23 Minutes

January 15, 2016
Blue-haired Zoe Mahar ducks into a bank to escape a downpour and comes face to face with a robber who's not afraid to use his gun. The violent encounter leaves two people dead, including a friendly young man who shields Zoe from a bullet. But Zoe, 15, has a special ability to turn back the clock 23 minutes just by saying "playback," allowing her to change the outcome of events. She knows from experience that she'll have only 10 tries to get it right. Vande Velde brilliantly opens the novel with three generations of the robbery story, from a short prelude to a detailed, drawn-out version of the 23 minutes that Zoe is about to relive. Zoe reworks the events leading up to the shooting, getting to know her protector, Daniel, and finding a way to build trust so that she won't waste any of the precious 23 minutes. But each time something goes awry, with different (and more) people getting killed. One time she gets shot herself. Zoe, who comes from an abusive family, courageously grapples with the morality involved in choosing who lives and who dies as she literally runs out of time. Weighty issues aside, Zoe comes across as a clever girl with a sense of humor about her own opinionated nature. A gripping page-turner for time fantasy enthusiasts. (Speculative fiction. 12-17)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 6-9-When 15-year-old Zoe ducks into Spencerport Savings and Loan to escape the rain, she finds herself in the middle of a bank robbery. But Zoe is unique, and it isn't her blue hair, ragged clothing, and tendency to make the people around her uncomfortable that make her so. Zoe can play back time-but only the last 23 minutes and she only has 10 chances to get everything right before that window of time becomes permanent. The teen isn't sure that her ability will be enough to save the life of Daniel, the man in the bank who was nice to her. And she doesn't exactly have the best history when it comes to playbacks, anyway. With only two main characters and a simple plot told 10 different ways, 23 Minutes could easily be a tedious read. But with new details in each playback, a gradual explanation of Zoe's background, and a slowly forming bond between Zoe and Daniel, readers will remain engaged and invested in the story line. An open ending underscores that, as in each of Zoe's attempts at changing the bank robbery, anything is possible, while at the same time serving as a reminder to readers that things are always more complicated than they seem. VERDICT For middle school and early high school fans of speculative fiction.-Maggie Mason Smith, Clemson University, SC

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