Book Review: Rewrite Redemption by J.H. Walker

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Title: Rewrite Redemption
Author: J.H. Walker
Publication date: January 25th 2013
Genres: Science Fiction, Time-Travel, Young Adult

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Rewrite Redemption
J.H. Walker
J.H. Walker, Inc., January 2013
Kindle exclusive

From the author—

She’s sixteen. He’s seventeen. They don’t know each other…at least not yet.

She has a secret and her whole life revolves around keeping it. Every few months and with little warning, she simply disappears, pulled into the past for hours or even days. She’s terrified it will happen in front of someone, changing her life forever. So far, the only witnesses have been her parents, and that didn’t end well. She has no control over it and no idea why it happens to her.

She wants answers.

He has answers—at least he understands what’s going on. He has a secret, too. He’s part of an organization that goes back in time to rewrite reality. But he also has a problem. He broke the organization’s number-one rule by altering his own timeline. As punishment, he’s been blocked from time travel, which is most unfortunate. Because the changes he made to his timeline, accidentally resulted in disaster for his family. A disaster he’s now prevented from repairing. No one can travel beneath the organization’s radar except a Shadow. But they’re rare, so rare he’s never even met one.

Then he moves to her town.

Confession time—I haven’t finished reading this book. It’s not because I’ve been bored or found it “meh” or anything like that. Sad to say, I expected to finish it yesterday and then I came down with a major backache, the kind that just won’t let you get comfortable and, well, if I’m not comfortable, I just can’t get into my reading. I’m about three fourths of the way through so let me tell you what I’m thinking and feeling so far.

First, I’ve never been a real fan of time travel but Rewrite Redemption is proving to be an exception. The alien aspect is part of the attraction for me but, even more, it’s the tree connection (and that’s a bit of a pun). Trees have always had a sort of mystical aura about them; if you ever read stories involving faeries or druids or other woodland denizens, you know what I mean, and I think it’s brilliant of Ms. Walker to combine that element with a more extraterrestrial flavor. Besides, who doesn’t understand loving trees and enjoying the sense of protection and comfort they offer?

Then, there are the characters. I love that AJ, Lex and Ipod, all damaged in one way or another, have found a way to not just survive but live quite happily by finding their own solution to their family issues. These kids are a pleasure to be around and all three pluck at my heartstrings, to make use of an old cliche, each in his or her own way.  Lex, in particular, is a lot of fun with her attitude of “I’m terrific and I know it”. Constantine, on the other hand, suffers from knowing too much in an odd sort of way and carries enormous guilt for his own heedless use of his “talent”, rightfully so. When he moves to town, the lives of all four teens are changed forever.

The one thing I don’t especially care for is the romance which borders on insta-love. It’s rare to find a Young Adult story these days that allows the characters to just be friends but it sure is refreshing and I wish more authors would realize that teens are about more than hormones.

Finally, I’m really appreciating the author’s writing style and construction. The narration is comfortable and the dialogue is natural, sounding the way you would expect teens to talk and think.  I also am grateful for the care the author has taken with editing and making the book as readable as she could. I must say I’m sorry Ms. Walker has chosen to publish only on the Kindle platform thereby losing potential readers who choose to purchase ebooks from other retailers. It’s simply not good enough to say the reader can download the Kindle for PC app since many prefer not to do so. (Note: to my knowledge, this author has never said such a thing but many authors do.)

So, I’m off to finish this now and I fully expect to enjoy it all the way to the final page. Then I’ll be anxiously awaiting the sequel, hoping I’ll be able to purchase it for my Nook 😉

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, November 2013.

About the Author

J.H. grew up in Central America. She now lives in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with her photographer husband and many, many books. In addition to her never-ending study of human behavior, she’s a political junkie and a certified tree hugger. Rewrite Redemption is her debut novel.

Author Links:

Website  //  Goodreads  //  Twitter  //  Facebook

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