BOOK REVIEW | Ripple Effect
Ripple Effect
by Paul Mccusker
I don’t generally read young adult books, but the title and the book cover caught my attention. Ripple Effect is the first book in the Time Thriller Trilogy. It opens with best friends, Elizabeth and Jeff, having a conversation, or rather Elizabeth is venting about her parents while her friend listens. When she suggests running away, Jeff thinks his dramatic friend has taken things a little too far, but he needs to figure out a way to talk Elizabeth out of her crazy plan.
Later, while in the bathtub, Elizabeth has an unusual vision that seems very real. In fact, muddy water appears in the tub and she has this overwhelming sensation of being choked. Before she knows it, Elizabeth finds herself in a strangely familiar world, except here people insist on calling her Sarah. Her thoughts of running away are now a thing of the past as she struggles for people to accept she’s not crazy. She simply wants to return back to her “normal” life. But how does she get back?
On the flip side, when Jeff went to meet Elizabeth, in hopes of changing her mind she never showed up. He and other people in Fawlt Line are scratching their heads trying to figure out how a young girl simple vanishes without a trace behind a locked bathroom door. Jeff seeks advice from his caretaker, Fawlt Line’s wealthiest and eccentric resident, Malcolm. Malcolm is spurting out ideas that Jeff finds unbelievable. In desperation to find his friend, Jeff is going to have to trust these strange theories. Both friends are going to have to really walk the walk of faith in order to see each other again.
I completed reading this 212 page book in no time and found it to be quite satisfying. I’m sure the audience its intended for, will find the story intriguing until the very end. The reader is transported back and forth via Elizabeth’s and Jeff’s points of view as the two friends try to figure out this time warp phenomenon. This is a concept that has been explored before, but I really like the connections the author added from one side to the other.
At the end of this book, readers are treated to a sneak peek of the first chapter of the second book in this trilogy, Out of Time. From what I’ve read, I’m looking forward to reading the entire trilogy.
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