Cold Summer

March 15, 2017
There's no time like the present in this time-travel romance.Teenager Harper Croft, apparently abandoned by her (inexplicably) aloof mother, moves to Iowa to live with her widower uncle, Jasper. It's been six years since she saw her childhood buddy, now-17-year-old Kale Jackson, but their friendship soon turns into romance. But Kale finds it hard to be present, mentally and literally. He's traumatized by his seemingly uncontrollable and increasingly frequent travels through time, having spent several months traveling back to World War II. With unexplainable absences and injuries, Kale has earned his gruff dad's wrath and brother's dismissal. Kale's baffling unwillingness to demonstrate his ability is as logically flawed as the oversimplified explanation of time travel, but here, it's cast as neither superpower nor curse but a metaphor for coming-of-age. Each of the white protagonists (also co-narrators) deals with familial woes, but girl gamer Harper is far less angst-y than broody mechanic Kale. Debut author Cole focuses more on exhilarating relationships than excellent adventures; she uses the slow pacing to develop her characters but tends toward repetitive descriptions and moralizing. This emotional journey for a time-traveling guy and his now-girl-next-door is better suited to romance readers than science-fiction aficionados. (Fantasy. 12-18)

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April 1, 2017
Gr 8 Up-Since he was seven, Kale Jackson has been intermittently yanked into the past. Convulsive and uncontrollable time-hops have taken him around the world, but after a decade of concealing his ability, he has dropped out of school and become alienated from his family. Worse, since his parents' divorce, he's been warping to a World War II battlefield. Enter Harper, Kale's ex-neighbor. The two share halcyon memories: playful dips in the nearby river, summertime adventures in the bucolic forest, and a childhood friendship that was really an inchoate romance. Their renewed and newly steamy relationship gives the traumatized Kale an emotional purchase on the present. It's a connection that may even prove strong enough to keep him from skidding back into World War II. Readers seeking the usual fruits of the time-hopping genre (such as historical commentary or insights into the perspectives of people in the past) will be disappointed. If not for the wintry weather, the narrative bursts of 1945 might just as well have been Waterloo or Antietam. Kale's ability could have been explored more creatively, and its explanation seems desultory. However, those looking for a believable romance will be gratified by well-executed chapters that alternate between Kale's and Harper's perspectives. VERDICT Thanks to solidly developed characters and a plot propelled by romance and supernatural powers, this will fit comfortably in most YA collections. Though lacking the philosophical flair or historiographical vigor that flavors the best time-travel books, it's recommended as a strong secondary purchase.-Blake Holman, Whitefish Bay Public Library, WI

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