Smasher

Bly, Scott. Smasher
March 25th 2014 by The Blue Sky Press

Charlie lives in a time well in the past, and is visited by a girl who says he needs to travel with her to the future to save the world from certain destruction. Since Charlie is having a hard time in his own world because he can hear The Hum, he agrees to go with Geneva, and soon finds himself in the middle of intrigue in 2042. The evil Grammercy Foxx, who is set to unleash a virus called The Future on an unsuspecting world. He has enlisted the help of famously vlogger Jane Virtue, who gives breathless updates about how many days there are until the release. Geneva lets Charlie in on the secret that this virus will be spread between people and turn them all into zombies, unless the two of them can stop Foxx. This, of course, isn't easy, even though both Charlie and Geneva can time travel and hack and code things on the computer. In trying to stop Foxx, Charlie learns some secrets about his own family and finds out why he is essential in putting a stop to Foxx's evil plan. With the help of a cute and intelligent dog, Callaya, he and Geneva work against the clock and evil henchmen to stop Foxx.
Strengths: For readers who liked Falkner's Brain Jack, this blend of technology and adventure will go over well. There's all kind of code, some hacking, jumping off buildings, crawling through heating ducts. The cover is a good one and definitely makes it look like an exciting book.
Weaknesses: I could not believe that Charlie was from a time 500 years in the past, and for some reason, this book didn't grab me at all. Perhaps it was all the technology... the only character I really warmed to was Callaya. The family connection seemed a bit weak, as well. Just didn't click for me.