Review: Tempest

Author: Julie Cross

Title: Tempest

Publisher:St. Martin's Griffin

Publication: January 17,2012

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Source: Blog Tour

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The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.
But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Review: This is such a good book. It was easy to follow Jackson's story even though he jumped through several different time periods. The author did a great job of clarifying what the time period was as Jackson of course had to ask or find out by looking over strangers' shoulder at a newspaper and such. Each jump he encounters the Enemies of Time, who are bad time travelers who want to change the world, and the CIA, who try to protect Jackson and stop them. He also learns more and more about the secrets of his heritage, and why the last jump that got him stuck in 2007 was different from his usual mini jumps. As Jackson gets closer to the truth he must make a choice that changes everything about his world. I really liked reading about Jackson, and his journey through time. He is a memorable, realistic character and his tone of speech fits for a teen his age. I found myself feeling his hurt, and his love for Holly.The ending for me made me sad but I'd spoil it if I told, however I feel it was left open for another book. Cross did an excellent job of portraying his voice and thoughts, which is believable.This is story of love, loss, trust and sacrifice.