Review: Been a fan of this series from the very beginning!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 21, 2014
If you're a fan of science fiction dealing with time travel woven together with a touch of romance, history and a bit of mystery, you might just want to pick up John Heldt's Northwest Passage Time Travel Series. I've been so privileged to be a part of this journey being invited to review his latest in the series, The Mirror. This is actually book 5 in the series, and follows the journey of Katie and Ginny Smith, twins who live in the year 2020 and find themselves at the Cedar River Country Fair. Having seen most of the exhibits, rides and fair offerings, they opt to check out one final thing before heading home, a throw back to the original fair's exhibits from the 60's which include fire eaters, fortune tellers and even a vintage House of Mirrors.They take the chance to spend some time with Marta the Magnificent who offers a look into your future for $10 using your choice of the ball, the cards, the palms of the leaves. The girls chose the ball since it seems the most legit and when Marta tells them that they will soon go on an adventure like no other, a strange, mysterious journey much closer to home. She warns them that there will be handsome young men in their future and that these men will be no ordinary acquaintances and will change their lives. She strongly cautions them that they will be gone a long time and they will only have one chance to return. If they are not careful, they may never see home again.Marta is so panicked by what she sees for both of the twins she refunds their money when the girls begin to get worried with her prediction. Her last words of advice for the twins, "Just take the money and go. Leave the fairgrounds now and go home. I'm advising you as a mother and a person who cares about your safety. Leave immediately. Don't do anything else tonight. Just go straight home and stay there. I beg you."But like all great stories the girls don't follow Marta's advice and make a final stop before heading home at the House of Mirrors where they step through a mirror and find themselves in 1964. Remembering Marta's warning, they know they can get back but are unsure just how. They know they will only have one shot at it, but they also know that their parents were also given the rare opportunity as well to travel back in time. They just aren't sure how long they will be in 1964 and how they will find their way back. They only know that their parents did it before following the same path to get home, but there are no mirrors around. The fair has now been boarded up and they can only hope to find out when it will be reopened and try to find the same mirror they walked through the first time to get back home. For now the journey will take them in unexpected places and allow them to see family members that have been dead for quite some time. Is there a bigger plan in store for them or will they alter history forever?I received The Mirror by John A. Heldt compliments of the author for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own unless otherwise noted. This novel is proceeded by The Mine and The Show if you want to follow the story from the beginning to see the parallel time travel adventures from their parents and grandparents. It is interesting to see how teens from a technology advanced period of history have to deal with going back to the 60's and try to fit in. Dating is much different in some aspects than it was where they came from and women dressed much more sophisticated then they do wearing dresses instead of jeans and the girls seem to be rushed to find romance and love before their time runs out. I would rate this one a 4 out of 5 in my opinion based on the fact that the girls are a bit promiscuous with their relationships and not too concerned with the consequences of their actions with the boys they encounter and for the majority of my reader base who might find this a cause for concern. I would have liked to seen them spend more time falling in love than simply sleeping with them. All in all, the novel is a wonderful blend of so many elements that the author executed so well and I love how it all worked out in the end.