Yesterday

Oct 14, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own, dystopia-or-post-apocalyptic

Set in Ontario, Canada, it was fun to read a book with its setting only hours away. They exist but I rarely have stumbled upon a book set in Canada (hence my love for Kelley Armstrong novels). It gave me a delightful reading experience, which made up for some of the qualms I had about the disjointed storylines in this novel.

Yesterday begins with a very enticing prologue. We get thrown into a confusing, but thrilling scene where we originally meet Freya, while raising a lot of questions, it sets...more Set in Ontario, Canada, it was fun to read a book with its setting only hours away. They exist but I rarely have stumbled upon a book set in Canada (hence my love for Kelley Armstrong novels). It gave me a delightful reading experience, which made up for some of the qualms I had about the disjointed storylines in this novel.

Yesterday begins with a very enticing prologue. We get thrown into a confusing, but thrilling scene where we originally meet Freya, while raising a lot of questions, it sets an excellent mysterious tone for the rest of the book. Once the true story starts, we're in 1985, where Freya is a regular teenage girl, except now she feels like her memories are hazy. Something's going on, and it's very hard to put a finger on what.

It's 1985! Being an 80's baby, it was entertaining to get a setting that I was raised in. The style, the non-technological lifestyle, it was nostalgic to a simpler time, and quite original for a post apocalyptic novel to actually happen in the past. Yes! A post-apocalyptic, with time travel! This premise, definitely very original, is filled with mystery and action that easily keeps you turning the pages frantically to find out what's happening, how they ended up in 1985, and how they're going to survive. Because of the prologue, we know something big happened to Freya before she got to the past, and it's agonizing, maybe even a little frightening, to not know what the heck is happening. Finally, when we do get some answers, it can be a bit overwhelming. All of a sudden we turn the page to find ourselves into an immense info-dump where all of the future world building gets thrown at us inside the span of a few pages. It's still interesting, highly detailed, but it being such a sudden load of information, you barely have time to make any sense of it. Furthermore, the future world we learn about is extremely different with incredible scientific advancement. What's hard to believe is that it is said to be only 40 years in the future. I may be proven wrong and in 40 years we'll all be able to regrow limbs and only have sex in a virtual reality, but I found a lot of it inconceivable, and, thus, less compelling. I'm fine with unlikely, I'm fine with fantasy even, this is, after all, a fiction novel; however, it's the author's job to suspend my disbelief effectively, and in this case it was not. Once we get the low down on everything that has occurred, it basically becomes a high speed chase. Very action-packed and filled with tension; constantly on the run with Freya while still mind blown over what we learned about her past (or future..?).

When I learned it had strong time travel elements I was a little concerned. As time travel can be very tricky, I'm not easily persuaded by it. I think if you look at it in an entertaining point of view, it clearly fits the bill with twists that are equally surprising and intriguing. But when you put any thought into it, it's a different story. I was not very satisfied with the way the time travel aspect was set up. Hypothetically, If you change the past, you won't get to be in the same future that made it possible for you go back to change the past in the first place. Did I lose you? This is called the grandfather paradox, and it's a recurring problem I had more than once in this plot. Time travel is not an easy venture; you have to really work it well (Ie. Dr Who, Back to the Future, Butterfly Effect). This one unfortunately left me feeling underwhelmed with the lack of any forethought on its implementation. Yes, I am picky when it comes to time travel. It is what it is.

With its peculiarity of juggling several genres and several major plot elements, you get a very original book, sure, but I'm not completely convinced it all fits together, and if it does, it isn't seamless. It's even hard to decipher what the book wants to be at times. A dystopian? A time travel romance? A contemp with some sci-ci elements? It has a LOT going on which, again, is great for an action book and clearly kept my interest throughout, yet I can't help but feel it was a big mess.

The romance is also an aspect I'm not sure how I feel about. They do have chemistry and make a great team as main characters, but I couldn't help but feel a lot of awkwardness coming from them. As if they're constantly walking on eggshells. Some of it does have to do with the circumstances of their lives I'm sure, not to mention the high speed world building that didn't show the reasoning for her infatuation with him to begin with. At least the relationship grows slow and steadily, making it feel more genuine. There are a couple of scenes that are very mature for YA as well - just a heads up.

As you can see, I have very mixed feelings about this one. On one hand I really enjoyed the overall effect of a fast paced, exciting book with great twists, but on the other hand I'm not sure if I will really remember any of it for very long. It's like cramming for a test, you may ace it, but retake the test in 2 days and you will most likely fail miserably. Where am I going with this? I have no idea. My mind is as jumbled as this book.

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An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

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Sep 13, 2012 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2012

Yesterday is two parts science fiction, one part contemporary, and one part adventure. It's 1985 and Freya just moved to the suburbs of Toronto with her mother and her sister after her father's untimely death in New Zealand. She's not finding the transition easy (who would?) but there's something that feels really remote and distant in her everyday. And she keeps having strange headaches. Not to mention strange instincts to just act, rather than think. She has one of those when she sees a boy in...more Yesterday is two parts science fiction, one part contemporary, and one part adventure. It's 1985 and Freya just moved to the suburbs of Toronto with her mother and her sister after her father's untimely death in New Zealand. She's not finding the transition easy (who would?) but there's something that feels really remote and distant in her everyday. And she keeps having strange headaches. Not to mention strange instincts to just act, rather than think. She has one of those when she sees a boy in the city who looks so familiar to her, but she can't place him. She follows him to his house, and on the second occasion of following him, she asks him if they have anything in common, and it's then that the pieces of this story unravel.

See, Freya and Garren are connected to one another in the future -- 2063, to be precise. But it's how they're connected and how they're here, in 1985 together, that propels this story forward. I don't want to give away too much, other than this is a story about nature vs. science and technology. About living in, appreciating, and respecting the moment and the world around us. The future is a terrifying place. . . if we let it become that way.

This isn't at ALL a didactic novel, nor does it try to push a message. Instead, it's a story that conveys everything we already know in a way that's scary enough to feel like the truth, even though it's fictional. I loved Freya and how imperfect she was, and I loved her relationship with Garren so much. Martin has a way of writing relationships that never rings false. There's just enough romantic and sexual tension here to really make you pull for the characters, for their happy ending, but it never guarantees anything. (view spoiler)

I'm not usually a fan of books set in the 1980s, but this one absolutely had to be and it absolutely works. And sure, at times it felt a tiny bit indulgent on the pop culture references, but I'm willing to forgive that because it fits into the greater context of the story and about appreciating/living in a moment.

