Reviews - Strangers in Time

256 reviews for:

Strangers in Time

David Baldacci

3.99 AVERAGE

manda434's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“She knew there was a price to be paid with important relationships like that. They were wonderful, but they also had the capacity to exact a punishing price when one in the relationship was gone. Grief, sadness, anger at a loss, and terrible, unrelenting hurt were the costs to be paid for loving and being loved. It felt completely worth the bargain right up until the very moment payment was demanded. She would never get over the loss of Ignatius Oliver, but she would always benefit from having had him in her life.”
I struggled to stay engaged in the story but liked the characters and the plot which centered around how to make a life after grief. It is set in London during WW2 and centers on those tragedies while creating life with a family you chose after the one you had is gone.

caelyn's review against another edition

1.25

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

nblais's review

4.0

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

thereadingzombie's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I read this for my IRL Book Club. There are so many stories that surround WWII that I imagine it's difficult to tell a story that feels new and interesting. I haven't read a lot of stories that involve people in London during this time and especially not teenagers. I enjoyed the different perspective this book had to offer. I vaguely remember learning about the Germans bombing London, but I didn't know how long it went on or how frequently. I remember learning about the rations, but didn't consider how that would work. This made me go down a few Wikipedia rabbit holes, and that's always appreciated.

The characters were great. We have these two children and a bookshop owner. They have lost so much during the span of the war, and somehow their lives intersect by chance. What happens is an unbreakable bond of care, support, and safety in such a perilous time. What are the odds of these three people finding each other like that? I'm glad there wasn't a romance angle. Not that people didn't fall in love during the war, but I like that the characters of Charlie and Molly were friends/siblings.

I don't know why, but the title made me think there was going to be some kind of time travel element to the story, and there wasn't. The pacing of this story was pretty slow until the end. I spent the first 75% of the book wondering if anything was going to happen. Then it all seemed to hit at once. The "twist" towards the end seemed kind of weird and forced, like it didn't really fit in with everything, but they needed to tidy up that plot line. I don't know.

The audiobook was really good, with different actors performing different characters. Some of them had accents that were difficult for me to parse out, but it all worked out. Would definitely recommend!