ARC Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

All Our Yesterdays

Author: Cristin Terrill

Series: -

Pages: 368

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher/Source: Bloomsbury Publishing Australia

Amazon – TBD

Release date: 1^st August 2013

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside. 

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was. 

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

Review: 5 out of 5 stars

Writing this review isn’t easy because it would be one huge spoiler, it’s a book that you need to read and unravel for yourself because the outcome and storyline is not what is expected.

Time travel books are usually hit or miss for me but Cristin Terrill’s imaginative and detailed world is pure perfection; it isn’t without a few minor faults but I was able to easily overlook them because I was so absorbed in the overall story and what was actually going on.

Detailing each of the characters will be incredibly vague as they are all connected in one form or another but each were fleshed out perfectly and progressed from the beginning of the book to the end, they were all one big surprise.

Told in past and present setting dual narrative between Em & Marina the story which unfolds link the characters in the most startling way; both have a unique voice and play differing roles in the overall story.

At the beginning of the book Em is locked in a cell alongside a boy named Finn in a military base being mistreated and abused regularly for an important piece of information, she knows she has been in this predicament before and needs to travel back to a place in time to prevent a tragedy from unfolding and follows a note she has found to kill someone who has been very dear to her.

We also meet James, a young science prodigy and the boy Marina has been in love with for a very long time; he was an introverted genius who played a vital role in the story; he both shocked and saddened me. Finn is James close friend and a bit of a mystery at the beginning of the book but I came to love the role he played and his relationship with Em.

The plot of All Our Yesterdays is fast-paced and kept me flipping through the pages as I anticipated what was going to happen, it was a non-stop thrill ride as we follow Em and Finn on their quest. The world-building was perfect, everything was thoroughly explained and neatly wrapped up in the most perfect ending; it was riveting to see how important events tied the realities together.

Overall, Cristin Terrill’s All Our Yesterdays is a wonderfully crafted, unique page-turner that is written perfectly. With twists and turns aplenty and action-packed sequences. I highly recommend this brilliant book.

Thank-you kindly to Bloomsbury Publishing Australia for the opportunity to read and review All Our Yesterdays.

About the author: Cristin Terrill is a young adult author and aspiring grown-up. She grew up semi-nomadic and graduated from Vassar College with a degree in drama. After getting her masters in Shakespeare Studies from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, she lived in London, Austin, Boston, and Washington, DC while working as a theatrical stage manager. Now she writes and leads creative writing workshops for DC-area kids and teens. All Our Yesterdays is her first novel.

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