My only qualms are that some of the execution and explanation for the time travel feels a bit heavy handed and that the beginning is a little tough to take in. But once past page 50 or so, this is a non-stop read. But damn, Martin can WRITE. She also gets credit for maybe having the best acknowledgments in a long time -- a page and a half of all the bands that have influenced her. Loved it.

Longer review here: http://www.stackedbooks.org/2012/09/y... (less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-prime, up-next, 2013-dystopian-challenge, dystopian, science-fiction, ya-dystopian, ya-sci-fi, read-in-2013

Yesterday by C. K. Kelly Martin was a slightly disappointing read for me. I have heard really good things about this author but I was not overly wowed by this book, though the writing was good and I would still consider checking out her other works. I really liked the idea behind this story but the execution of it fell little flat for me and I found the story to be confusing, at least initially.

Yesterday is told from the perspective of Freya Kallas, a sixteen year old girl who is thrown into a...more Yesterday by C. K. Kelly Martin was a slightly disappointing read for me. I have heard really good things about this author but I was not overly wowed by this book, though the writing was good and I would still consider checking out her other works. I really liked the idea behind this story but the execution of it fell little flat for me and I found the story to be confusing, at least initially.

Yesterday is told from the perspective of Freya Kallas, a sixteen year old girl who is thrown into a new life and finds herself starting over at a new school in Canada. The year is 1985 and Freya has moved with her mother and sister from Auckland, New Zealand, after her father is killed in a freak gas explosion. Freya feels oddly disconnected to her life and it is not just her grief that is making her feel that way. She has blanks in her memories and some of the things that have happened to her feel as though they had happened to someone else.

Freya has difficulty connecting with people at her new school but one day, on a class trip to the museum, she sees a boy and feels somehow like she knows him, even though her memories are telling her otherwise. Freya follows the boy (who we later find out is called Garren Lowe) home and although she does not talk to him, she cannot shake off the feeling of deja-vu that she feels. Freya decides to confront Garren but he has no recollection of her. It is not until they realise that their backgrounds have a few too many similarities that Garren comes round to the idea that Freya may be right about them having a history. They decide to uncover the truth but their investigation has unforeseen consequences and the two teens find themselves on the run, fighting for their lives.

I feel that there was a very good idea within this story, and it definitely kept me reading as I wanted to find out what was going on, but i never felt really connected to the characters and I didn't feel invested in their struggles or the overall story. The writing itself was really good though (despite one chapter where Freya gets her memories back and proceeds to give a detailed but clinical version of their history (view spoiler).

Three stars ***

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Sep 12, 2012 Janina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, dystopian-apocalyptic, young-adult-fiction, past-and-present-collide, on-my-kindle, read-in-2012

Dystopias and I never really clicked. Don't ask me why, maybe I've just always picked the wrong stories to read, the ones that only came into existence due to the genre's huge popularity after the success that were The Hunger Games – which ironically, never really registered as dystopian in my head. So I thought that this book, written by an experienced author in my beloved contemporary genre, would maybe be the thing for me. Maybe you've deducted from my rating that this wasn't the case.

Althou...more Dystopias and I never really clicked. Don't ask me why, maybe I've just always picked the wrong stories to read, the ones that only came into existence due to the genre's huge popularity after the success that were The Hunger Games – which ironically, never really registered as dystopian in my head. So I thought that this book, written by an experienced author in my beloved contemporary genre, would maybe be the thing for me. Maybe you've deducted from my rating that this wasn't the case.

Although I was interested enough in the heroine's fate to finish reading this book, I found large parts of the story tremendously boring. The prologue tells the reader enough to allow him to at least suspect what is going on – yet, despite some flashbacks, the heroine actually needs over 200 pages to find out the truth (why is this truth actually right there in the blurb? Don't those blurb-writers think about their readers every once in a while?) behind her detachment from her family, old friends and her former life that is hazy in her memory at best – all in all, the strange alienation from everyone except a mysterious boy she feels she's known forever without actually having any memory of meeting him before. And then, after those 200 tremendously boring pages, everything comes crashing down onto her – and the reader – after a hypnosis session in what I will from now on only refer to as the hugest info dump ever written. Although this lovely info dump does feel like it goes on forever, the book actually gets a little more interesting after. There are arguments and reconciliations; hiding, running, kissing – some more flashbacks, and an ending that actually made me get a little teary eyed. Yet, sorry, this ending did not make up for endless pages of eating sandwiches and chatting with random people at school, hiding out in abandoned houses, and an overall sloppy explanation of the science behind the story. Seriously, you give me (view spoiler) and that's how it's supposed to work?! After I sat through a three chapter long info dump I don't even get some cool explanation that sounds actually probable?! Words are not enough to convey my disappointment (maybe imagine me shaking my head so furiously it is about to fall off?). There actually was another scene that caused the scientist in me to wring her hands and sob: “That is impossible!!”, but I forgot to take notes and now I've forgotten what exactly it was (I know, bad reviewer, bad reviewer!).

So, in the end, I expected much, much more from the contemporary aspect of this novel – which is set in the 80es, by the way, but apart from a few band names dropped, you don't really notice – and especially from the science behind the whole thing. Now, this book is not nearly as ridiculous as Awaken for example, and the romance is actually portrayed well, but didn't particularly get to me. In my opinion, you won't miss anything if you skip this.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Amara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was such a quick read, which i always love. I put it down maybe once but read at least 100 pages every time i picked it up again without even realizing how much i'd read until i looked at the page numbers. At first i was skeptical in picking out this book, but i had't read a good dystopian novel in a while and it looked like a single book (not a series or trilogy), unlike a lot of books are now, which attracted me to it. I also read the acknowledgements before-hand and saw that there w...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Bonnie McDaniel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction

I would like to thump this book (and its author) on the head for utterly wasting a fascinating premise.

The first half of the book is well executed, and creepy. You don't know if the protagonist is just an angsty teen, a stalker, or a budding schizophrenic. In Chapter Fifteen everything is revealed, and we plunge headlong into the book's science fiction premise--the consequences of climate change, virtual reality, robots, and time travel.

