Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Publication.Date	September 25th 2012
Pages:	368
Published By:	Random House | Doubleday Canada
Website	C.K. Kelly Martin |
	Yesterday- Goodreads
My review copy:	A copy of the book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Where to get:

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.Yesterday will appeal to fans of James Dashner's The Maze Runner, Veronica Roth's Divergent, Amy Ryan's Glow, Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Ally Condie's Matched.

(Goodreads)

But you can't unsee something once you've seen it. Not without a memory wipe anyway.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Winston Churchill's making pronouncements in my head again, like when I woke up from my first dream about the blond boy.

What I want to do is sit quietly by myself and churn it all over in my mind until I figure it out. Peel back the layers and unravel the core mystery of what happened today. 

      
      With unique premise and absorbing plot line, C.K. Kelly Martin's Yesterday is a great time travel adventure! The intriguing cover instantly drew me in, and the fast-paced, thrilling and fascinating storyline kept me well entertained and captivated all the way through. Not to mention that I just love books set in places that I'm familiar with!

      Taking place in 1980's Toronto, Yesterday tells the story of one girl's quest to discover the truth about her past, her family and herself. A quest that is just as thrilling as it is dangerous, and just as thought-provoking as it is moving. Freya Kallas has just moved to Canada from Australia and she seems to have trouble acclimatising to her new surroundings. Her memories are blurry and illusive, no matter how hard she focuses, she can't recall the details. It's almost as if they're not real... Nothing about her new life in Toronto feels right. Is it just a bad case of home-sickness, or is there something more to Freya's headaches and weird dreams? And things get even more weird when she meets Garren, a strangely familiar teenager who claims that they've never met before. And when they stumble across some well-protected, shocking secrets, they find themselves running for their lives. Everything they thought they knew, every memory they believed to be true - all that crumbles to pieces right before their eyes, and they'll have to fight to find out the truth about their pasts. 

     First of all, I have to say that C.K. Kelly Martin did a fantastic job capturing the spirit of 1985 Toronto! Through famous quotes and various pop-culture references, she managed to really breathe life into the places and people of the time period. 1985 is the year I was born in, so I guess you can say it was personally meaningful to me that she got it all right! The atmosphere was amazing and I could easily picture all the scenes, conversations and settings. Her depictions were spot-on accurate and very vivid, and the overall effect was wonderful, charming, and quite convincing! 

     I thought the premise was really great. I love twisty time-travel stories and mind-bending mysteries. Yesterday is both - and more! The pacing was good, there was never a slow or boring moment, and though I did get slightly confused at times, I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book a lot. I've seen people complaining about the prologue, they say it gives away too much, killing the surprise factor. Well, yes - the prologue isn't the best one I've seen in my life, but can you really imagine the story without it? I can't. The story would be even more confusing, and I probably would not know what on earth was going on. So, while I wasn't the biggest fan of the prologue, I did recognize its importance to the plot as a whole. 

     I liked Freya, though I can't say that it was love at first sight. Some aspects of her personality I liked and admired, others - not so much, but in the end she grew on me and I found myself caring about her, her quest to uncover the truth, and her relationship with Garren. She had some really great qualities, she was persistent and mentally strong, she didn't give up easily and even in very hard situations she found it in herself to push trough and continue her search for the answers. Most importantly, she grew as a person, and that is something I always appreciate in YA characters. Additionally, the first-person narrative made it easy for me to connect with her and get a good idea of what she was going through. C.K. Kelly Martin's writing was raw, emotional, insightful and thoroughly absorbing. Some of the passages were almost poetic, and they spoke straight to my heart. I loved it!

     Overall, Yesterday proved to be just as good as I hoped it would be. I can't wait to read the sequel and find out what Freya and Garren will do next, what dangers they'll have to face and if they'll manage to find what they're looking for!