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A review by smadronia
The Exchange by M.F. Lorson
5.0
The cover got me to check this one out, it's GORGEOUS. And to be fair, the story is interesting too. Set just far enough in the future that some implausible things can happen (2030), but not so far in the future people aren't relatable, The Exchange is about time travel exchanges. People from previous times come forward to the year 2030 to live for 3 months in the idea that they can explain how life was where and when they lived. To help them integrate into the world while they're visiting, the Institute chooses teenagers, who go to high school with their guides. Then they're sent back to the same day they left with a memory wipe.
Ari hates the Institute, which created the time travel option. She has been known to screw with things in the past, to the point her father's job is in jeopardy. To help him out, she agrees to become a Guide: a teen that helps a time traveler adjust to life in 2030. She's assigned James, who's from Heppner, Oregon, in the year 1903. And against her better judgment, she starts falling for him, and he for her.
The book is set in Pendleston, Oregon, which isn't all that far from Heppner. The fact James is that close to the Institute is unusual, along with the fact he's from such a small place. A member of the Institute lets it slip that James being chosen is unusual, which starts some wheels turning in Ari's head.
The rest of the book moves along at a decent pace, and I really enjoyed it. Ari's best friend is a pink haired, gay teen named Michael who's fun in his own right. He's also a Guide, and his charge, whose name escapes me at the moment, is an activist from the racially charged 1960s. She's smart and takes no crap, and gets involved in wonder why the Institute works as it does.
Overall, a fun read that I devoured in a few days, with a gorgeous cover. The ending isn't exactly a cliffhanger, but it does leave it open enough for a sequel.
Ari hates the Institute, which created the time travel option. She has been known to screw with things in the past, to the point her father's job is in jeopardy. To help him out, she agrees to become a Guide: a teen that helps a time traveler adjust to life in 2030. She's assigned James, who's from Heppner, Oregon, in the year 1903. And against her better judgment, she starts falling for him, and he for her.
The book is set in Pendleston, Oregon, which isn't all that far from Heppner. The fact James is that close to the Institute is unusual, along with the fact he's from such a small place. A member of the Institute lets it slip that James being chosen is unusual, which starts some wheels turning in Ari's head.
The rest of the book moves along at a decent pace, and I really enjoyed it. Ari's best friend is a pink haired, gay teen named Michael who's fun in his own right. He's also a Guide, and his charge, whose name escapes me at the moment, is an activist from the racially charged 1960s. She's smart and takes no crap, and gets involved in wonder why the Institute works as it does.
Overall, a fun read that I devoured in a few days, with a gorgeous cover. The ending isn't exactly a cliffhanger, but it does leave it open enough for a sequel.