Review: Future Shock

Future Shock
by Elizabeth Briggs
YA Science Fiction
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

Elena Martinez has hidden her eidetic memory all her life--or so she thinks. When powerful tech giant Aether Corporation selects her for a top-secret project, she can't say no. All she has to do is participate in a trip to the future to bring back data, and she'll be set for life.

Elena joins a team of four other teens with special skills, including Adam, a science prodigy with his own reason for being there. But when the time travelers arrive in the future, something goes wrong and they break the only rule they were given: do not look into their own fates.

Now they have twenty-four hours to get back to the present and find a way to stop a seemingly inevitable future from unfolding. With time running out and deadly secrets uncovered, Elena must use her eidetic memory, street smarts, and a growing trust in Adam to save her new friends and herself.

Review:

I found this to be such an exciting read. From the first, the author sets up an intriguing experiment conducted by a powerful company, with five very different, uniquely talented teens to explore the future.  I enjoyed the time travel aspect of this book very much - the way future technology was described and how the teens learn about all the changes in the world in the space of twenty four hours was excellently plotted.  Especially because I wouldn't have thought so much could be accomplished in twenty four hours, but with a lack of sleep, the characters uncover so much.

The driving force of the story is finding out what was really going on in the past, and why Elena and her group were chosen for this project.  Every character has something to hide, and this book brilliantly interweaves each character's past with what is happening in their present.   The fast-paced plot made this a riveting page-turner, and Elena was a fantastic, savvy and smart protagonist.

The story includes a bit of romance as well, which was nice, but I don't think I was as invested in it as I could have wished.  Even though Elena and Adam have been through a lot in the short amount of time, they grew very close, very quickly.  And maybe because of that, there was an aspect to the ending of this book that felt a little rushed, but I don't want to reveal too much about that, because the mystery of the story is such a great part of the plot.

Overall though, I enjoyed Future Shock thoroughly, and appreciated the intricacy of the plot, the diverse characters, and the exciting thrill ride in the mystery.

(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review.)