Customer Reviews

No Time Like the Present (Partners in Time, Book 1) (Bk. 1)

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

 

 

This is an entertaining read that ought to please anyone who's enjoyed Sheley's fan fiction. Despite the 9-12 age tag on the book it can comfortably be enjoyed by adults. The two main characters are the boy genius who's a little too full of himself after building his time machine, and the 19th century girl who's naturally upset at being yanked out of her own time involuntarily due to a failed experiment! There's a lot of potential for character conflict here and the author exploits it well. Meg's reactions to the 21st century are believable but rather laboured at times.

Sheley's debt to Back To The Future is obvious. In some respects it serves her well - she navigates the logical minefield of time travel better than many more established authors. Even in the clever time travel twist near the end, she doesn't falter. The movie in-jokes are also fun for hardcore fans. For others, though, the more overt references could easily grate. Was it necessary to give Meg the surname of a character from the movies, and have Sam comment on it, AND have a sequence later on where they go to a screening of the movie? After a certain point it gets tiresome for anyone who doesn't like the trilogy as much as Sheley does (and that includes me, though I like it a lot).

Overall this is a worthy first original effort from a writer whose talent keeps maturing with everything she writes. I will watch her progress with great interest.

I loved this book. It was a enjoyable read. I ordered it and fell in love with it. I loved all the Back to the Futue injokes. If you love time traveling you'll love this book! I can not wait for her next book!

I purchased this book straight from the publisher the moment I could because I knew the author (I even got it signed by her). I LOVE this book so much I couldn't stop reading it once I started. If you love time travel (and looking for references to the Back to the Future movie trilogy) you will love this book!

I just loved this book. I ordered it off the internet and I don't regret it. I am a Back to the Future fan and just enjoyed seeing all of those injokes. I hope she makes another book soon!

For years I have been reading Kristen Sheley's wonderful "Back to the Future" fanfiction stories so when I discovered that she was publishing an original book I knew I had to get myself a copy. I'm happy to report that Sheley's original work is every bit as entertaining and quailty filled as her online fanfiction.

The book tells the story of fifteen-year-old Sam Foster, an average American teenage boy who has just invented his own time machine. At first Sam is thrilled, but then he accidently brings back a stranger from the past with him and learns that time travel is far from being a piece of cake.

The book is 244 pages long and is aimed at young readers, although I think adults could enjoy it, too. I'm 21 and couldn't put it down. If I had one nitpick with the story it would be that the Back to the Future (Sheley is a devoted fan of the movie trilogy and this book is like a homage of sorts) references did feel a bit forced but I didn't really mind them, since I'm a fan of the movies myself. I could see though, that non BTTF enthusiasts might find them tiresome, although saying that there aren't so many references that it takes anything away from the story, which is good. I also noticed a few glaring typo errors that were hard to ignore but I believe that would be the fault of the book's editior/proof reader/whoever rather than Sheley herself...

Overall though, I greatly enjoyed PIT: B1 and look forward to reading the seqeuls. The characters were all realistic and Meg Clayton was especially well written...I had no trouble at all believing that she was a girl from the 1800s, and thought her reactions to the mordern day world were perfect. Another refreshing thing about PIT: B1 is that there isn't any angsty romance drama in the story. The story flows excellently and the few final chapters were especially gripping.

If you haven't read this book, give it a chance. Even if you aren't a fan of the BTTF movies but like a good old fashioned adventure story filled with suspenece and twists then this would make a great read. I highly recommend it.

What happens when a teenage boy invents a time machine and accidentally transports a 15-year-old girl through time from 1850 to his present time in 2005? Author Kristen Sheley provides the answer to this question in her first novel called "No Time Like the Present." The story follows the adventures of Sam Foster and Meg Clayton, whose chance meeting through the use of a time machine, invented by Sam, sets the stage for the first of many time travelling adventures planned by Sheley for her "Partners in Time Series."

Sheley does a wonderful job in the telling of this story of two teens from different time periods who wish for larger-than-life adventures only to find more excitement than they bargained for. Both Sam and Meg narrate the story in alternating chapters, allowing the reader to see both of the characters' perspectives. Sheley is right on the money with Meg's reaction to her sudden appearance in 2005. And the character of Sam, who dreams of becoming a successful scientist, is a bright, enthusiastic, not-so-typical teen that finds himself in a precarious circumstance. Sheley takes time to introduce the characters and their reactions to their plight, and rightly so. This is the first in a series of books for young adults planned by Sheley called the "Partners in Time Series," which will continue the adventures of Sam and Meg as they travel through time.

Sheley will attract many readers to this series, because of the time travel theme. Time travel seems to appeal to all ages and "No Time Like the Present" will tickle the proverbial taste buds of those who enjoy the flavor of a good time travel-related story. Sheley's love of time travel began with her interest in the "Back to the Future" movie trilogy, in which Marty McFly and "Doc" Emmett L. Brown take many adventures through time. Her novel even utilizes various names, phrases, and references from the trilogy, right down to "The Ripple Effect" aspect of time travel -so well known among fans of "Back to the Future." Her novel pays homage to the trilogy through these references.

The novel gets off to somewhat of a slow start - Meg doesn't even leave the vicinity of Sam's house until almost a third of the way into the story. But this is necessary to give Meg time to get used to her immediate surroundings before she and Sam venture out into the vast, complicated world of the 21st century. And Sheley gives the reader plenty to chew on in the meantime. The meat of the story occurs during the last 9 chapters of this 23-chapter novel. But the setup during the first 14 chapters is needed to set the tone, introduce the characters, and build the story to its dual-climactic ending - an ending in which readers will find they won't be disappointed. Readers will ultimately find themselves wanting to know more about Sam and Meg - and Sheley plans on giving it to them.

The "Partners in Time Series" from which Kristen Sheley says she expects to turn out about one novel per year will no doubt yield many exciting time travel adventures by Sam Foster and Meg Clayton. Sheley's love for the art of writing, combined with her love of time travel stories, truly stands out in "No Time Like the Present" and she is sure to delight readers with her brand of storytelling for many years into the future.