Review: Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

until we meetTitle: Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Time Travel, Romance
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

They exist in two different centuries, but their love defies time.

Cassandra is a headstrong teenager craving drama and adventure, so the last thing she wants is to spend her summer marooned with her mother and new stepfather in a snooty Massachusetts shore town. But when a dreamy stranger named Lawrence shows up on their private beach claiming it’s his own—and that the year is 1925—she is swept into a mystery a hundred years in the making.

As she searches for answers in the present, Cassandra discovers a truth that puts their growing love—and Lawrence’s life—in jeopardy. Desperate to save him, Cassandra must find a way to change history—or risk losing Lawrence forever.

Review:

In Until We Meet Again, Renee Collins combines time travel and an intriguing mystery with a sweet romance and the resulting story is unique and engaging.

Cassandra is less than thrilled to be spending her summer vacation with her family in Massachusetts instead of Paris with her best friend. But all of that changes once she meets a mysterious stranger on the beach one moonlit night. Lawrence Foster is handsome, charming and by some strange twist of fate, he has time traveled from 1925 to the present. They are both living in the same house during the two different time periods and the only place they can be together is on the isolated stretch of the beach where they first met. Curious about the history of the house, Cassandra learns distressing information about Lawrence and in an effort to prevent the unthinkable, she and Lawrence are determined to uncover the truth about the events that took place 90 years earlier.

In the beginning, Cassandra is a little self-absorbed but once she meets Lawrence, she puts all of her energy into researching those long ago events. She is creative and resourceful and although she is afraid that their actions in the present could have change history, once she knows the truth about what happened to Lawrence, nothing is going to stop her investigation. Cassandra genuinely cares for Lawrence and as her concern for him deepens, she grows and matures into a very likable character.

Delightfully debonair, Lawrence is definitely hero material. Having lost his mother the previous year, he is spending the summer with his uncle before heading off to college. Although he has no interest in following in his father’s footsteps, he is willing to do what is expected of him. However, his obedience begins to waver once he learns what his uncle has planned for him. The more information he and Cassandra uncover, the more afraid he becomes of the people his uncle is involved with. Not wanting to endanger himself or his uncle, Lawrence remains reluctant to defy him, but will that change once he learns the truth about what is going on?

The mystery aspect of the storyline is quite fascinating. Cassandra’s research is often tedious and yields little results, but she perseveres in spite of her lack of progress. The investigation is also very interesting since the time travel element allows both Cassandra and Lawrence to track down information during the different time periods. Lawrence is able to fully explore the clues that she unearths while Cassandra can then use the internet and local library to research the information he uncovers.

The time travel portion of Until We Meet Again is equally well written and rather unique.  The fact that they are basically living parallel lives in the same place yet different time periods provides added interest to the overall plot. The novel alternates between Cassandra and Lawrence’s perspectives which gives readers the opportunity to experience life in both 1925 and the present.

Until We Meet Again is a captivating young adult novel that is the perfect blend of mystery and romance. The storyline is distinctive and well-researched with the Roaring Twenties springing vibrantly to life. The characters are multi-dimensional with distinct voices that remain true to their respective time periods. Renee Collins brings the novel to a suspense-laden conclusion that is poignant yet realistic. All in all, an outstanding novel that I recommend to readers of all ages.

2 Comments

Filed under Contemporary, Mystery, Rated B, Renee Collins, Review, Romance, Sourcebooks Fire, Time Travel, Until We Meet Again, Young Adult

2 Responses to Review: Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

  1. Timitra

    Sounds pretty good…thanks for the review Kathy