Terri M. LeBlanc
Written on May 30, 2016
This YA novel has all the typical time travel tropes—the kid (Mark) who doesn’t know he can time travel, a little bit of romance (Miranda isn’t a name you see every day) and some evil dude (never trust Peter) trying to seize power.
The mystery behind time travel and its connection to the Montgomerys in Screwing Up Time did catch my attention. The family is keeping a memory from the main character, Mark, and it involves a grandfather locked up in an mental hospital. Oh, family secrets that include a medical mystery and attempted murder! It’s like a soap opera!
I quite enjoyed the pop culture references. I’m almost certain that if I traveled in time, I would be referencing the catalog of books and movies I’ve read and watched if I were thrown back in time. I’m pretty sure that Braveheart is an accurate depiction of how to live in Scotland and Robin Hood: Princes of Thieves is a good reference point for surviving in England, right?
Definitely give Screwing Up Time a shot. Fans of time travel novels will enjoy the familiarity of the tropes and hopefully be intrigued by the big family secret and the ultimate reveal. In the meantime, I’m off to read more time travel novels and watch more historical movies just in case, you know, I get transported back in time.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews