Timekeeper

November 1, 2012
This sequel to Timeless (2011) delivers plenty of romance with even more time-traveling excitement. In the first book, 16-year-old Michele traveled back to 1910, where she met Philip and fell in love. Fate separated them. However, Michele is the daughter of time traveler Irving from 1888, who traveled to 1991 and fell in love with Michele's mother. As a result, Michele is dangerously "time crossed." Enter evil Rebecca, who loved Irving and hates Michele. Rebecca has stolen a time-travel key and gone rogue, intending to kill Michele. Meanwhile, Philip has returned to 2010 as an 18-year old, but he doesn't remember forever-heartthrob Michele. A quick trip back into time reveals a clue to jar the new Philip's memory. More bopping through time will occur as Philip figures out who he really is and Michele struggles to defeat Rebecca with the help of a modern-day medium and others from different times. If all this seems a bit complicated, readers who like romance can enjoy the novel without figuring it all out. Monir avoids the sentence-fragment writing conventions of many romances, yet she doesn't shy away from conventionally cliched romantic dialogue. As a nice plus, the author seems entranced with the architecture of New York, and her descriptions of spectacular buildings enhance the story. A pleasant if rather silly diversion. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

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March 1, 2013

Gr 7 Up-Time traveler Michele Windsor thought she left the love of her life behind in 1910 in Timeless (Delacorte, 2011), so she is shocked to find him enrolled as a student in her elite New York City school. Even more perplexing, Philip doesn't seem to recognize her, despite the close connection they shared in the past. As she tries to sort out the mystery of Philip's reappearance, another issue arises: Rebecca, a rogue time traveler with a grudge against the Windsor family, appears. When Michele loses the key that allows her to travel through time, she is trapped in the present, where Rebecca is plotting to do her harm. With the help of friends from the present and the past, Michele must thwart her nemesis and solve the mystery of her own origins and Philip's apparent reappearance. The strength of this book lies in its plot, with plenty of twists and turns. However, most of the secondary characters are fairly flat and the writing lacks polish. Devoted fans of the first book may want to read this volume, but for everyone else, it's strictly an additional purchase.-Misti Tidman, Licking County Library, Newark, OH

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2013
Grades 7-10 Michele Windsor is an orphaned child born of time-crossed parents, an anomaly that should never happen. Her father was a Timekeeper who could time travel at will, and Michele has inherited his abilities. She found, and then lost, her true love, Philip, in 1910, and is now living a somewhat hollow life in contemporary New York while trying to avoid Rebecca, a vengeful ancestor with an extreme grudge. Then a boy who looks just like Philip transfers to Michele's exclusive boarding school, and their time lines begin to converge and split as everything Michele knows changes. Choppy writing and multiple points of view in several time periods make for a somewhat confusing narrative, especially for those who haven't read Monir's first novel, Timeless (2011), but the sheer desperation of Michele's quest to reunite with Philip is compelling. The settingManhattan, both turn of the century and contemporarystands out clearly as the true centerpiece of this love letter to the opulence of the Gilded Age.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)