Portal [Paperback]

Imogen Rose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 23, 2010

Come Find Me Two Years Ago... Six words that propelled ice hockey playing tomboy, Arizona, into an alternate dimension. She suddenly found herself in the past. In one moment she went from being an ice hockey playing teenager in New Jersey to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She found herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she hates. Apparently it's a life she's always lived in. Everyone knows her as Arizona Darley, but she isn't. She is Arizona Stevens. As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible. . PORTAL is the story of the repercussions of Olivia Darley's attempt at creating a perfect world for herself and her children. Arizona's quest for answers threatens to undermine the seemingly perfect world that her mother has so carefully constructed. PORTAL is the first book of the Portal Chronicles. Fans of time travel, romance, and the supernatural will enjoy Arizona's quest for answers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I think it has a very clever hook and plays so well against a variety of genres--YA, fantasy, romance, sci-fi. It's a very tough balancing act to walk the tightrope of so many genres without slipping up on one of them, but I'll be damned if you didn't pull it off with aplomb."- Terry Goodman (Senior Editor at Amazon Publishing)

"Portal...when love's just the beginning of the story" - KindleObsessed

Red Adept Annual Indie Awards 2010 Runner Up - Red Adept Reviews

Twilight meets The Time-Travelers Wife! - Stephen Windwalker (Kindle Nation)

Favorite Frugal Finds of 2010 -The Frugal eReader

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Imogen Rose (January 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615345077
• ISBN-13: 978-0615345079
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (172 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #891,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Imogen Rose is the author of the bestselling YA series, the Portal Chronicles. She was born in a small town in Sweden and moved to London in her twenties. After obtaining a PhD in immunology from Imperial College, she moved with her family to New Jersey, where she's been based for the past ten years.

For as long as she can remember, Imogen has dreamt stories. Stories that continued from night to night, from dream to dream. So, even as a child, going to bed was never an issue, just an anticipation of the story to come.

PORTAL, Imogen's first novel, would have remained in her imagination, to be shared only with her daughter, Lauren, had her eight-year-old not insisted that she write it down. In the course of a month, Imogen typed while Lauren waited eagerly by the printer for the pages to appear, and a novel took shape.

The warm reception PORTAL received encouraged her to continue with the story and the Portal Chronicles. Faustine is Imogen's first book in her new series, the Bonfire Chronicles. She has recently published INITIATION, the prequel to FAUSTINE.

Imogen is a self-confessed Hermès addict who enjoys shopping, traveling, watching movies and playing with her dog, Tallulah.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing sci-fi romance, February 15, 2010

By 

Keith Robinson (Chickamauga, GA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portal (Paperback)

PORTAL is a sci-fi romance with well-fleshed characters and an intriguing plot. Normally, a novel in the romance genre would be of no interest to me at all (being a guy and all!) but PORTAL managed to keep my interest throughout thanks to its main character, Arizona, and its fascinating sci-fi plot involving time travel and alternative dimensions. There's such a careful balance of sci-fi versus romance that both genre readers will enjoy it equally. I'd be hard pushed to say which genre comes through the strongest, and in this regard it reminds me slightly of The Time Traveler's Wife, another story that's hard to pigeonhole and one that wouldn't work if either the sci-fi or the romance was taken away.

There's a lot to think about after the book ends. All the complexities of the "experiment" are finally laid out for the readers (and poor Arizona) to see, and yet you come away with your head spinning -- in a good way. The best kinds of movies and novels are those that leave you with something to ponder, and PORTAL certainly does that. And the fact that there's a forthcoming sequel, EQUILIBRIUM, due in Summer 2010, is something of a no-brainer -- there's plenty more story waiting to be explored yet!

Not wanting to give away spoilers, I was happy with Arizona's decision at the end and think it would have been unrealistic for her to choose otherwise. Still, part of me wanted her to "take the plunge" and choose the other option, because what a great story that would make! Maybe that's what we have to look forward to in EQUILIBRIUM... or maybe the author will take us in a new direction altogether. There are so many possibilities, especially after the Epilogue, which almost came out of left field and really throws a sinister spanner in the works. Roll on Book II!

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing !, July 9, 2010

By 

gian. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PORTAL (Portal Chronicles) (Kindle Edition)

I'm a guy and I'm a teenager, usually I don't buy Sci-Fi books but this one was only 0.99 so I brought it. I think it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. This book was so good. It was romantic but it also had the right amount of science fiction I wanted. I'll recommend it to many of my friends.

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A captivating read!, May 3, 2010

By 

Patricia Satkiewicz "Paige" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PORTAL (Portal Chronicles) (Kindle Edition)

Author Imogen Rose took an original idea and created a world where time travel intertwines with romance, power of love can alter the course of life and erase painful memories... A fascinating story that will captivate your heart and ignite your imagination!!

Author Imogen Rose's writing style is elegant and highly enjoyable.