Book Reviews

Book Review: Correlation

Media Type: Ebook
Title: Correlation
Author: Mia Grace
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Pages: Ebook; N/A
Release Date: November 2013
Source: Publisher
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Content Screening: Nothing of note

HDB Rating: 3 Keys to My Heart

Recommended to: Readers who enjoy a mix of a contemporary read and time travel.

Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N

When the past and the present collide…

Hailey Kent knows how she wants to spend the summer before her junior year in high school: hanging out at the pool with Jenna, her BFF; riding her new trail bike on Vermont’s country roads; and flirting with Jenna’s hot older brother, Cody.

Hailey’s plans are shattered when a post-graduation accident puts her brother into a coma. Feeling guilty for not stopping him from going out that night, she seeks solace in exploring an old house and its overgrown gardens.

A mysterious correlation of events propels her back in time to the Vietnam War era, where she realizes she can use her knowledge of one boy’s fate to save his life.

But first, Hailey needs to convince him of her sanity.

Where to begin with this book? It’s true that Mia Grace has found a combination that I’ve never seen before. The first half of Correlation reads like contemporary fiction, while the second half brings in the time travel aspect. I have to admit that it was the first half that was slow going for me. While I understood that it was setting up what was to come, there really wasn’t much going on. I was treated to a look at Hailey’s family, her friends, and the way her link to the woman who would soon become so important to the story. I pushed forward, hoping for the action.
There’s time travel here, but it skips straight over the why and goes directly into the when. I’m used to most books that have a time travel being a little heavier in the science fiction department. There’s generally an explanation, some reason  as to why the travel is a possibility. In Hailey’s case, you just have to take it at face value. It happens, and then the story takes off at a crazy pace. I didn’t mind so much once I caught up. The twist added a nice element to the story. However I definitely would have appreciated a tiny bit of an explanation.
On a happy note, I loved Hailey and her family. To me, she felt like a “real” teen. Someone who has the problems and mentality that you’d associate with her age, but the strength that you know would be there too. Her love for her brother was real, and I appreciated that. I do wish I would have had a little more time to get used to her life before the time travel twist was thrown in though. No spoilers here, but once it happens things change drastically.
The ending left me wondering if there might be more books coming. Hailey’s story has closure, but it is definitely left at a point where more might be possible. In all honesty, I’d welcome it! I’d love to see where she ends up and, most of all, what happens to the other characters in the story. In truth, I think to enjoy Correlation you really just need to take it at face value. It reads much more like contemporary fiction than anything else, but the time travel twist does add something interesting to the mix.




FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion.