Customer Reviews

Ripple Effect (Time Thriller Trilogy, Book 1) (Bk. 1)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Here's a different story from the norm. Elizabeth is determined she is going to run away from home; she wants a normal life with normal parents. Her best friend Jeff plans on talking her out of it on the night they are supposed to meet at the old saw mill. However, Jeff is there and Elizabeth never shows. While her parents head out to church she takes a bath behind a locked bathroom door. After dozing off in the tub she wakes up in a whole different time. Everything is similar but not the same. She's now Sarah, who lives with her boyfriend Calvin. As the title says, it's a time thriller. Sarah and Elizabeth switch places, but how? Only God knows. Elizabeth will soon discover that Calvin, Sarah's best friend Rhonda and David are not what they seem. Meanwhile, Jeff and his cousin Malcolm are looking for a way to get Elizabeth back.

This is a good fast book. I read it in a day. I knew Calvin wasn't all he appeared to be from the beginning, he was too interested in everything Elizabeth did. I enjoyed the book, if you are looking for a page turner with some suspense this is a good choice. My only reason for not giving it 5-stars is, even though it was a good read, I just didn't love it.

Elizabeth is fed up with being embarrassed by her parents, and decides to run away. She convinces her best friend Jeff to leave with her. When she doesn't show at their meeting spot, and can't be found anywhere, Jeff is under suspicion for her disappearance. But she didn't run away. She had a bath, and when she got out, everything seemed slightly off. She had traded places with her "time twin" in a parallel universe. Can she stay strong when everyone is insisting her name is Sarah? Can Jeff figure out what happened and get Elizabeth back?

This was a very exciting, energetic story. There were plenty of twists and turns as Elizabeth and Jeff tried to figure out what happened and how to fix it.

Jeff was a great hero. He was likeable, and very determined to get his best friend back. I felt bad for him that he was under suspicion from the police. You could see them trying to railroad him, simply because there was no other explanation that made sense. It was very frustrating, but Jeff stayed strong. His cousin Malcolm was an interesting guardian, leaving Jeff by himself quite often, trusting him to do what was right and needed. Malcolm did assist whenever he could, and made for a complex yet understandable secondary character.

I really felt sorry for Elizabeth. She was thrust into another world where everything felt kind of familiar, yet very wrong. Everywhere she turned, people were insisting she was Sarah. Her inner turmoil and struggle to figure out who she was felt very real. I couldn't imagine being in that situation. Especially when the people around her were slowly revealing that they were hiding big secrets from her.

Overall, this was an exciting story. I didn't realize it was the first in a trilogy until after I was done. The story was complete, without any threads left open. I can't imagine what the second book is about, but I will definitely be looking for it.

I really loved this book. I thought it was a page turner. I could not put it down. I thought the concept of the story was interesting- alternate reality/parallel universe. I hadn't read anything like that before.

As for being a kids' book, there are scenes of strong violence, so it probably isn't appropriate for a small child. Other than the violence, the book was clean. There was no sex or vulgar language.

I enjoyed the book as it spurred some psychological discussions with family and friends. I wish I could find more books like this one. I liked it so much that I read the other two books which follow this one. This was my favorite of the three.

Ripple Effect is a book about a girl named Elizabeth who lives in a town where strange disappearances have happened over many years. One day while taking a bath she feels fingers tightening around her throat and suddenly finds herself in another time. She has taken on the identity and life of a girl she doesn't know. Her life is in danger if she stays in this world. Will she make it out alive? Will she uncover the secret she needs to escape? This thrilling story is a roller coaster ride of excitement. This brillant author takes you back and forth smoothly from the current time to the "other" time. There are lots of twists and turns in this thrilling story.
And for added excitement the author Paul McCusker gives you the first chapter of the sequel to this book titled: "Out of Time" which is Book 2 in the Time Thriller Trilogy. I look forward to reading this!

"Ripple Effect" is a thrilling mystery read for teens from Paul McCusker. The first book in a planned trilogy series, "Ripple Effect" has science fiction flavors sprinkled throughout this carefully woven mystery that follows Elizabeth through a time warp in her bathtub to an alternate reality. What follows is an adventurous quest to get back home.

I'm surprised at how engaging this book is. McCusker writes an intelligent mystery and doesn't spoon-feed his audience. It really made me realize that the teen audience he is targeting is an intelligent group of future leaders. This novel really impressed me.

Even though this book was published by Zondervan and labeled as Teen Fiction, it really isn't!! Reader/Buyer beware: this book contains violence to intense for my teen and even for some sensitive adults. No one is actually murdered, but there are about 7 or 8 attempted murderings which are graphically described. It is a good mystery, sci-fi thriller, but there is really no Christian content. The most this book mentions about Christ is that the main character's annoying parents are attending a church meeting. :( Beyond that the the reason she thinks her parents are annoying isn't even realistic (because he wears his slippers outside and because he came to her room when a friend was over wearing said slippers, pj's and a robe ... give me a break!)
I was pretty disappointed in Zondervan for labeling this a Christian novel. In addition, there is really no closure to the argument between Elizabeth and her parents. She does not admit her rebellion or reconcile with them. More or less, she is scared straight.
The bad far outweighs the good in this book and I think it is unsuitable as a Christian Fiction novel and too unrealistic and poorly written to compete with worldly novels. The suspense and sci-fi element are good though.

Spoiler Alert!!! The graphic scenes mentioned above contain intense strangling scenes, being beat with a fireplace poker, opposite gender violence (a guy punching a girl and a girl beating a guy), broken bones, being stuffed in the trunk of a car and drowning!

Most of the storyline is told by previous reviews, but what they don't tell you about is the element of horror in this book. This is NOT a sit-down-and-relax book, nor would I recommend reading it before bed at night. Among other potentially traumatic and disturbing themes, near the end of the book there is a very intense nighttime murder-chase scene that some parents may consider to be inappropriate and frightening. The lines between what the author portrays as reality and fiction are very blurred, mixing faith with bizarre science-fiction concepts. All in all, I would not recommend this book. There are so many great books out there and this one just doesn't compare.

This book looks like it's been through many rough readings. Cover has scratches, is bent in places, and has pressure marks were it has been used as a hard surface to doodle on some other piece of paper. Many pages are torn and dog-eared. Top side of page edge has yellowed considerably. Personally, I would not sell this book as anything other than "acceptable" at best (lowest ranking possible). This book makes you wonder whose hands have been on it.