No True Echo by Gareth P. Jones

Eddie is your average teenage boy – going to school, spending time with friends, riding his bike, and he lives in the middle of nowhere where nothing ever really happens.  He lives with his grandmother (who he calls Ruby because she hates being called grandma), and while she has some good days (where she likes to paint and she’s cheerful), she also has some bad days (where she lies on the couch watching game shows and doesn’t really do much else).  His mother died when he was a baby, and he never knew who his father was.  For the most part, he is content with his life (although he longs to have a mother and wishes his grandmother would have more “good days”), and his routine is usually the same on a day-to-day basis.

Until one day, on the way to school, a new girl gets on the bus.  Her name is Scarlett White. 

All throughout the day, Eddie notices odd things about Scarlett, and some others around him.  His teacher, who sometimes takes him home from school, doesn’t remember he is supposed to give Eddie a ride that day.  Nor does he remember that Eddie’s mother had died, and they had talked about it only a few days prior.  While Eddie finds this a little odd, he brushes it off and tries to forget about it.

When Eddie accompanies Scarlett to a farmhouse and a gruesome murder occurs, Eddie isn’t really sure what to think, or what’s really going on.

But weird things keep happening.  For example, Eddie finds himself reliving the same day over again, only this time Scarlett doesn’t get on the bus.  No one has heard of her.  Other random things are amiss, and Eddie finds himself waking up in alternate realities.  He pieces things together and tries to figure out what’s going on.  Bit by bit, things start to add up and Eddie begins to discover what strange things are happening in his small town.

Let me tell you now that this book gets almost completely impossible to follow unless you pay super close attention to pretty much every single little thing that’s going on.  It’s confusing as hell in places, but if you stick around for the ride, it really does pay off.  The whole premise of “echo jumping” and alternate versions of reality are pretty cool, and I haven’t read anything else like this before.  While some parts of this novel are difficult to follow, it’s definitely a worth while read, especially if you enjoy YA books about time travel.  It’s an easy book to get pulled into, and it feels realistic.  The only reason I took one star off of this one was because I think there could have been a way to make it a little bit easier to follow.  But once you manage to get a good grasp on what’s really happening (pretty close to the end of the book), it all clicks in place and makes it a unique story that will stick with you, and change the way you look at time travel!

Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.