Book Review: Yesterday

September 24, 2012 by Kate 3 Comments

Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin

Published by Random House Children's Books on September 25th 2012
Pages: 368

Goodreads

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.

The year: 1985. A time when things were changing. Madonna. MTV. The Brat Pack. The year I was born. Yesterday takes place here. But the tale does not start there.

Years into the future, our world has been ravaged by global warming. Rising ocean levels. Massive rainfalls. Severe droughts. Imagine a world that is on the brink of destruction, trying to hold on. But when the scales are tipped due to an unknown virus, this world's people only have the past to look back to.

Yesterday starts with a killer prologue. Based on that prologue alone, I was so sure that Yesterday and I would click. And we did for about the first half of the book. Mostly, due to me waiting and waiting to get my glimpse of the Freya's future world. However, much of Yesterday never played out the way that I thought it would.

Throughout the book, I was so sure I knew how this book would play out. Freya would regain her memory. Her and Garren had had this amazing romance in the future, and would be super excited to reunite. Then magically, they would find a way to get back to the future. Or something along those lines. But it did not happen that way. Not at all. Which is not always a bad thing. But when so much is riding on this future world and there has been so much build up for it, you begin to expect at least some interaction with it. But it does not happen, and for me, that was a major pitfall for Yesterday.

Final Verdict:

Yesterday was different. I have racking my brain for a better word to describe this book, but I cannot find it. Different just suits Yesterday.

The book started out very strongly for me. Sadly, I think part of the issue regarding this book is not the book itself. (Well, aside from a mass info dump about the future, which was massively disappointing.) But rather the summary which promises more than the book delivered.

I did not hate Yesterday, but I did not love it either. It is a weird middle. Leaving me hoping for a sequel to bring the past and future together, giving this story a more completed feeling.

Kate

Kate is the co-blog owner of The Book Monsters. I am a twenty-something year old who is passionate about reading. I currently hold a B.A. in English and am married to my high school sweetheart. We have two (cat) children, Gracie and Kit, who are total divas. I have an insane and possibly unhealthy passion for reading. You can usually find me with my nose buried in a book.

Comments

Bookworm1858 says:

September 24, 2012 at 10:11 pm

Just finished writing my review of this and I have really similar thoughts. I think there was some good stuff but it didn’t get me excited.

Annette says:

September 25, 2012 at 11:26 am

Every review I’ve read (including mine) says a lot of the same. I was really disappointed by the info dump — thought that could have been so exciting, but it wasn’t. Enjoyed the concept, though.

Megan says:

October 11, 2012 at 8:01 am

I agree with you. I wanted to like this book and it had potential, but it just didn’t wow me. And that info dump was awful!