When he discovers that somebody is out to kill him, a boy who can visit the past gets stuck there, as he gets to know his father and girlfriend all over again.

A well-made mystery that is revealed through the use of time jumps, where the main character learns all sorts of secrets that he didn’t know about himself and his family. The romance between the two main characters, especially in the past, was fun, but frustrating, as he didn’t know how far he should push it. The teenaged language might be realistic, but was the most irritating part of the book, all throughout. Even if it’s less realistic, I prefer classical speech, even from my teen characters, like what’s written in Hunger Games or Divergent. Other than that, the real delight is in the time travel, as Jackson tries to unravel what’s happening to himself, and who his father really is, and we follow along.

I’m a big time travel fan, so when the main character started hopping back and forth, and experimenting with it, I was quite intrigued. Then there came the people trying to kill him. The fact that his father adopted him, though he came from his enemies, wasn’t very surprising.

The mystery of the Tempest and its enemies was strangely the least interesting part of the story, but it was necessary to get an element of danger involved. I think the romance between Jackson and the younger Holly was much more interesting, though his restraint due to indecision was frustrating. Not wanting to hurt Holly is a great sentiment, but she wanted to get involved with him, and so it would have been nice to see how their romance could have turned out. Of course, it would have been equally interesting to see older Holly’s reaction when he told her how he took advantage of her…

The screaming at his father and teen tantrums were forgettable, as was much of the teen language, which felt forced and at some points became more difficult to read.

Eventually, Jackson gets enough hints that he can piece together a history of what happened to his life, and how he had the time traveling gene because he was born from one of the time travelers -but who they are and what they want or stand for is so far unclear. Jackson comes to understand his foster father better, and how his sister Courtney’s death affected him, as well as his feelings for Holly. He’s matured through the book, and by the end, he’s quite the likable guy.

Adam is a necessary best friend in all timelines, and is the first to learn about time travel in all timelines. As a scientific type myself, I enjoyed his reasoning, and the way he viewed Jackson’s relationship with Holly.

By the end of the book, Jackson has joined his father’s organization, and has to cut his relationship with Holly as a result, though I doubt this will keep her safe, since his enemies know how much he cares for her.