Those are four pretty hefty subjects, and they are all sh...more I would like to thump this book (and its author) on the head for utterly wasting a fascinating premise.

The first half of the book is well executed, and creepy. You don't know if the protagonist is just an angsty teen, a stalker, or a budding schizophrenic. In Chapter Fifteen everything is revealed, and we plunge headlong into the book's science fiction premise--the consequences of climate change, virtual reality, robots, and time travel.

Those are four pretty hefty subjects, and they are all shortchanged. I wanted to say to the author: "Pick one and stick with it!" The existence of robots to do all of humanity's scut work is ignored and its ramifications unexplored beyond their contributing to massive unemployment. Virtual reality (given the very unfortunate name of gushi, which only made me think of rotten sushi as opposed to what it is actually supposed to be about) is discussed only in the context of being a pernicious societal escape--people don't even have sex in their physical bodies anymore, which made me wonder how the species is even surviving. The time travel part is more interesting, as it is portrayed as a natural phenomenon of planet Earth, with a particular portal that dumps you exactly seventy-eight years and x days, hours, and minutes into the past. I could have used a few more chapters on that concept alone. Are there other portals that could send a person even further into the past--hundreds, thousands or millions of years? Back to the time of the dinosaurs? And so on and so forth. All these possibilities are ignored.

But the most interesting story, the one this book should have been about, is the consequences of climate change.

We get a few cursory pages on this while setting up the back (or future) story, and then the subject is dropped in favor of rotten sushi. I was reading along at a pretty fast clip at this point, and all I was thinking was, "Hey, why are we leaving this behind?" Because those few pages of description--the United States overwhelmed by monster storms, the Southwest rendered uninhabitable due to killer droughts, coastal cities flooded by rising sea levels (except for New York--every dystopia will fight to the bitter end to save that city, apparently), and the merging of Canada and the United States in an attempt to cope with all this--should have been the heart of this story.

It wasn't, and the last half of this book, with its lifeless chase scenes, just fizzles down the drain.

There's a far better book in here struggling to get out. Too bad the editor didn't recognize it, and insist the author write that book instead. (less)

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Feb 19, 2013 Tiffany Mahaffy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hardcover, own, review-copy

Yesterday was nothing like I had expected. It runs on a couple unique premises and boarders on another. The main focus is time travel and memory altercation but you have a little bit of premonition thrown into the mix as well. This made for an interesting and indulging read. Not to mention it is set in Canada and in Toronto! This is under an hour from where I grew up and let's face it, it's interesting to read a book that you know the places that are discussed and visited. I would like to top th...more Yesterday was nothing like I had expected. It runs on a couple unique premises and boarders on another. The main focus is time travel and memory altercation but you have a little bit of premonition thrown into the mix as well. This made for an interesting and indulging read. Not to mention it is set in Canada and in Toronto! This is under an hour from where I grew up and let's face it, it's interesting to read a book that you know the places that are discussed and visited. I would like to top that off with the fact that it also takes place in my birth year. Yup, I'm old but you know what this book didn't make me feel that way.

The pacing for this novel started out with a bang for me. The prologue hooked my curiosity and had me diving into the start of everything but then it was like hitting a Jello wall. It didn't stop but became a little slower to push through, then when I finally broke free of this gelatine like time period it was hit the ground running time. As stated above there was many unique premises to keep it interesting and as bits I the story fell into place you found out what each thing really was or really held. The premonition thing remained a bit of a mystery but I can handle that... If I must.

There were many moments that I found myself feeling for Freya. She lives in a world that only she seems to feel out of place with. She's awkward and really doesn't feel she fits anywhere and really in this time period she doesn't belong. When she started to relax among the couple of people she found didn't judge her I had this feeling inside me that it wasn't going to last but I was wrong. The only reason that she doesn't stick with them is because of the discoveries she makes and th danger that she is in. There was never any real connection between Freya and I but that didn't stop me from enjoying her as a character. Sometimes the lack of connection can kill a book and the character but Ms. Martin did an excellent job with her and left no room to dislike her.

Garren was a wild card really. Freya believed she knew him somehow and he believed she was crazy. However you put a little evidence that things are messed up in front of him and he will give it a shot. But wait then there is a bunch more information dumped on him and he decides Freya is crazy again. I guess this did make him a little more realistic but really what does it take for him to say "Okay we are from the future and you see things. How do we make this work?" It takes A LOT. Though when it clicks with him things are a little easier. Though Garren never really appealed to me, I did like him.

The relationship part of this novel left me a little disappointed. Not any fault of the author but more myself. I am left wondering that if they are stuck in the past and they know the future how could they ever be with anyone else? Not that Freya wants to but their options are kind of limited. They did somewhat develop their relationship which I appreciate but in the end it just felt like they came together because of their past and undeniable future together.

There is no denying that I enjoyed this read. Yesterday has way too much individuality not to enjoy. The world building was great and reading the references to areas in Toronto was great fun. The ending left me in wanting a little bit I will freely admit but that is not uncommon. I just wish I knew how they proceeded with life. The twist right near the end kind of left me in shock and wondering what would happen the next time around. If you have a chance to read this one don't pass it by. Being well written an engaging is not always something you find together and I know I will pick up other reads by this author from here on out.(less)

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Sep 25, 2012 Dorine White rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Time travel, brain washing, killer virus? All are present in the new YA sci-fi book Yesterday by CK Kelly Martin.

The Story- (market copy) THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just m...more Time travel, brain washing, killer virus? All are present in the new YA sci-fi book Yesterday by CK Kelly Martin.

The Story- (market copy) THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.

My Thoughts- A very well written book about a future trying to change itself in the past. I love the way the author starts the book, it is full of tension and fear, and then bang, the story begins and Freya is in the past with no memory of who she really is. The best part is that the author doesn’t tell you about the future in the beginning, instead you have to learn about it as Freya slowly recovers her memory.

Plus, Freya is the only one who remembers. It is a struggle for her character to know things that nobody else does, and when she tries to convince a friend that he is from the future too, the bad guys appear and Freya and Garren are on the run, but he doesn’t know why and thinks Freya is crazy. A great twist there.

