THE HOURGLASS DOORLisa Mangum
Shadow Mountain, 2009. 400 p. Young Adult
Now if you had a choice between dating the perfectly nice young man next door or the mysteriously handsome, Italian exchange student, what would you do?
Abby’s life seems pretty good for a seventeen-year-old. She’s applying to college, helping out with the school play and dating her best friend. But it’s all feeling a bit too predictable, especially when all her choices feel like they’re being made for her, not by her. So when Dante appears out of nowhere life becomes pleasantly unpredictable. But Abby didn’t realize that unpredictable can turn into erratic chaos when you’re dealing with the complicated balance of time travel and a host of prisoners from fifteenth century Italy. Moreover, a nagging voice keeps asking, “how can you have a relationship with someone if the more time you spend together, the more time you’re forced to spend apart?” Not to worry, with what appears to be the first in a series, Abby will have lots more time to make up her mind.
A fun read exploring themes of classic concern: love, choice, balance and accountability. Readers overwhelmed by the recent vampire craze might appreciate this Twilight read-a-like without encountering any paranormal creatures.
DAP
1 comment:
I approached this novel with trepidation being thoroughly exhausted with the teenage vampire genre. I first I was wary of the handsome foreign exchange student from Italy thinking I knew exactly where this was going. Fortunately for me, and every other reader that picks up Lisa Mangum's work I was wrong. The teenage characters are written with surprising age appropriateness. They are neither shallow nor living lives more suitable to twenty-somethings. Abby's indecision over whether to stay with her best boy friend or become Dante's girlfriend is genuine. The plot arc is startlingly original. The twists in the story kept me guessing at points. I look forward with anticipation to the next installation in this series.
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