THE EDGE OF FOREVER by Melissa E. Hurst

In 2013: Sixteen-year-old Alora is having blackouts. Each time she wakes up in a different place with no idea of how she got there. The one thing she is certain of? Someone is following her.

In 2146: Seventeen-year-old Bridger is one of a small number of people born with the ability to travel to the past. While on a routine school time trip, he sees the last person he expected—his dead father. The strangest part is that, according to the Department of Temporal Affairs, his father was never assigned to be in that time. Bridger’s even more stunned when he learns that his by-the-book father was there to break the most important rule of time travel—to prevent someone’s murder.

And that someone is named Alora.

Determined to discover why his father wanted to help a “ghost,” Bridger illegally shifts to 2013 and, along with Alora, races to solve the mystery surrounding her past and her connection to his father before the DTA finds him. If he can stop Alora’s death without altering the timeline, maybe he can save his father too.

The very first thing that I can tell you all about The Edge of Forever is that the world building was completely, absolutely AMAZING. It gave me that feeling that everybody is chasing after while they are reading a book - like you are a part of the story, that you are actually there with the character. This is the number one reason that I loved this book, but I do have two more equally respectable reasons.

Reason #2 as to why I loved this book so much was the unique (and in my opinion, better) way that Hurst wrote and handled time travel. I do not usually enjoy time travel books - it always confuses me how the characters can just dawdle around with time with basically no consequences at the end of the day. When I (kind of) watched The Lake House I was confused about how the couple could end up together at all - they are in totally different time zones. It’s confusing, it’s frustrating, and it’s totally unrealistic (aside from the fact that they are traveling through time). But in The Edge of Forever there are very specific rules about what they can and can not do in different time zones. Only time traveling specialists, who are all invisible, are allowed to travel through time, and even then it is only to observe. The travelers are not allowed to prevent something that happened in the past (such as stopping a loved one’s death) from happening again, and they can’t talk to anybody that is not from their specific time zone. These rules made it a lot easier for me to comprehend, and stopped me from dwelling on it to long and gave me time to actually pay attention to the story.

Reason #3 - there was minimal swearing, and I never felt uncomfortable reading the book. Sometimes it is hard to come across a YA book that you can completely get through without squirming even a little bit (for me, anyway), but it still had perfectly adorable romance and didn’t seem too middle grade and innocent. There is a made-up swear word that the characters use in place of the f-word, Furing, but I would take that over the original word any day.

In the end, I think that The Edge of Forever was beautifully written, and a fun read. It was a book that kept on giving, and a very rewarding book to finish! Needless to say, I am excited for the Sequel!

BREAKING NEWS!

We have landed an Interview with...

MELISSA E. HURST!!!

1. Thank you so much for spending some time for an interview Melissa! Can you tell us a little bit about your book, The Edge of Forever? It’s a young adult time travel novel that features Bridger, a teen Time Bender from 2146, who receives a message from his recently deceased father to save someone named Alora. It turns out that Alora is a teen girl living in 2013 who is destined to be murdered.

2. Where did you get your inspiration for The Edge of Forever? The original spark came when I was driving one day and heard a song on the radio, If I Die Young by The Band Perry. I was also thinking about an old time travel movie from the 1980’s, Somewhere in Time.

3. Did you have a favorite character in The Edge of Forever, or a character you took a particular liking to? I really identify with Grace. She’s super protective of Alora, and I’m the same way with my children.

5. Do you plan on doing anything else with the characters of The Edge of Forever? Yes! There will be a sequel.

6. How do you get in the zone while writing? Do you listen to music? Do you have anything you need to have nearby? I can’t listen to music while writing, but I often listen to a few songs that set the tone for a scene I’m going to write. I also like having chocolate nearby.

7. Do you have a dream cast for if The Edge of Forever if it were to become a movie? I’ve always pictured AnnaSophia Robb as Alora and Josh Hutcherson as Bridger. I also think Kim Basinger would be great as Alora’s Aunt Grace.

8. What is the best writing advice you have ever received, and the worst? Do you have any writing advice for future writers? Best writing advice: Don’t chase trends. Worst writing advice: Only write what you know. Writing advice for future writers: For years, I said I’d write a book when I had more time, and that never really happened. It was only when I started making time to write that I actually finished a book. You don’t have to spend hours each day writing. It’s amazing how much you can achieve with small blocks of time.

9. Was there a specific time in your life when you realized that you wanted to become a writer? It was during my middle school years. I had two fantastic teachers who encouraged my writing, and that made me think I could possibly become an author one day.

10. Do you have any other projects that you are working on, or can you share some ideas you have for future books? I’m currently working on The Edge of Forever’s sequel, On Through the Never.

***GREAT BIG THANKS TO SKY PONY PRESS FOR A REVIEW COPY!***