The ending also has a great twist. How will Freya and Garren escape and live their lives? It is actually all up
to Freya in a way you won’t expect. You do have to keep the plot straight in your mind, but I liked unraveling the mystery. Give this book a try!
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Sep 25, 2012 Annette rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Yesterday has a premise that sucked me in immediately, but the way the story was told left me wishing for more.

The story begins with Freya's brother being quarantined and taken away because he has some deadly disease, then Freya and her parents are taken somewhere supposedly safe. It is obvious we are in the future.

Then, we jump back to 1985, and Freya is still there, but she's a different Freya. Different family, different school, different place -- and different memories. She doesn't remember...more Yesterday has a premise that sucked me in immediately, but the way the story was told left me wishing for more.

The story begins with Freya's brother being quarantined and taken away because he has some deadly disease, then Freya and her parents are taken somewhere supposedly safe. It is obvious we are in the future.

Then, we jump back to 1985, and Freya is still there, but she's a different Freya. Different family, different school, different place -- and different memories. She doesn't remember anything about her brother or the life she was living in the future.

Freya sees someone that she recognizes. She's sure she knows him -- Garren -- but from where? She has no memory of him.When she confronts Garren, he doesn't know Freya, and thinks she is losing it.

Why does Freya feel so uncomfortable in her life? She feels like she isn't where she's supposed to be. She dreams (or remembers?) things about a different existence -- one with Garren -- and she doesn't understand. When she finally convinces Garren there's something wrong with their lives, they end up on the run from the authorities and trying to figure out why.

The romance that eventually develops is expected and OK. Nothing exceptional, but at least there's no "triangle!"

Yesterday is a book that requires to you read the synopsis before you begin, otherwise I think you'll be confused. Usually I like to jump into a book cold, but in this case, kind of knowing a bit about the premise will help. I was thinking Yesterday was going to be a Matrix kind of book where Freya and Garren aren't really living this life, they are just comatose somewhere with these memories being pumped into them.

That's not what Yesterday is, but it's still kind of like that. I was really excited to see how Freya ends up figuring out what's going on. And that is were I was extremely disappointed. The way that Freya discovers her "future" is a cop out. I won't give away the details, but it's a situation where she suddenly remembers, and tells the reader everything in a huge information dump. It would have been so much better if somehow all that information could have been slowly revealed in an interesting and exciting way. I mean, that's what I was waiting for. The clever and creative way she was able to figure it out. But, no.

There's more story after the reveal. The part where they are running from the authorities, now knowing what has happened. It is exciting and dangerous, and the ending was great. I loved the twist, but I was disappointed in the way we were brought there.

I still think Yesterday will have appeal to teens. It's a survival story -- the kids against the authorities -- and there are lots of fans of that type of book. It just could have been better.
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Sep 21, 2012 BookHookup rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It’s 1985 and Freya has just lost her father in a terrible accident. She, along with her mother and sister, move to Canada to begin life anew. At first Freya thinks it’s the sorrow of losing her father that makes her memories so foggy…almost like they belong to someone else. She goes through the motions but never feels quite connected to her environment or the people around her. Then one day she sees Garren. She’s sure she knows him but he insists he doesn’t know her. Her tenacity helps her dig...more It’s 1985 and Freya has just lost her father in a terrible accident. She, along with her mother and sister, move to Canada to begin life anew. At first Freya thinks it’s the sorrow of losing her father that makes her memories so foggy…almost like they belong to someone else. She goes through the motions but never feels quite connected to her environment or the people around her. Then one day she sees Garren. She’s sure she knows him but he insists he doesn’t know her. Her tenacity helps her dig into the mystery before her and, soon enough, she remembers the truth. A truth that has her scared and running for her life. A truth that has her not only in the wrong place but in the wrong time. Her days become filled with intrigue, twists and turns, and dangers she doesn’t quite comprehend.

First I have to say that having a story set in a city that you are very familiar with adds to the depth of the story, at least it did for me. I was able to picture the locations, feel what it was like on the streets and in the subway and shiver in the winter cold with these characters. Add to that a story filled with lots of unanswered questions and you’ve got a pretty good recipe for an enjoyable book.

The characters were likeable. Freya’s strength is the reason the whole story begins to unravel. Her refusal to give up makes her a good protagonist. Garren’s reluctance to accept the truth at first made him that much more real for me. I liked the fact that he didn’t just jump on board with Freya’s beliefs and that he had to figure it out himself in order to be ready to step up and commit to the adventure ahead of him. The secondary characters played minor roles in this book as this was definitely Freya and Garren’s story. I’ll say that, to me, the 80′s felt like one of the characters in this book. For anyone who lived through that era, there are references to music and movies that will make you smile.

Although I enjoyed this book overall, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed by one element…our trip to the future. I was expecting to see and feel that world but what I got instead was a very long description of it. Don’t get me wrong, the creativity that went into building that world…our future world…was amazing. This is a cautionary tale about what can happen if we continue to abuse our world and the description of its future state was both intriguing and scary. But, I would have liked to see the characters interact in that world. And perhaps we will get a chance to experience it in future books. It would definitely be a creative setting for a second book.(less)

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Sep 20, 2012 Amy Lignor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For fans of “The Maze Runner” series - the ultimate adventure and outstanding world created by author, James Dashner - this is a brand new tale that will knock your socks off!

Freya Kallas is our lead. This teenager is living in 2063 and is scared beyond belief. She and her Mom are facing evacuation because of an ecoterrorist threat. In fact, the United North America are abandoning the Coasts as a robot ‘working class’ called the Secros appear to take over the city. A Toxo has infected many and a...more For fans of “The Maze Runner” series - the ultimate adventure and outstanding world created by author, James Dashner - this is a brand new tale that will knock your socks off!

Freya Kallas is our lead. This teenager is living in 2063 and is scared beyond belief. She and her Mom are facing evacuation because of an ecoterrorist threat. In fact, the United North America are abandoning the Coasts as a robot ‘working class’ called the Secros appear to take over the city. A Toxo has infected many and a cure cannot be found. Even Freya’s own brother, Latham, is infected and Freya is petrified he won’t make it. She has no love for her father, believing that he is a massive ‘bad guy’ in this scenario, and as she and her Mom struggle to survive…the world goes black.

