Rewind Blog Tour

O'Doherty, Carolyn. Rewind
April 10th 2018 by Boyds Mills Press
ARC provided by the publisher

Alex has the ability to rewind and freeze time. There are a few children like her, but the public fears them, and they are raised in a group home and trained to help solve crimes. Alex works with Mr. Ross, going to crime scenes and rewinding time until she can see what happened. When the two work on a bomb incident, they manage to get the bombed diffused and identify the bomber... who is found dead soon after. Alex has a bout of time sickness, which worries her. Few spinners live past the age of 18, despite the drugs that are available to manage their chronitin levels, and Alex has see too many deaths to think she will be exempt. Ross thinks that she should try a drug trial, and there are lots of things that are irregular about the treatment she has been receiving and how she feels on the different drugs. There are also some problems within the police force, and these become complicated as well. Can Alec survive long enough to both solve the crimes and save herself?
Strengths: While the sci fi time freezing element of this was interesting to me, the thing that my students will like is the murder mystery aspect of this. Well done, and nothing too gruesome for a 6th grader, which I appreciate. Plenty of action and adventure, and some good relationships as well.
Weaknesses: I kept thinking that at any moment something NOT appropriate for a younger reader would happen, so I was kept on the seat of my chair as much by that as by the suspenseful plot!
What I really think: Definitely purchasing and adding to my list of Ferguson's The Christopher Killer, Giles Fake I.D., Morgenrother's Jude and Sorrels First Shot as good MURDER mysteries that are also appropriate for eleven year olds.