Review: TIMELESS (By: Alexandra Monir)

Title: Timeless
Author: Alexandra Monir
Rating: 4 of 5

Random House Children's Books | January 11, 2011 | Hardcover

When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she’s never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life – a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.

Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves – a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives.

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Last year I went searching for a wonderful book that would be great for a Waiting on Wednesday post. While doing so I stumbled across Timeless by debut novelist Alexandra Monir. At first sight I fell in love with this book; the beautiful cover and intriguing synopsis kept me anticipating its release. As with any debut novel, it is a mystery as to what type of writing style the author has and how they will develop both the story and their characters. It is no doubt a scary experience for the author; to put themselves out there and hope that their words will mean something to their readers. Monir doesn`t have anything to worry about though because Timeless shines with brilliance.

As a singer/songwriter, Monir lives and breathes music so it was not shocking that she allowed that part of her life to influence this book. The main character, Michele Windsor, has a talent for lyrics but after the death of her mother she loses her passion for writing. It is only when she travels back to the past and meets a handsome young man that she finds her inspiration again. The boy that she meets has a love for music as well and writes his own melodies. When he meets Michele he finds the words that have been missing from his life and together they create a song together. Using music to influence this book makes Michele a unique female lead. The snippets of song lyrics that Michele writes throughout the book not only connects the reader to the story, but to Monir as well. The lyrics are coming from Monir and thus expose her as an artist and a writer.

Monir's dedication to this novel is not only seen through the use of music, but through the juxtaposition of the past and the present. While writing this book, Monir moved to New York City for an entire year. During this time she researched, and researched, and researched some more about the New York that existed during the Gilded age. Simultaneously though, Monir was living in the city and was able to experience The Big Apple for what it is presently. Her dedication to painting such an accurate picture of New York City both past and present will amaze you. The way that she interlaces Historical and Contemporary fiction is like nothing I have read before.

With a beautiful book about time travel that is wrought in history, it is only sensible to have a wonderful love story. While we all know Romeo and Juliet to be the tale of star-crossed lovers, Monir refers to the two characters in her book as "time-crossed lovers". As time-crossed lovers, Michele and the love of her life are separated by eras. They are in every sense prisoners of time. It is really tragic, more so I would say than Shakespeare's version. I say this because Michele has no control over this aspect of her life and is destined to pine for someone that she can't be with in any long lasting way. For me this was really heartbreaking; it was something that was, in the end, achingly bitter sweet.

The use of music and history in this book is wonderful to read, but it is the discussion of how time influences our lives that is most appealing. For most people time is merely how we define one moment from the next, but for Michele, time is what keeps her away from the love of her life. As a debut novel, Timeless is an interesting twist on the young adult fiction that pervades our lives. I really hope you all take a chance on this one mainly because I am looking for people to squeal over the cliffhanger with me. :)

- Christie