Alicia's Reviews > Time's Divide

I just finished an ARC from Netgally and... I feel like I felt when Lost concluded. I don't care if you loved Lost or hated Lost - that ending had to make even the most ardent hater do a little "aww..." I happened to have loved Lost so I did a little more than go "aww." I flat out bawled and mourned my friends Jack, Kate, and Hurley for, like, weeks.

I also loved this series. Time Travel, religion used to manipulate the masses, the threat of mass extinction, and a really great set of characters (I just realized there's a Kate in both Lost and The CHRONOS files) held my attention through all three books.

In previous reviews I've praised Ms. Walker for keeping time travel straightforward and easy to follow. In Time's Divide that all goes to hell, and quite frankly I'm impressed that a) she held so many intricate plots together for 2.5 books, and b) that even when I was starting to go cross-eyed at the complexities, I was still 100% engrossed in the story.

Spoiler-ish deets below:

Things I didn't exactly love:
Sliiiiightly disappointed that so much of the most confusing aspects of time travel (and there were MANY) were settled with the characters concluding that they couldn't waste time figuring everything out or Kate just flat out narrating that her head hurt and she was going cross-eyed.

There were some random history tangents that I didn't think were 100% necessary (though I do love a good tangent into under appreciated historical figures) - Houdini, which was never a favorite aspect of the second book, was not much of an improvement in the third. I get the need for his role in the plot but I don't get why it had to be Houdini. Similarly the Victoria Woodhull tangent - informative and educational, but a LOT of detail in an already jam-packed novel that, overall, didn't really do much for any of the Kate's, Pru's, or me.

Lack of clear resolution for G-Ma Kathryn. We spent almost the entire second book hunting down Saul-stuff to help reverse her brain tumor and she basically just turned in for the night at the end.

That ending for Saul. I mean.... this guy was pure evil and his way out was somewhat lack luster given the fuckery that guy did to so many. And really, for a guy who couldn't travel through time he sure did manage to ruin a whole lotta lives. Which leads me to...

Simon. Oh Simon. I know he was a rat bastard, I know he was a product of his environment, and June did a fair amount of explaining why he was so bad. But it hurts to know that Pru and Tate's love gave birth to such an evil person. And he truly was evil because if Saul masterminded everything, it was Simon who was required to carry it all out.

Things I loved and/or was impressed by:
Okay this is YA and it's Time Travel. I'm down to be more than a little forgiving when the plot split into 5 alternate paths. Because despite the complexity of time travel and Kate, and Other-Kate, and Kathrine, and Young-Pru, Old-Pru, Crazy-Pru, Tate's-Pru and Aunt-Pru and Sister Pru, I was miraculously able to keep up 100% of the time.

Religion used to manipulate people - this whole theme really, REALLY resonated with me. Since the first book I've been hooked on bad people's use of religion and faith to manipulate, take advantage of, and ruin good people. Time's Divide does not skimp on wrapping this theme up in a strong, and pretty freakin' bold, fashion. Given current politics and the Kim Davis's of Kentucky, I don't think the description of Cyrists is really that hard to grasp. As Kate said toward the end of Time's Divide, there's a lot of fact to be found in fiction.

Love triangle shut-down fairly early in this book was supremely satisfying. Kate didn't hem and haw between Tray or Keir. And those off-moments that she did second-guess herself felt really genuine. I remember being 18 and having two boys like me. Even though I knew I wanted one boy more than the other, I still wanted attention from them both. And in the end, everything worked out in a really great way.

Which leads me to - Kate. I loved her. She is possibly one of my favorite YA heroines. I said it in my review of the first book and I'll say it again - Kate was issued this challenge and she stepped up to the plate. Every. freakin'. time. By the end she realizes how hard it must have been for her parents to watch her put herself in danger again and again because it's easier to go yourself than send those you love. But while she did embrace the danger and challenges of time travel really well (some say, far too well), she did it with a level head. I thought she was super mature for her age and often found myself forgetting she was still in high school.

I am so, so sad that this series has ended. I know there's fan-fic out there and Ms. Walker said she wasn't done with this world, which is good. But I don't know if there will ever be another Kate. I feel pretty empty right now and can see myself going back to re-read this series again in a year. I wolfed down the final installation in a day and a half (yes I was up til 5am reading but I napped til 1pm and it was Sunday don't judge me!) so I'll probably re-read it just to savor it a bit more, because this series really deserves to be savored.

So many details and such complexity. So much history and, yes, even a little education. And such great characters. Thank you, Ms. Walker, for another fantastic novel!