It is 1985; the time of heavy metal hair, Lennon being shot, Ronald Reagan - you name it, that information is definitely inside Freya Kallas’s head. She also recalls the images of her father dying which is why she, her mom, and her sister, Olivia moved to Canada and why Freya is starting a new high school. She knows that they had been living in New Zealand before the tragedy and everyone - everyone - seems to be staring at her, calling her absolutely flawless…which she finds extremely odd. Even Mr. Popular, Seth Hardy, is after Freya and she has no idea what’s going on.

Her memories are crisp and clean, like a brand new movie, but the headaches and the foggy images stored somewhere inside her head are just screaming to get out, and Freya soon understands that the truth is she doesn’t belong. Something is most assuredly wrong and she has to find a way to fix it.

When she stumbles across a boy by the name of Garren, she finds the first ‘real’ thing she has felt in a long time. They are connected; this stranger is a part of her past, and only by each other’s side can they figure out what on earth happened.

The author has done a stunning job of mixing “The Matrix” with George Orwell’s way of thinking and produced a tale of intrigue, mystery, science fiction, fantasy and something that honestly will not be forgotten!

Very COOL!

Until Next Time, Everybody,
Amy
(less)

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Sep 10, 2012 Nichole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally posted on www.yareads.com, Reviewed by Nichole

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas’s life. Until that world starts to crumble.
NOW: It’s 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new...more Originally posted on www.yareads.com, Reviewed by Nichole

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas’s life. Until that world starts to crumble.
NOW: It’s 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father’s death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can’t get him out of her head. She’s sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they’ve never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.Yesterday will appeal to fans of James Dashner’s The Maze Runner, Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Amy Ryan’s Glow, Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Ally Condie’s Matched.
Let’s start out in the year 2063. The world is facing mass extinction. Animals that existed before, such as Killer Whales and Tigers, no longer exist. When a child is sent to their room a force field can appear in their doorway, keeping them from ever leaving. It’s unheard of to travel. Before, it was common to travel by planes or trains to exotic countries. Now, the threat of terrorism is too great to allow that luxury. Life in 2063 is much different that we experience here in 2012.
Now let’s backtrack to the year 1985. Freya Kallas and her family have just moved from New Zealand to Canada. She’s now enrolled in school, and she is making new friends. There’s only one problem: something seems to be wrong with Freya’s memories. Oh, she has memories, but they seem to be photo stills lodged in her brain. When she tries to think about her old best friends favorite band or her time with her dad at the lake, she draws a blank. Freya also finds herself suffering from intense headaches, something she cannot remember suffering from before her move to Canada.
On a school field trip, Freya notices a boy that immediately catches her attention. Yes, he’s hot, which is something Freya does not overlook, but there seems to be something else about him, something familiar. Freya just cannot shake the feeling that she knows this boy. After confronting said boy (whose name happens to be Garren), and being treated like a psychotic freak, Freya is even more determined to figure out what is going on. She knows that she has met Garren before. She knows that Garren was somehow, sometime, a part of her life. She knows that something is going on with her memory. But what is it? Follow Freya and Garren on their rollercoaster ride of an adventure, and join Freya as she unravels the mysteries of her mind.
I am a huge fan of Dystopia books. I enjoy being placed into different worlds, times, cultures, anything that is out of the norm. When I received Yesterday I was really excited to read about both the future and the past. I haven’t read too much about time travel, and it was something that I was really interested in. I thought it was really cool how the book took place in two different times and places. I wish that there would have been a little more time dedicated to the future, as I found that environment really cool. What was funny was that I kept forgetting that the book took place in 1985. I kept it replacing with 2012, and then I would get really confused about some of the music and television shows that they were listening to and watching because, well, they were very popular in the 1980′s and 1990′s.
I was a big fan of Freya. It was fun to watch her character grow throughout the entire book. I also really enjoyed all of the emotions that she made me feel. I felt sympathy for her when she was trying to distance herself from others at school. I cringed when she followed Garren home and acted like a total nutcase. And I was cheering her on for being so brave throughout most of the book. My only complaint about Freya was that I kept forgetting that she was an older teenager. She actually came across as a bit younger, but that didn’t change my feelings for her at all.
The teen romance was really sweet. After having a thing for Garren in the future, I thought that it was appropriate that she got the guy in the past. The best part, though, was that they didn’t automatically jump into their relationship, if that’s what you want to call it. It wasn’t one of those cases where they looked at eachother and automatically went “Oh my God, you are my soulmate! We are going to be hooked throughout this entire book, starting from page 1!” No. It took Garren quite awhile to think that Freya shouldn’t be in a mental institution. It was hilarious watching how cautious he was around her. I really enjoyed watching their relationship progress.
Really, my only complaint is that I wish there would have been a little more action in the book. There was a biiiig chunk of the book that was just about them running and trying to survive. Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoyed those parts, I just wish that a little more action would have happened. I am really excited to read the next book, and I HOPE that we get to see more of the future.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to everyone, especially to fans of Dystopia books. It was a great read, and I am looking forward to read more from C.K. Kelly Martin.
Pages: 368
Publication Date: September 25, 2012
Publisher: Random House
Rating: : 4
Teaser Quote: “And you probably didn’t picture running for your life.” I say. “Living by candlelight and wearing someone else’s clothes.”(less)

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Sep 08, 2012 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-sheila

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Time traveling teenagers that lost their memories of the future, but try desperately to seek out the truth behind their situations.

Opening Sentence: When I wake up I have a pounding headache behind my eyes just like I’ve had: every morning lately.

The Review:

Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin is a tale of futuristic dystopian madness, or is it? Sixteen-year-old Freya Kallas keeps having visions of a time far removed from good ole 1985. Is her sen...more Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Time traveling teenagers that lost their memories of the future, but try desperately to seek out the truth behind their situations.

Opening Sentence: When I wake up I have a pounding headache behind my eyes just like I’ve had: every morning lately.

The Review:

Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin is a tale of futuristic dystopian madness, or is it? Sixteen-year-old Freya Kallas keeps having visions of a time far removed from good ole 1985. Is her sense of disassociation and anti-social tendencies because of her father’s untimely death and her family’s subsequent move abroad, or is it something far more science fiction? And who is this mysterious boy that she has never met before, but has a deep seated feeling of familiarity with? This is a story of fantastical realities and two kids caught up in an attempt to secure a future for the human race.

