Review: A lovely read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2014
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.'The Show' is part of John A. Heldt's 'Northwest Passage' series. I read 'The Mine' some time ago. Fortunately, however, I found it quick and easy to remember the characters and the plot in 'The Show'.In this book Grace is the narrator rather than Joel. It was a little slow to start off with, but as the plot progressed and Grace begins her second time travelling adventure, the story picked up apace.Grace was an interesting narrator, both relatable and real at the same time. Her hopelessness at being transported back in time, and yet her joy at meeting her young parents was beautifully contrasted.Grace soon enough works out how it was she was able to go back in time and makes several attempts to replicate the circumstances, although to no avail. When she thinks she will have to live in 1918, she slowly becomes resigned to the idea and begins to show an interest in her neighbour, the wounded army captain mentioned in the synopsis. It was here that I began to get a little irritated with Grace. She seemed to give up on Joel and her life with him a little too easily, leading the captain on when she knew she would go back to Joel if she had the chance.Further, the rules about time travel and Grace's attitude towards it seemed entirely too cavalier. It is only common sense that you shouldn't change the past, at least not too much, in case it impacts your future. And as Grace was dabbling about in her parents past (their present) I did wonder whether the things she changed would impact her own birth. The casualness with which she used her time travel expertise was a little unsettling.Finally, I found this book to be a little too happy and convenient. Characters problems were sorted out with ease and apart from the great big problem of Grace time travelling to 1918 and not knowing how to get back, everything else was very happy and lovely. Call me cruel, but I enjoy books more when people have to fight for their happy endings.Still, this was an enjoyable second novel for the most part and leads to interesting questions that will hopefully be answered in the third book.