Be Like Sid
Had this novel been published three decades earlier, this theme would be expressed as “be like Frank” but today it is the Sid Vicious version of “My Way” rather than the Sinatra version that is the most iconic. The last words of the novel echo that song about doing things your way and keeping the regrets down to a few if you absolutely must have any at all. The significance of not allowing regrets to consume you no matter what really won’t become clear to readers until they reach that final page because part of the inherent expectations of a time travel novel is that even if mistakes are made they can be corrected. Unless they can’t. Either way, the important thing is to accept the consequences an move on without doubt or distress.
Be Like Jackson
Memo to writers hoping to break into that potentially lucrative young adult genre by establishing a successful series that transform them from an author into a brand: have a young male narrator tell your story. Reader reaction to this book that has been published as reviews or blog entries cross the internet vary from absolute love to immediate repulsion, but one reaction is about as close to universal as it gets. And that is the expression of surprise and joy at a YA novel that is narrated by a young male. Admittedly, reaction to Jackson Meyer as a character specifically is very mixed, but even those who find him a dullard making a potentially interesting story into a slog hail his arrival on the scene as if he were Moses. Having a young male perspective telling the story transforms every aspect of the story into a thematic exploration of how young males view the world and apparently—though it may come as a “who knew?” revelation to some—this is not exactly standard operating procedure in the world of this genre.
Don’t Be Like Bond
For the most part this is science fiction romance more than anything. It obviously deals with all manner of themes common to time travel and into that mix is throw a deep romantic longing by the protagonist for a teenage girl. And, for the most part, that stuff comes off fairly well. Unfortunately, into that mix is also thrown elements of a spy story in which the young protagonist is called upon to act like secret agent as he battles with a shadowy rogue confederacy of American intelligence agents given the truly unfortunate collective name “Enemies of Time.” This exploration of deep state operatives looking to exploit time traveling is a thematic misfire because everything about the way it plays out is absurd to the point of being downright cheesy. The thematic failure is instructive, however: if you want to write a Bond novel, then make it a novel about Bond. Jackson Meyer is no James Bond.
