This post contains affiliate links. I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I am also in a collaborative writing group with Heather, so we know each other pretty well. But I did actually read this book and wanted to share it with you.
Arriving Through Time by Heather L. Barksdale
An ensemble cast falls through the Fountain of Youth only to be trapped in another time. They have no idea how to get home or how to stop the travel, but they do know one thing: they have to survive some of history’s most dangerous events.
Arriving Through Time is a young adult novel with a female lead. One thing I loved about this cast was that each character had a lot of imperfections. She’s on this crazy journey with her school bully and his girlfriend, her two best friends that each have their own issues, and the hottest guy in their high school. The character development is great and each one of these cast members does grow and change over the course of the story.
Heather turns the genre on its head with the romantic interest. While you might expect the hot guy to be the love interest, the main character is actually way too busy surviving seemingly impossible tasks to worry about boys. Unlike the bizarre forced love interests that we see in other high-action YA novels, the romantic interest in Arriving Through Time is subtle and a slow build. They don’t make out while running away from the bad guys, but they do grow a little closer over the course of the book. I feel that this is more realistic and a complete relief coming from a YA novel.
The plot was also very interesting to me. I’m a huge history nerd, so it was exciting to see the characters be thrust into different historical settings. Clues like the way people were dressed, their way of speaking, and the situations the characters found themselves in were all very interesting. The main character, Lizzie, has feared being compared to Lizzie Borden for most of her life (due to an unfortunate common relative) and when she meets Ms. Borden, she’s all but horrified. A lot happens and I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s an enjoyable ride. Especially if you are familiar with the historical time periods (which you probably will be.)
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a pretty short read and only took me a few days, and the fast-paced plot made it go by quickly. I hope that Heather will revisit this series so that we will be able to see more of Lizzie, Sam, and Jeremy (yes, and even Gary and Marcus and Tiffany…) in the future. If you’re looking to take a trip into the past, check out Arriving Through Time.
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