Freya Kallas’s character is hard to pin down. The girl we get to know in the beginning of the book is nothing like what we are left with at the end: it is on purpose. Though she becomes obsessed with these feelings and dreams so different from the life she knows, there is a kernel of doubt lingering on the sidelines. It is as if she is either a girl from the future with her memory wiped or delusional and in need of psychiatric treatment. Lucky for Freya, she finds a kindred soul amidst the madness.

Garren Lowe is 18 and happy with his lot. At least he was until a girl stumbled into his life with these totally outrageous claims of them knowing each other. Although Garren’s character is the voice of skepticism in this duo, his mere presence drives Freya to seek the truth behind their mutual pasts. He is either akin to Jiminy Cricket or a Devil’s Advocate for Freya. Any kind of sexual tension between the two is overshadowed by their discoveries and subsequent pursuit. Is there a happy ending in store for these two or will it be more akin to a Greek tragedy instead?

This book reads a lot like a roller coaster ride. Slow going until half way through then BAM!, craziness ensues and you don’t catch your breath until the ride is over. It has a terrific plot, imaginative background, and extraordinary world in which to reside in. The world itself would be appealing to a much more diverse group of readers than just young adult. I personally enjoyed the mixing and usage of 1980’s pop music and famous quotes to emphasize scenes and emotions, adding to the complexity and unrealness of it all.

Notable Scene:

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Winston Churchill’s making pronouncements in my head again, like when I woke up from my first dream about the blond boy.

And what Churchill said fits. The majority of my life feels as though it’s been some kind of lie. I don’t know where I’ve picked up his words— they seem to have always been with me, a kernel of authenticity in a web of falsehoods. Is my mother in on the pretense? What does she know that I don’t?

FTC Advisory: Random House graciously provided me with a copy of Yesterday. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. The only payment received came in the form of hugs and kisses from my little boys.(less)

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Aug 15, 2012 Steffy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I usually try to keep my reviews spoilers free. I think this book is pretty obvious and that a lot is given away in the first few chapters but please if you are a hard spoiler free fan do not continue further as this review will contain quite a few ‘spoilers.
I didn’t manage to get into YESTERDAY and god knows I tried. I think it is mainly because the prologue gives just so much away. You continue reading knowing why she is uncomfortable why she seems to have no feelings about her ‘memories’….....more

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May 16, 2012 Ldailey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ldailey by: Netgalley

Youth readers will love this book! An apocalyptic drama, the world is in crisis – eco-terrorism, massive unemployment, etc. A family crisis for Freya Kallas and then that world is deleted for her.
Moving to Canada, Freya Kallas knows somehow she just doesn’t fit into the 1980s. Things just don’t add up. Memories are flat. This begins her search for reality, looking for the truth.
C.K. Kelly Martin has done an admirable job combining past and future with a message of caution for the present age. S...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Kimmy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here is the summary from the Kobo store:

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their twenty-first century textbooks and part of the normal, background noise to Freya Kallas' life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high s...more Here is the summary from the Kobo store:

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their twenty-first century textbooks and part of the normal, background noise to Freya Kallas' life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief of her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.

I wanted to read this book because I love stories involving time travel and dystopias, and I figured I'd borrow this from the library and give it a go. I ended up reading the book in one day, and it was a pretty easy read.

What I liked about this book was reading about Freya adjusting to her new school in Toronto in 1985. Yes, Toronto! I love reading books that take place in Canada, and even more when they're set in cities that I know! So fun. The references to 80's music, technology, and fashion were fun, although I did have to Youtube a lot of the songs/artists that were mentioned.

I also liked the easy pace of the story. It didn't move too fast, it wasn't complicated, and a lot of it was about Freya feeling like she didn't quite belong in her own life. Once she spots Garren, she knows that she knows him and can't quite place it. I liked reading about her efforts to convince Garren that they know each other and eventually when they realize how they know each other, the story picked up.

At times the story dragged a little - the book probably could have been a bit shorter - and I didn't love it, but I am a total sucker for stories involving time travel and this one got me. Freya and Garren were easy to like, and their developing romance was cute. There's going to be a sequel, Tomorrow, and I'll be curious to see where the story takes Freya and Garren next.

(From www.pingwings.ca)(less)

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Jun 29, 2012 Ally rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, netgalley, young-adult, fiction, dystopia

Freya's father has just died and her grief is making it hard to think. But then her headaches get worse and her memories get foggier and she's starting to think that the grief and the transition to a new country isn't what's causing her confusion. And when she spots Garren on a busy street, she's positive she knows him, even though he's never seen her before. Soon she and Garren are on the run, and what she finds out about her memories is mind-blowing...

I love the premise of this one. It's somew...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Amy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Don't read the excerpt Goodreads has for this book, it gives everything away. Of course, I'm not going to recommend this book to anyone because for me it had way more problems than it was worth.

The language. I just wanted to shout at the author to get a dictionary and a thesaurus and invest some quality time getting to know the contents. I mean, every time the characters were upset the only thing they seemed to know how to say were four letter words. And not even in sentences. Just repeated. Ove...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Book Twirps rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to say, I’m really torn on this one. In fact, I had to sit on it for a few days before actually writing the review. I thought maybe if I stepped back and thought about it for a while, it might be easier to write it up, but it’s not. Bear with me…

We start out in 1985 in Ontario, Canada where we meet Freya. Something about her life feels off. She knows her family yet she doesn’t really feel close to them. She remembers things from her past, but the memories don’t really bring up any real em...more I have to say, I’m really torn on this one. In fact, I had to sit on it for a few days before actually writing the review. I thought maybe if I stepped back and thought about it for a while, it might be easier to write it up, but it’s not. Bear with me…

We start out in 1985 in Ontario, Canada where we meet Freya. Something about her life feels off. She knows her family yet she doesn’t really feel close to them. She remembers things from her past, but the memories don’t really bring up any real emotions. What’s really freaking her out is that she can sense things before they happen. When she sees a guy who looks very familiar, she is drawn to him. Garren (the guy) has no idea who she is, but the more they talk, the more they realize they have in common. The deeper they dig into their similarities, the more dangerous things get for them and before they know it they’re on the run from some people who are determined to keep them from finding out too much. See, Freya and Garren are from the future where technology controls pretty much everything, and the evil “men in black” will do anything to keep them quiet.

