Review: Timeless by Alexandra Monir

Image and summary from Goodreads.com:

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

This book was recommended to me by my fabulous school librarian (visit her blog here) and one of my students. I love romance, and I love time-travel (especially to the era of The Great Gatsby), so I was all too excited to read this book. Thank you to both ladies - I was not lead astray!

The protagonist, Michele, is someone with whom I instantly sided. For whatever reason, her earnestness and sadness really captured my heart. Monir did an excellent job of showing a grieving teenager, but without making her someone consumed by it. Though I personally have been blessed enough not to have experienced the sort of personal tragedy that Michele does, I feel that she is someone with whom others can identify. She really seemed authentic, which I appreciated. Even better, I have a HUGE crush on this novel's love interest, Phillip. He was charming, sweet, handsome, and well mannered - a genuine nice guy! We see so many tortured souls as the love interests in YA lit, and I didn't feel Phillip was that way at all. Though many obstacles are thrown in his path, he seemed to face them all with a grace that felt tangible.

The plot of the book is also very well-written. The story moves through various characters in Michele's family history as a device to create new conflicts. This was especially appreciated, because the introduction of "side plots" kept the main conflict, the almost impossible love affair, from becoming too tedious. Instead, the reader gets glimpses of life during various American historical periods in a way that didn't seem choppy or disjointed. Perhaps my only complaint would be that the reader doesn't get to see Michele and Phillip initially fall in love. Instead, they both "instantly" recognize their connection, and move on from there. I would have loved to see more of their beginnings, simply because both characters are so wonderful.

One of the aspects of this novel that really stood out was the music motif that ran throughout. Various characters are singers or songwriters, as is Monir herself. Rare is the student whose iPod isn't permanently connected to his or her ears, so I feel that this thread is something that would particularly interest current readers. Michele and Phillip's love story grows through song, and I think that we can all identify with having a special "song" that reminds you of someone else.

Plus, have you seen the cover? So gorgeous! I think the cover alone is enough to interest some readers, which is a plus for the hassled teacher on library day. :) Furthermore, this is a book that I could recommend to other students with ease. There were zero content issues (gotta love those old-fashioned boys :), and an exciting story line. Definitely a girl book, though.

All in all, Timeless was a book that left me riveted (much to my husband's chagrin on our long drive home from Cleveland). I cannot wait for the second installment of the series, Timekeeper. In the meantime, I will continue to happily share this book with my students.