A Time To Die (Out Of Time #1)
By Nadine Brandes
Genre: YA Dystopian Fiction
Recommended For: Ages 15+ and fans of Divergent and future worlds full of despair yet with a drop of hope. Also for those who enjoy seeing God’s inspiring work through average people.
How would you live if you knew the day you’d die?
Parvin Blackwater has wasted her life. At only seventeen, she has one year left according to the Clock by her bedside.
In a last-ditch effort to make a difference, she tries to rescue Radicals from the crooked justice system. But when the authorities find out about her illegal activity, they cast her through the Wall — her people’s death sentence.
What she finds on the other side about the world, about eternity, and about herself changes Parvin forever and might just save her people. But her Clock is running out.
Hit List:
- Compelling story
- Unique and thought-provoking premise
- Realistic character development
- Jaw-dropping moments
- Fascinating and imaginative story world
- Slow start for main character and confusing motives
- Intriguing and multi-dimensional antagonist
- Constant sense of hope
Review In Ernest:
The only thing I knew about this book when I started was the book cover description. And that was enough. What an intriguing concept for a story! Everyone has a clock telling them when they will die. And I loved how the beginning explained more about this fascinating dystopian world Brandes created. The reason the concept of knowing when you’ll die resonated with me was because of the thought-provoking questions it brought up. Would I want to know when I’ll die? Would I live differently if I knew when I’d die? Would ‘wasting time’ take on a whole new meaning? How could I fit as many trips to Chick-Fil-A into whatever time remained for me?
Similar, the underlying themes of the book, what to do with your time on earth, pursuing peace amongst all, trusting God more than anything else, were the foundation of the story and fed it as opposed to bogging it down.
At first the main character, Parvin, didn’t connect with me. Unlike the premise, I didn’t find her personality and goals particularly compelling. However, after I’d say the first third of the book, Brandes really dug in with the character development. We see a stronger, yet still vulnerable and relatable side to Parvin. And while at time I was confused about what goals she was focused on achieving, we did see a steady growth both in her own personal motives and in her relationship with God.
Speaking of God, I was wildly impressed with how well Brandes weaved in the Christian message and themes. It never got preachy or cheesy. Instead, it seamlessly ingrained itself into the plot and character development until it was a natural part of the story.
The pace of this book was like a train slowly gaining momentum. While some stretches in the beginning and middle didn’t see much action, I never found it dull. Brandes did excellent spacing out action scenes and character development scenes so I was constantly eager to read what happened next. And oh my gosh were there some truly jaw-dropping, I-can’t-believe-that-just-happened moments! Those were truly one of the greatest delights of reading this book. I just never knew what could happen. This mystery of the unknown was a big driver in moving the plot forward.
Unlike most dystopian novels, that are so thick in despair you can’t see how anything good could possibly happen, Brandes used Parvin’s personality strengths and her relationship with God as a means to maintain that glimmer of hope throughout. And I love that. I love books that reflect the importance of always having hope, no matter what darkness you may land in.
LunasLuckyRating: 4.5/5 Lunas