Let me start with what I liked about the book. First of all — 1985. I’m an 80′s kid, so the 80′s references were awesome and I felt the author did a great job placing me there. Since this is a book for teens, many of the references will probably be lost on them, but I really liked it. At first I thought it odd that she would set the “past” part of the novel in the 80′s, but then again it makes sense. We didn’t have a whole lot of technology back then outside of TV’s. We didn’t even have email or websites (the horror!) Since one of the main plot points was to show what a difference technology makes (and in the case of this book how it can control us to the point of being a weapon) it worked. Secondly, I liked the idea of the story — technology controls EVERYTHING in this future (even sex — I don’t mean gender either, but the bow chicka wow-wow kind). It was actually believable. I mean look how dependent on our smartphones a lot of people are. Anyway…

I also liked the characters for the most part. I didn’t feel like either Freya or Garren were particularly unique from a lot of other characters I’ve read in other dystopian novels, and they’re probably not my favorite, but I did like them and I did feel for them. I did like how their relationship wasn’t an immediate “I’ll die without you if you ever leave me.” It felt more realistic.

My biggest problem with the book was the execution. The story was moving along at a descent pace (in my opinion it could have had a little more action, but that’s just me) and then when the future is revealed it hits with a huge boat-load of information that I never felt I was able to fully process. This left me feeling a little overwhelmed and a little confused. From that point on I just felt really jumbled and I had to do a lot of flipping back and forth, which, in turn, made me start to lose interest.

The writing is good, and the story unique, but Yesterday felt a little too jumbled for me. Is it worth checking out? Sure, but it’s not one I would put at the top of my list of recommendations.(less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Mrs. ReaderPants rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pub-date-2012, read-in-2012, 5-stars

I loved this book and am doing a giveaway this Wed (10-10-12). Check my blog between Oct. 10-20, 2012 for details.

REVIEW: Once again, I am so thankful to be an SLJ book reviewer. SLJ introduces me to new books that I might not choose to read on my own. The Goodreads rating on Yesterday is currently pretty low (3.41 average for 110 ratings), and I put off reading it for a couple of weeks because of that low rating. I found the publisher's summary confusing, which did not make me want to read the...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Stacey rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

Dystopian, time travel, NetGalley, secrets, romance

Freya Kallas: 16 years old, father is dead, moved to Canada, feels like she’s in a fog.
Garren Lowe: 18 years old who doesn’t remember Freya even though she insists he should.

I’m not sure if this book is wanted to be a time travel, dystopian, or flashback book. I keep waiting for Freya to figure out she’s in a really alternate reality program rather than really back in the 80’s. There is a lot of information dump as one reviewer said. The ending...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Alanna (The Flashlight Reader) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, ya, arcs

The first thing that grabbed my attention about this book is the amazing cover. Wow! You have to look closely to see the viney shapes of plants spiraling up from the cityscape. The green color scheme was also a very clever choice that becomes obvious when you read the story. I have to tell you, this was a little hard to follow at times. I am not a huge fan of sci-fi books, so I had to work hard to stay with it in places. Overall though, I enjoyed this book. I found it ironic that the "then" this...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Trinity rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, dont-judge-by-lame-cover, dystopia, net-galley, what-the-what, young-adult, swoonish, read-in-2012

2.5 stars

Yesterday is the first book I've read by C.K. Kelly Martin and I'm just not all that sure that this was the place to start.

Set in both a distopian future and a nontopian (yeah that's a word) past this book struggles to gain any actual footing. We start off with our heroin spouting poisonous threats as she's carried off to be evacuated then the next thing we are flung all the way back to 1985. Yep. 1985. For the first few chapters I wasn't even sure I was reading the same book, except we...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Megan (Megan Likes Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, 2012-releases, ya

Yesterday had some good things going for it, but I just couldn't fall in love with it. My favourite part of the book was the concept. To be blunt, the future sucks. A lot. Climate change has altered the world's landscape and politic policy has alienated almost everyone except rich North Americans. Nobody actually does anything anymore, it's all just simulated reality.

But Freya doesn't remember. She just knows something doesn't feel right when she wakes up in 1985. Her sister doesn't feel like h...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Catie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, sci-fi, for-review, ya

Unconventional review time!

Over at the blog today, I posted a double review of this book along with C.K. Kelly Martin's Come See About Me. If you're starting here - you might want to head over to my review of Come See About Me to see where my crazy train of thought begins and to read a much more positive review for C.K. Kelly Martin. If you were just there...welcome back!

And now for the negativity...

Yesterday. I have very little praise for this book. I felt turned off almost immediately by this...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Brittany Rehage rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked parts of this novel, and others fell a little flat. I’m not sure this was the best book to introduce me to Martin’s writings.

The book starts off in the future, with Freya being carted off for evacuation. And then we’re suddenly in 1985. The thing I really loved about Martin’s writing was how she fit her writing style to what was happening in the book. When we first come upon Freya in 1985, the writing was stunted, had shorter sentences. It made everything feel just a little off, exactly...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Suzanne Rooyen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed this book. The writing is great and the story engaging. The prologue starts with a bang and then it kind of segues into this angsty high school teen bit that I could have done without. It takes a while for the story to get going again but it's a great read once it does.

Two gripes though:

1) I found the futuristic world far more interesting and I wish the story had been set then, that we could have met Garren and Freya in that dystopian world rather than in boring 1985.

2) 1985 - t...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Vanya D. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013, barely-finished

NOTE: I received this title from Netgalley.

Ummmmm... sadly, reading this book was a torture. And I truly hate saying this, but it's the truth. I don't even know why I stuck to the end, perhaps because there were moments of "Oh, I hope this turns out good after all". But it didn't. It was a complete waste of time.

So here how it goes:

The first chapter got me hooked. I loved the mystery of it and how it developed. I liked Freya's character, and her fighting spirit. But then, everything changed. It...more NOTE: I received this title from Netgalley.

Ummmmm... sadly, reading this book was a torture. And I truly hate saying this, but it's the truth. I don't even know why I stuck to the end, perhaps because there were moments of "Oh, I hope this turns out good after all". But it didn't. It was a complete waste of time.

