T-Minus

by Shannon Greenland

[chymerra]

When I read the blurb of T-Minus, my attention was caught. It reminded me of 24 Hours. Since I was a fan of that show, I knew that I needed to read this book. I am glad I did!! T-Minus was a fast, explosive read that I got lost in.

T-Minus is the story of Sophie Washington. Sophie is the teenage daughter of the first POTUS. One night, she is woken up by her Secret Service agent with the news that the President and her family are the targets of a domestic terrorist attack. They are to be separated and taken to different safe houses. Sophie finds out that this terrorist cell has people who infiltrated the White House. Not trusting anyone, Sophie turns to the only other people she can trust, her friends from a CIA training camp for teens. Sophie has 24 hours to find out who is behind the attacks on her family and bring them down. But that is easier said than done when she doesn’t know who to trust.

I couldn’t believe the fast pace of T-Minus. Right from page one, the book was go-go-go. The author did a fantastic job of keeping the speed of the plotline as fast as she did. But, there were times when it faltered. Mainly during the flashbacks. If the author placed the flashback at the beginning of the book (like headers) or even had dedicated mini-chapters to them, I would have been fine. But to have a scene interrupted by Sophie remembering various people, drove me nuts.

I liked Sophie. I liked that the author showed how stifling being a child of the POTUS could be. I couldn’t imagine having Secret Service tailing me everywhere. I also thought that she was strong: mentally and physically. I would have lost it after what happened to her brother. But she didn’t allow herself time to dwell on it. Instead, she turned all her feelings into anger, and that powered her through the rest of the book. I also liked that she was also a normal teenage girl. She had crushes, fought with her parents, and did crazy teenage stuff with her friends. Of course, all that was told in flashbacks but still. It was nice to see glimpses of what she could be like during the book.

The mystery of who was behind the terrorist attacks was wonderfully written. The author was able to make me think it was several people, including Sophie’s father. There were several twists in the plot that took me by surprise. But it was the one at the end that made my jaw drop. I couldn’t believe who it was.

The end of T-Minus was unbelievable. The author wrapped up all the plotlines except one, which makes me wonder if there will be a book 2.

I would give T-Minus an Older Teen rating. There is no sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 16 read this book.

I would reread T-Minus. I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**