Lydia has never believed her grandfather's out-there stories about the Montauk Project; she believes it's just his way of accepting his father's disappearance of 1944. After all, if they've never found anything on the site where the Project was supposedly held, after years of searching, what could possibly change? But something does, and Lydia finds herself, alongside someone who may or may not be her enemy, forced back in time to about a week before her great-grandfather's disappearance. This could be Lydia's chance to try and save her great-grandfather - or at least, to discover the truth of what really happened to him. But everything she does in the past has the potential to alter the future, not necessarily for the better. And if she meddles enough, she could endanger her present life in 2012. Although if she faces the men who are in charge of the Montauk Project, she may not be alive long enough to return. No matter what Lydia does now, her life is in danger. But Lydia's never been one to give up a fight.
I went into this book not expecting a lot, since time travel and books based in the past have never been what I enjoy the most. I was shocked to discover how much I actually began to like this book. It's well-written, and the plot is thorough and well-defined. Another reason why I don't always seek out time travel books is because I find that the authors don't always put enough effort into analyzing the effects that may ripple out from their characters' actions. This novel, on the other hand, was all about how the future could change, and was sure to mention the butterfly effect. I love when novels go in-depth enough into theories and possibilities to force the reader to really think about what is happening, and why it has come to be. Yes, I want a book to be entertaining, but I also don't want it to be mindless. Rachel Carter succeeded in balancing entertainment with thought.
I personally don't know a lot about U.S. history, since I live in Canada, but I learned a fair amount just from reading this story. As far as I can tell, the information was accurate (or as accurate as it could be, considering Carter wasn't alive at the time to gain the first-hand experience). As much as I love some good fiction, I love it even more when it can incorporate some facts. It makes it easier to believe that what's happening is possible. One of my biggest pet peeves while reading is when I'm pulled out of the book because something so absurd happened that I can't really believe it. Grounding fiction in real-life history is one (well-done, in this case) way to make something as out-there as time travel seem possible.
Another aspect of this book that surprised me was how much I enjoyed the relationship between Lydia and Wes. Yes, I did expect it from the moment they first met. But instead of being a stereotypical teenage YA hook-up, their relationship seemed complicated and overdue and very real. And although I anticipated it, that just made me want them to get together faster. I often dislike books where the characters fall in love within a couple of days (um, hello? Romeo and Juliet? It doesn't work out). Even though Lydia and Wes didn't know each other long, I felt as though their relationship was real. Maybe it's because they actually discussed things of substance, or because they were both mature and had gone through many difficult things for their ages. Whatever it was, this was a relationship that I actually enjoyed reading about.
And Lydia! She was such a great break from so many other YA 'heroines' (*cough cough* The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch *cough cough*). This is the type of character to whom I feel as though I can truly relate. So many YA authors are too stuck in teenage stereotypes to appreciate how the majority of teen girls actually act. Yes, there will always be some girls in real life who may be shallow, gullible, unthinking and unbearably selfish, but just because these traits can create a good plot, doesn't necessarily mean it's something the audience will want to spend their time reading. Lydia made some mistakes, yes, but they were reasonable mistakes. She was an intelligent character who was brave enough and cared enough for her grandfather to partake in this whole adventure. When she made realizations, they weren't too long after the reader, and about the time she would if it were real life. When she came to conclusions, they were backed up by proof. This is the type of character I love to read about.
I found that I enjoyed this novel immensely. I love when I come in with average expectations and they're proven wrong in the best possible way. I'd never read anything by Carter before this, but I'm definitely going to seek out the rest of this series, and possibly any other series she's written/writing. I give this book a well-deserved rating of five stars. There are very few books that I rate this highly, but this novel blew my expectations out of the water. I would recommend this story to readers who are looking for war fiction, time travel, and well-written heroines and love interests.
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