Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass

by Myra McEntire

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Release Date: June 14, 2011
Publisher: Egmont
Age Group: Older YA
Source: Library Check-Out
Rating: Perfect Bed Partner
Good for Debut Author Challenge
About the Book:

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

My small Southern hometown is beautiful in the haunting way an aging debutante is beautiful. The bones are exquisite, but the skin could use a lift...

I'm so glad that I followed my gut on this one and grabbed it from the library shelves, because if I hadn't I would've missed out on an impossibly fantastic debut! It was two steps away from making Special Shelf, that's how excellent it is. Superb narration, snarky heroine, riveting story line, and fabulous characters. Hourglass contains all of that AND a phenomenal twist on a paranormal element that hasn't been exhibited nearly enough in YA fiction. A wonderfully well-told story, Hourglass ranks top ten on my favorites list for this year!

Emerson, Emerson, Emerson, can't get enough Emerson. It has always been easier for me to connect and fall for The Guys of the books, but never have me and The Chick connected so seamlessly. What started out as just another book to read, Emerson is like the frosting on an already sumptuous cake with Michael Weaver and Kaleb Ballard playing the cherries that go on top. Michael, Kaleb, Michael, Kaleb. McEntire masterfully weaves a love triangle that makes your head spin, leaves you breathless, and, for once, deliciously (agonizingly) conflicted. No half-assed love triangles designed as a plot device to steer the novel in a different direction or lengthen the story. McEntire delivers something infinitely more powerful and downright swoon-worthy.

Full of action-packed, danger-ridden events and a smart twist on the paranormal, Hourglass will tantalize you with answers to questions that keep cropping up. A villain that terrifies, characters that enchant (finally, parental figures with some sense and control!), and dialogue that engages and humors, this book surprised me in the best ways and kept me engrossed to the very end. It reminded me vaguely of X-Men, adding to my already lengthy list of reasons as to why I love this book.

If you want something special, something that will keep you on your toes, then Hourglass is what you've been waiting for. It was exactly the thing to break me of my reading funk and get me back on track, giving me hope that I'll come across more reads as amazing as this one! I'm left with one burning thought, What awaits Emerson Cole after that explosive ending?

For those of you who'd like a teaser, click here.
(It's a recycled scene in the book, but it's a BIT SPOILERY.)

In the most totally inappropriate way you can imagine, PBP books are the books you want to do, they're so bloody brilliant... (My Rating System In-Depth)

...I HADN'T BEEN OUT LONG. I STRETCHED AND OPENED MY EYES TO MICHAEL, WHO APPEARED TO BE IN PAIN. HIS BROWS PULLED TOGETHER OVER HIS DARK EYES, AND THERE WAS A HARD SET TO HIS MOUTH.
I FROZE MIDSTRETCH. "WHAT'S WRONG?"
"NOTHING," HE SAID, HIS VOICE ROUGH.
I DIDN'T THINK I HAD CROSSED ANY BOUNDARIES SINCE I TOUCHED HIM BEFORE I GOT IN THE CAR, AND NONE OF MY ROOMMATES AT SCHOOL EVER CLAIMED I TALKED IN MY SLEEP.
"I'M SORRY ABOUT BEFORE, ON THE STREET--"
HE SHOOK HIS HEAD. "IT WASN'T THAT."
"THEN WHAT DID I DO?"
"BESIDES FALL ASLEEP?"
"I'M SORRY. IT'S NOT THE COMPANY, BUT WE WERE UP SO LATE, AND THE SUN FELT SO GOOD." I STOPPED. WHY WAS I DEFENDING MYSELF? MICHAEL WASN'T TOO BIG ON EXPLANATIONS, SO I HAD NO IDEA WHY I WAS TRYING TO CLARIFY ANYTHING TO HIM.
HE LOOKED AWAY FROM ME TO FOCUS ON THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING. "YOU SEEM SO VULNERABLE WHEN YOU SLEEP. I DON'T GET THAT FROM YOU A LOT."
I SHIFTED UNCOMFORTABLY IN MY SEAT. "I ALMOST CRIED AT DINNER THE OTHER NIGHT. WAS THAT NOT VULNERABLE ENOUGH FOR YOU?"
"THERE'S A DIFFERENCE. AT DINNER YOU WERE SAD; TODAY YOU'RE... SOFT." (121).