Timebound (The Chronos Files, 1)
Rysa Walker, 2013
Skyscape
374 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781477848159
Summary
Winner, 2013 Grand Prize and Young Adult Fiction Winner
When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional.
But it all becomes horrifyingly real when a murder in the past destroys the foundation of Kate’s present-day life. Suddenly, that medallion is the only thing protecting Kate from blinking out of existence.
Kate learns that the 1893 killing is part of something much more sinister, and her genetic ability to time travel makes Kate the only one who can fix the future. Risking everything, she travels back in time to the Chicago World’s Fair to try to prevent the murder and the chain of events that follows.
Changing the timeline comes with a personal cost—if Kate succeeds, the boy she loves will have no memory of her existence. And regardless of her motives, does Kate have the right to manipulate the fate of the entire world?
Timebound was originally released as Time’s Twisted Arrow. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Born—N/A
• Where—Penscola, Florida, USA
• Raised—Wewahitchka, Florida
• Education—B.A., St. Andrews Presbyterian College; Ph.D., University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill
• Awards—Amazon's Grand Prize and Young Adult Awards
• Currently—lives in Cary, North Carolina
Rysa Walker is the author of the bestselling "Chronos Files" series. Timebound, the first book in the series, was the Young Adult and Grand Prize winner in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards.
Rysa grew up on a cattle ranch in the South, where she read every chance she got. On the rare occasion that she gained control of the television, she watched Star Trek and imagined living in the future, on distant planets, or at least in a town big enough to have a stop light.
She currently lives in North Carolina, where she is working on her next series, "The Delphi Project." If you see her on social media, please tell her to get back into the writing cave. (From the publsiher.)
Visit the author's website.
Book Reviews
Walker delivers a solid, leisurely paced tale that mixes romance with temporal intrigue.... However, the plot simmers for much of the book, heavy with infodumps, informed backstory, and little progress...leading to an imbalanced, though entertaining story (Ages 12–up).
Publishers Weekly
This is a wonderful book full of mystery, adventure and romance.... What would you do in Kate's shoes? Remember every change in the past can cause a dramatic change in your future and in the lives of others. —Toni Jourdan
Children's Literature
Discussion Questions
1. In Timebound, Kate must wrestle with the fact that changing the past could result in some innocent individuals never existing. When faced with the possibility of creating an alternate future, who has the right to choose?
2. We don't currently have the ability to choose "genetic gifts" for our offspring, but it's something that could, arguably, exist within a matter of decades. Could a reasonable line be drawn or is this a Pandora's Box that should never be opened?
3. Saul demonstrates how easy it would be to manipulate religious faith with some advanced technology and knowledge of the future. Do you think the author's depiction of the Cyrists is believable? Does this aspect of the story enhance or detract from your enjoyment of the overall story?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
LitLovers thanks Dorothy Hughes of the Dirty Dogs Book Club for bring this book to our attention and providing information.