Boom
I was hesitant to read this mystery novel by Joelle Charbonneau because I didn’t really like Dividing Eden. But this novel is surprising and it kept me hooked up until the end.
Book Review: Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau
Rating:
Title & Author: Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau
Genre: Mystery, Contemporary
Release Date: March 13 2018
Series: Standalone
Publisher: HMH Books
Synopsis
A congressman’s daughter who has to be perfect. A star quarterback with a secret. A guy who’s tired of being ignored. A clarinet player who’s done trying to fit in. An orphaned rebel who wants to teach someone a lesson. A guy who wants people to see him, not his religion.
They couldn’t be more different, but before the morning’s over, they’ll all be trapped in a school that’s been rocked by a bombing. When they hear that someone inside is the bomber, they’ll also be looking to one another for answers.
I give Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau five out of five hearts because I thought the story was really well done. The mystery is kept all throughout and it kept me guessing about the real threat and/or culprit.
The novel starts out with a news flash about the bombing and that there is one bomb left. It pulled the reader in and does exactly what it needs to do. It build action and curiosity. But then everything calms down and the novel goes on (without letting the reader know) with introducing our main characters.
Z is the rebellious and mysterious guy. We don’t get to know why he was at the school before the bombing. I would have liked to know, even if it had only been at the end of the novel. He is a likely suspect for the bombing because there is so little known about him.
Rashid is a moslim boy on his way to do something extreme. But it soon turns out why he is at school just before the bombing. But before that he is one of the most likely suspects because of the believe he shows at the beginning of the novel. He has been to a war torn country over the summer to see his cousins.
Cas is sure about her future. She wants to die today and she want to pay her instruments before she offs herself. She is depressed but it doesn’t come out too much during the events of the book. Maybe because of the pace of the events or just because this is one of the few things that lacked in Joelle’s writing.
Tad and Frankie have been dating over summer. Tad is brown and just out of the closet. Frankie is the star athlete of the school and wishes to go on being it, instead of having this fling ruin his chances. Tad goes to the school to confront Frankie about it.
The last main character is Diana, the daughter of a congressman. Her father is fighting hard to get a bill through congress. Diana stands behind her father and defends him and his act to anyone she meets and goes against it.
Each of the children is burdened with something and all have reasons to be at the school and do something important to their lives. Joelle keeps all of them mysterious. Sometimes I felt too mysterious, but I also liked it in the end.
Overall I really liked Time Bomb very much. It was a very interesting story and it kept me hooked. The twist at the end was really good and made me want to read more like to read another mystery novel by Charbonneau. But only if it is as good as this one!
Let me know what you thought of this book!
If you have any requests for which book I should talk about next, please let me know in the comments down below.
For now, let books enrich your life!