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Book Review

Publisher's Note:

When Nephele has a terrible freshman year, she does the only logical thing for a math prodigy like herself: she invents a time travel app so she can go back and do it again (and again, and again) in this funny love story, Groundhog Day for the iPhone generation. Fourteen-year-old Nephele used to have friends. Well, she had a friend. That friend made the adjustment to high school easily, leaving Nephele behind in the process. And as Nephele looks ahead, all she can see is three very lonely years. Nephele is also a whip-smart lover of math and science, so she makes a plan. Step one: invent time travel. Step two: go back in time, have a do-over of 9th grade, crack the code on making friends and become beloved and popular. Does it work? Sort of. Nephele does travel through time, but not the way she planned—she’s created a time loop, and she’s the only one looping. And she keeps looping, for ten years, always alone. Now, facing ninth grade for the tenth time, Nephele knows what to expect. Or so she thinks. She didn’t anticipate that her new teacher would be a boy from her long ago ninth grade class, now a grown man; that she would finally make a new friend, after ten years. And, she couldn’t have pictured someone like Jazz, with his deep violet eyes, goofy magic tricks and the quietly intense way he sees her. After ten freshman years, she still has a lot more to learn. But now that she’s finally figured out how to go back, has she found something worth staying for?…

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Time Travel for Love and Profit

by Sarah Lariviere

Reviewer: Beckie
Genre: Romance
Recommended Age: 12+

Overall Book Review:

Time Travel for Love and Profit should make its way to your reading pile quickly.  This quirky novel will have you smiling, evaluating relationships, and laughing as you turn pages at a rapid speed.  It’s a feel-good novel with a great message and characters that will leave you shaking your head.

Nephele Weathers is a little bit of an oddball.  She loves math, but love might not be a strong enough word.  And she is crazy smart.  Like astrophysicist smart…her freshman year of high school.  But Nephele’s character was also written with things we all struggle wit:  acceptance of our oddities, wanting to fit in with the crowd, and how to make friendships and keep them.  Filled with positive messages for girls about being smart over being just beautiful and life lessons about how friendships evolve and change over time, this novel is great for those looking for positive literature role models.

For a book filled with science and math, this novel is not overbearing.  Complex concepts like quantum entanglement are explained in simple terms and I honestly learned quite a bit while zipping through these pages.  The language is simple except for a couple of scientific terms.  Younger readers shouldn’t have any issues with understanding concepts and the flow of the narrative.  Its also a pretty fast read as you get sucked into the plot line of wondering what will happen with the next repeat of freshman year.

This young adult novel is loaded with positive messages and lighthearted humor.  Filled with quirky characters and a strong, smart female lead, this book will leave you smiling until the very last page.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  1 religious exclamation; 13 mild obscenities; 1 derogatory name; 1 anatomical term.

Violence/Gore:  None

Sex/Nudity:  2 kisses and 1 witnessed kiss; hand hold; girl stands naked in front of mirror with no detail; two references to breasts or a woman’s cleavage and one touch to arm.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death, abandonment.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
1
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
0
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
2
10

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About the Reviewer

Beckie
I am a full-time mom, full-time wife, and overtime reader. I have been an avid reader for as long as anyone can remember. It must run in the family because both my mother and grandmother are also voracious readers and often pass books back and forth. Almost any genre can spark my interest, but I often go in streaks, reading a bunch of books from one genre, then switching to another for a while and back again.

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