Imagine what it would be like growing up in a family surrounded by secrecy. Many of your closest relatives are part of an organization that supports people who have been born with a gene that allows them to travel through time. How would you feel if you were one of the few people without any of that inside information because you are normal? Or are you?
Gwyneth is a 16-year-old girl growing up in London. For her whole life she has felt like she has been overshadow by the family's dark secret and the fact that her cousin Charlotte, who is older than her by a day, has been considered special because she inherited the time-traveling gene.
Gwyneth's mother is happy that her daughter has been spared all of the training and obsession that comes along with being the gene because she just wants Gwyneth to have a normal life. Unfortunately, Gwyneth seems to have a talent of her own ... she can see and talk to the spirits of the dead. And that is not her only gift.
When Gwyneth finds herself shifting back and forth in time, it becomes clear that the wrong cousin has been identified as having the gifted/cursed gene. For her own protection, Gwyneth finds herself being brought to the secret society that has been training Charlotte so she could use her gene safely. She also learns that she is going to be a part of some great fate that has been predicted by prophecy. She is the special twelfth carrier of the gene.
She finds herself starting to work with Gideon, another time traveler, as she must learn the ropes. She finds him to be aggravating, insulting, and cute. They are going to have to learn to work together if they are going to live up to the prophecy and their true fates.
I found myself being easily and quickly drawn into this tale. It is filled with fun and quirky characters and a unique concept behind the story. Time travel can be really confusing, though Gier does a great job of keeping the audience in the loop. While there is a list of characters and various supporting graphics sprinkled throughout, I never felt that I was so lost that I needed to refer to them.
I thought that Gwyneth was an intriguing and fun character. For some reason, I kept seeing her in the same light as Georgia Nicholson, the snarky, British tween at the core of the popular series by Louise Rennison. I did feel that she read a little more naive and younger than an average 16 year old would, but that didn't ruin anything for me.
I can't wait to read the sequels. Apparently, this has already been successfully released in Europe, and the next two volumes will be entitled Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green. This is one of those series that will be fun for all ages even though it was written with younger readers in mind.
reguards
yer a legend in my own time pal
bugg