After Eden

Gr 8 Up—Tall, good-looking Ryan Westland, 17, shows up at Perran School in England in March 2012 and attracts the attention of the female population. However, Eden Anfield, 16, discovers that there is far more to the new guy than his muscular physique when she finds a book in his possession that has been written by her best friend, Connor Penrose, and published in 2081. Ryan has traveled from the future and is on a mission to save the world from Connor's future discovery of a new planet that will later prove deadly to life on Earth. What begins as an unremarkable teen romance becomes a sci-fi novel interwoven with tidbits of information about stars, planets, and even quantum physics. The romance makes for a compelling read but undermines the deeper scientific story that could have propelled this novel beyond a sappy, mediocre love triangle. The ending is almost tritely predictable and further emphasizes the resounding message that the heart rules over the head above all odds. While the heroes prove admirably courageous at the story's end by creating their own destiny, the most pivotal character in the book, Connor, is all but completely forgotten. Still, hard-core love story enthusiasts may fall for the romantic notion of time travel for the sake of passion at all costs, however far-fetched that might seem.—Etta Anton, Yeshiva of Central Queens, NY