Time Boby Joelle Charbonneau
Book description: A congressman's daughter who has to be perfect. A star quarterback with a secret. A guy who's tired of being ignored. A clarinet player who's done trying to fit in. An orphaned rebel who wants to teach someone a lesson. A guy who wants people to see him, not his religion.
They couldn't be more different, but before the morning's over, they'll all be trapped in a school that's been rocked by a bombing. When they hear that someone inside is the bomber, they'll also be looking to one another for answers.
My Rating: 3.5/5
Read: March 31-April 1
My Review: Time Bomb was a suspenseful book that I read through rather quickly. The book handles some serious topics so if you plan to read this book I recommend reading the trigger warnings list before reading. Time Bomb centers around six students all stereotyped by one. They become trapped in their school after a bomb goes off and must work together to escape. However, they soon realize that the bomber is one among them and that another bomb is planned to go off.
This book kept me invested from the very beginning, due to its quickness to get to the action. However, I had some difficulties reading through all but two of the character's points of view. As a personal preference, I tend to avoid books with multiple points of view because I find it hard to form emotional connections with so many characters. Moreover, some perspectives tend to blend together, making it challenging to differentiate between them.
However, one of the book's shortcomings is that some of the characters are not fully fleshed out. As the story progressed, I felt that I still did not understand some of them well enough. Another issue I had with the book was that the ending and the reveal of the bomber's identity felt rushed and underdeveloped. I wish the author had spent more time discussing it in detail.
Nevertheless, I still found the book to be an enjoyable read, especially since this book focuses on the struggles of all teenagers while in school, and how no matter how it might look from the views of others they each had their own issues. I'd also like to say that I did enjoy the topic of the book being so serious especially when it was published around the same time America was having heavy discussions about gun laws especially surrounding recent school shootings and bomb threats. It provides a student's perspective on a terrible situation that is all too common in America, making it all the more relevant and realistic.