So here how it goes:

The first chapter got me hooked. I loved the mystery of it and how it developed. I liked Freya's character, and her fighting spirit. But then, everything changed. It was confusing, to say the least. It was slow and boring and for the first 30-40% of the book nothing really happened. A bunch of inconsequential characters were introduced, and honestly I don't think they had any place in the story. Perhaps the author wanted to make a point (though I can't tell what it might be), but it just didn't work.

Then, Freya stumbled upon Garren, and I thought "Finally! Something's gonna happen!" But. No. More boring chapters follow, and I don't even remember what happened in them.

It wasn't until we neared the 50% mark that things kind of got moving. But we never get any glimpse in this absolutely confusing world until Freya goes to the hypnotherapist. Then guess what happens? More. Boring. Chapters. Why, in the name of a white cuddly bunny, did the author dedicate so many (like 20) pages to just droll on and on and on in a newspaper monotone voice about the world where Freya and Garren are really from? I mean, all those hundreds of facts are suddenly poured down on the reader, and it's just incredibly irritating and not to mention, confusing! I was lost in the first page, and had to just skip around till I found the place where they were talking about characters. Honestly, it didn't take me more than 2 lines to catch up to the stuff I'd skipped over. So, umm.. yeah..

And, keeping to my honesty policy, I'm also going to share that I didn't like the characters. Not one of them. They were distant to me. The way they spoke bothered me. Their behavior displeased me. And even their supposed outer beauty nauseated me.

Which all leads to just one conclusion: I would not be reading the sequel. It's unfortunate, I know, especially since putting together a book is a lot of hard work. But at least, when you're going to work on it so much, make it interesting. That's all I'm saying.(less)

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May 09, 2012 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

Definitely a fun, exciting, action-packed book! Highly recommended. Once I started reading this book, I couldnt put it down. I stayed up late into the night, finishing the book in one sitting. Once the action starts, it never lets up until the very last page. The book does have a bit of a cautionary tale about where humanity's and the earth's future might be headed, but it never detracts from the storyline and it doesnt feel as if th...more

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Sep 03, 2012 YA Reads Book Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nichole

Originally posted on www.yareads.com, Reviewed by Nichole

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas’s life. Until that world starts to crumble.
NOW: It’s 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new...more Originally posted on www.yareads.com, Reviewed by Nichole

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas’s life. Until that world starts to crumble.
NOW: It’s 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father’s death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy? When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can’t get him out of her head. She’s sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they’ve never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered. Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.Yesterday will appeal to fans of James Dashner’s The Maze Runner, Veronica Roth’s Divergent, Amy Ryan’s Glow, Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Ally Condie’s Matched.
Let’s start out in the year 2063. The world is facing mass extinction. Animals that existed before, such as Killer Whales and Tigers, no longer exist. When a child is sent to their room a force field can appear in their doorway, keeping them from ever leaving. It’s unheard of to travel. Before, it was common to travel by planes or trains to exotic countries. Now, the threat of terrorism is too great to allow that luxury. Life in 2063 is much different that we experience here in 2012.
Now let’s backtrack to the year 1985. Freya Kallas and her family have just moved from New Zealand to Canada. She’s now enrolled in school, and she is making new friends. There’s only one problem: something seems to be wrong with Freya’s memories. Oh, she has memories, but they seem to be photo stills lodged in her brain. When she tries to think about her old best friends favorite band or her time with her dad at the lake, she draws a blank. Freya also finds herself suffering from intense headaches, something she cannot remember suffering from before her move to Canada.
On a school field trip, Freya notices a boy that immediately catches her attention. Yes, he’s hot, which is something Freya does not overlook, but there seems to be something else about him, something familiar. Freya just cannot shake the feeling that she knows this boy. After confronting said boy (whose name happens to be Garren), and being treated like a psychotic freak, Freya is even more determined to figure out what is going on. She knows that she has met Garren before. She knows that Garren was somehow, sometime, a part of her life. She knows that something is going on with her memory. But what is it? Follow Freya and Garren on their rollercoaster ride of an adventure, and join Freya as she unravels the mysteries of her mind.
I am a huge fan of Dystopia books. I enjoy being placed into different worlds, times, cultures, anything that is out of the norm. When I received Yesterday I was really excited to read about both the future and the past. I haven’t read too much about time travel, and it was something that I was really interested in. I thought it was really cool how the book took place in two different times and places. I wish that there would have been a little more time dedicated to the future, as I found that environment really cool. What was funny was that I kept forgetting that the book took place in 1985. I kept it replacing with 2012, and then I would get really confused about some of the music and television shows that they were listening to and watching because, well, they were very popular in the 1980′s and 1990′s.
I was a big fan of Freya. It was fun to watch her character grow throughout the entire book. I also really enjoyed all of the emotions that she made me feel. I felt sympathy for her when she was trying to distance herself from others at school. I cringed when she followed Garren home and acted like a total nutcase. And I was cheering her on for being so brave throughout most of the book. My only complaint about Freya was that I kept forgetting that she was an older teenager. She actually came across as a bit younger, but that didn’t change my feelings for her at all.
The teen romance was really sweet. After having a thing for Garren in the future, I thought that it was appropriate that she got the guy in the past. The best part, though, was that they didn’t automatically jump into their relationship, if that’s what you want to call it. It wasn’t one of those cases where they looked at eachother and automatically went “Oh my God, you are my soulmate! We are going to be hooked throughout this entire book, starting from page 1!” No. It took Garren quite awhile to think that Freya shouldn’t be in a mental institution. It was hilarious watching how cautious he was around her. I really enjoyed watching their relationship progress.
Really, my only complaint is that I wish there would have been a little more action in the book. There was a biiiig chunk of the book that was just about them running and trying to survive. Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoyed those parts, I just wish that a little more action would have happened. I am really excited to read the next book, and I HOPE that we get to see more of the future.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to everyone, especially to fans of Dystopia books. It was a great read, and I am looking forward to read more from C.K. Kelly Martin.
Pages: 368
Publication Date: September 25, 2012
Publisher: Random House
Rating: : 4
Teaser Quote: “And you probably didn’t picture running for your life.” I say. “Living by candlelight and wearing someone else’s clothes.”(less)

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