Hey and welcome to my stop on the 15 Minutes blog tour hosted by AToMR Tours. Click here to follow along with the tour! :D
Title: 15 Minutes
Author: Jill Cooper
Release date: June 15th 2013
Age group: Young Adult
Genre: Thriller, Scifi
Source: Copy for review
Blog tour organized by: AToMR Blog Tours
My Rating: 5 /5
~ Synopsis ~
I have 15 minutes to save my mother's life...
15 minutes is all the Rewind Agency gives you in the past, but for Lara Crane it's enough time to race through the city, find her mother, and stop her from being killed in a mugging that happened over ten years ago.
But that's not how it happened. The story she's been told all her life is a lie and when Lara takes a bullet meant for her mother, her future changes forever.
The love of her life acts like a stranger. Her simple life is replaced with a giant house, glamorous clothes and a new boyfriend.
Except someone knows her secret. And he will try to stop her at every turn as she races against the clock to unravel a dangerous conspiracy.
15 Minutes is an edgy high octane YA thriller that can be described as Back to the Future meets Inception where the people Lara trusts change in an instant. She is in a timeline she doesn't understand, and is about to make one fatal mistake as she faces an enemy so familiar, he's family.
~ My Thoughts ~
This book is edgy, full of action, and I absolutely loved it!! There are all kinds of possibilities in 15 Minutes. I think Jill Cooper did an amazing job with telling a story of time travel.
I'd give anything to be able to travel back in time and experience good memories all over again. If I could use time travel to prevent my mom from dying, I'd do it in a heartbeat no matter the consequences, just like Lara did. So even though she went into this seemingly without much thought, I never blamed her for doing it at all. If we had this ability, there would be a ton of people time traveling just for that reason, I know it.
Lara was so focused on preventing her mother's death that she didn't think her life was going to change as drastically as it did, but it came to a point where nothing felt "right" to her. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was living a stranger's life. The author describes everything so well for Lara, that I understood her completely. There was a moment when Lara first sees her mother, and she's supposed to go up to her room but doesn't want to leave her mother's sight. She just wants to stand there and drink in the sight of her - my heart unraveled.
There are consequences to altering the past, and it's actually against the law. You're only allowed fifteen minutes in the past and aren't supposed to touch anything or change anything. Can you imagine if other people were changing things? One little thing could make an entirely different world. What if someone made a change that prevented time travel from becoming a possibility in the future? It's hard to wrap my mind around that!
This is a book I want to read again already. The minute it ended, I wanted to start over and relive everything. It kept me up at night because I didn't want to go to sleep when I could instead be reading this amazing story. I will read anything Jill Cooper writes!
~ Purchase the book ~
~ About the Author: Jill Cooper ~
I could write this in the third person. I could tell you what I like, where I was born, and what my favorite things are.
But instead, I'll say I don't want to write like everyone else. I don't want to craft stories you've read a thousand times before. I want my novels to be a cinematic experience, blending themes, genres, and situations unlike any you've ever read.
I want to break the rules. I want you to break out in a cold sweat as you read my books out of fear, love, and excitement. I want my books to be an experience. When you finish, I want you to feel something. Good or bad.
If you do, then I'll have succeeded. If not, I'll keep trying.
~ Author Links ~
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Thanks for your review. It makes me want to read 15 Minutes, and I wrote it! Makes me giddy that you loved it so much.
ReplyDeleteJill Cooper
You're welcome, Jill! I really love your bio, too. :) You have no idea how much your book moved me. My mom passed away when I was 14, and that's what drew me to the book. I cried two or three different times, especially when Lara talks about wanting to drink in her mother's presence. I'm glad I at least have the memories I do. I don't know how I'd cope if I had never gotten to know her. I've dreamed before that my mom didn't die like I thought she did, and when I wake up, the disappointment is so bitter. Time travel would be so awesome although I know so many people would use it for the wrong reasons such as the Senator in this novel. Great novel! Loved it!
DeleteThanks for sharing your story with me, Jenn. It's things like that that keep us writing. Sorry for your loss. My mom is still here, but sometimes we are so estranged, I am left with a longing feeling that we could have that mother-daughter relationship you see in movies or TV sometimes. Which is kind of where that longing/heartbreak Lara feels comes from.
DeleteI wish you had the relationship with your mom that you deserve and long for. The feelings of grief that come from estrangement are very similar to feelings of grief after a death.
DeleteI added 15 Minutes to my TBR shelf! "my heart unraveled" is such a gripping description. I've watched a few movies where you get to go back in time to stop a murder or just reminisce, but I've only read one time travel book. This one sounds like a combination of Run Lola Run and Minority Report, and better than both of them. You've been loading my TBR shelf lately, missy.
ReplyDeleteLoading your TBR list is what I do best, lol. ;D Gosh, this book just really moved me. I cried only 14% into it! I'm such a wuss. When you read about how hard Lara works to change the past so her mom doesn't die, it will bring you to tears, I swear. I've wished countless times I could bring my mom back, and like I told Jill above, I've had cruel dreams where I learn my mom didn't really die, that it was all a mistake, only to wake up in bitter disappointment and heartache. I can't imagine why I'm haunted by these dreams - guess it's just the strength of how much I'd give anything to have her back. And this book makes me want to write about what would have been had she lived.
DeleteI haven't seen Run Lola Run, so I can't comment about that. But Minority Report I can kind of see, in a way. I have so many ideas for the sequel (which direction to take the 15 MINUTES Universe) it's hard to pick one and stick with it.
DeleteI can't wait for the sequel!! I haven't seen either of those movies, but I want to. :)
DeleteI love this premise! Thanks for the review
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Brandi! The premise is what really drew me to it! :D
DeleteThis book looks great, definitely going on my to-read list :)
ReplyDeleteYes, awesome! Hope you love it as much as I do! :D
DeleteWow! Great review, Jennifer. The premise had me intrigued but your review seals the deal! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is the kind of review authors can only dream about :-D
DeleteJill Cooper
Thanks, Brandee! That's really cool I sealed the deal for ya!! :D
DeleteJill, that's the highest compliment a reviewer can receive. I was fangirling when I saw your response! :D
I love time travel books so I'll definitely be checking this one out! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteSweet! Thanks, Pam! It's so good - hope you love it!! :D
Delete