them in that situation. Which was a good thing because the culprit was kind of predictable and I kind of anticipated all the plot twists that occurred.
But while Time Bomb may not have been the best thriller, it’s still a great read. The characters that kind of hinder the plot twists did their part in carrying the story. I love how a different character narrates each chapter, so I got to learn about each of them and watch them grow. I liked how each character was so strikingly different but the same at the same time. It’s a commentary about our society that even though we may all be different, we often all go through similar life experience. That’s only one of many underlying messages the characters are used to convey throughout the book. Messages that a lot of people don’t tend to want to talk or think about, but are important nonetheless.
I loved reading about all the characters and watching them grow as they endured such a horrible experience. I guess that’s why I was a little disappointed with the ending. It felt a little rushed, and I wanted to know more about the aftermath of what happened. I’d read a sequel about all of them and their lives after.
In Conclusion…
Time Bomb is a great read, if not a great thriller. Its strong character development carries the story and sets it apart from others like it even though the ending felt a bit rushed.
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Overall: | 3.6 |
I enjoy Joelle’s books and I look forward to giving this one a try, but I am a little sad it is predictable. That seems to happen to me a lot when reading YA, perhaps because I read a LOT and am an adult reading books for teens… Thanks for the review!