Review: A great read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2013
Joel Smith and his best friend Adam had decided to do a road trip before the finals and graduation thrust them both into "real" life. On their way home again, they stopped at a diner for a quick meal, then hit the road for the last leg of the journey. Listening to the radio on the trip, they heard of a phenomenon which meant six planets would align at a certain time of the day, an event which hadn't happened for some fifty years. Getting stranded in heavy traffic, and being the impatient young men with an adventurous spirit that they were, Joel decided they would head down a dirt road he had spotted, which directed them to an abandoned Gold Mine.Instructing Adam to wait with the car (Adam wasn't interested in an abandoned old mine with the surety of spiders and snakes for company!) Joel promised him he would only be a matter of minutes, and with torch in hand, stepped through the darkened doorway after breaking the boards protecting the entrance. The deeper he walked the darker it seemed to get...when he spotted a bright light ahead, a strange, shimmering light, he made his way cautiously toward it. Suddenly, with a brilliant flash, he was thrown against the wall, where the torch flew from his hand....When he stood up, he couldn't find his torch, so made his way carefully and with some trepidation toward the entrance...he had had enough adventure for one day. On emerging, he discovered Adam had gone, along with his car. Adam must have become sick of waiting. But as he headed along the track, he noticed some differences to when they had arrived a short while ago...and when an old Buick, which looked like it was straight out of the showroom, pulled up beside him, his shock was great. Suddenly, the realization that he was no longer in the year 2000 hit him. Somehow, he had gone back to 1941, where he could no longer use his cell phone (no such thing in 1941), and even the small amount of money he carried was useless.With the country heading into the conflict of WWII, and Joel knowing what was going to happen, he tried to adapt to his new life. He had no way of returning to his own time, so knew he had to make the best of his situation. After rescuing Tom Carter, a young man who was being beaten by a couple of ruffians, Joel was taken home to meet Tom's parents, and in the course of this meeting, suddenly met his grandmother, who was dating Tom. Ginny was 21 years old, and the strangeness for Joel was immense!Joel's life took on a weirdness in which he had to be very careful what he said...he had to make up a lot of details about his past, his family, why he was on his own, why he wasn't a student when the others were; and then of course, remember what he had said. But he got on very well, starting work for Tom's father selling furniture. He became very good friends with Tom and met his friends, including a lovely young lady by the name of Grace. But Grace had recently become engaged, so Joel had to step carefully and just be a friend to her...With war getting closer, Pearl Harbour and the disastrous events looming, the young men being called to enlist, Joel was torn. But suddenly he had a chance to return to his own time. He was enjoying his new life, so what would he do? Could he return and leave his new friends behind?I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, though I was a little disgruntled with Joel and his laid-back, don't care attitude toward his new friends, especially Grace...I wanted to give him a good slap a couple of times! And I have just discovered there is a sequel which came out in February this year... The Show. I will be reading this one soon! A great read with a brilliant twist at the end! Highly recommended.