Tuesday 8 April 2014

Book Review - The Wells Bequest

Title: The Wells Bequest
Author: Polly Shulman
Series: The Grimm Legacy (book 2)
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Release Date: 5 Sep 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0192793119

Synopsis
It was an evening like any other for Leo Novikov. That is until a miniature version of himself appears before his eyes . . . from the future! Not only that, he's riding on some kind of weird machine, with his arms wrapped around the hottest girl he's ever laid eyes on!
He heads off to the New York Circulating Material Repository to do some research and meets Jaya, the girl from the future. Together they embark on a dangerous mission to save New York City . . . a mission that will take them to the other side of the world, and to the other side of time.


My Review
I read the Grimm Legacy and really enjoyed it so was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was another book in the series and I requested it straight away. It came in quite fast at the library but I couldn't read it straight away. I finally got to start it a few days ago and was surprised that it wasn't the same characters I knew but someone completely new - Leo Novikov. I was a bit disappointed but decided to stick with it - this was good because he does end up visiting the New York Circulating Material Repository and meeting some of the characters from the first book, suddenly the two stories link up and make sense. 
Leo has grown up in a family of scientists and physicists, they all expect him to follow in their footsteps so when it comes to the School Science fair he knows he has to do something impressive. But as he is sitting in his room one night he meets a miniature version of himself - from the future. Suddenly questions about time travel and machines fill his mind - and the girl his future self was with - who was she and how does he meet her. This is where he discovers the wonderful world of the Repository and it was great as a reader to go back to it. This is set about 5 or 6 years after book 1, as 10 year old 'Jaya' from book 1 is now Teenage Jaya working at the Repository and capturing Leo's thoughts.
I have to admit I was a bit hesitant about this book as 'Wells Bequest' obviously refers to 'H.G Wells' author of the Time Machine and from the synopsis I knew it would include time travel - this is a subject I don't tend to get along with too well. It either confuses me or annoys me. It has to be done very well for it to capture my imagination. 
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, there were a few moments of confusion where I wasn't entirely sure what was happening and how it would adjust the past and future and the consequences but it wasn't too bad. Although Time Travel is the underlying theme, it isn't actually too prominent (the actual traveling) and I found myself enjoying the character development and seeing Leo discover the Repository for the first time.
I didn't enjoy it as much as book 1, I didn't feel like it captured my imagination or heart as much as the first but I did still enjoy it. I am still curious enough that if there was another book in the series I would definitely read it. More for the characters than the story. Something about them make me want to read more and know more about them.

My Rating
 
   

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