Time Bomb by Joelle Charbonneau (4/5)

Imagine going to school one day, a day that’s seemingly as normal as it gets. You get your things ready, head to school, and are only walking around for a few moments before BANG! An explosion rings out from a locker down the hall, engulfing it with flames and smoke. You run, fearful, alone, and completely unaware of the other explosives hidden inside the building… This is precisely what happens to the students inside of Joelle Charbonneau’s novel, Time Bomb. Time Bomb is a book by best-selling author Joelle Charbonneau, who has also written The Testing, along with its two sequels. The book is aimed towards high school aged young adults, and as such the characters are high school students. The main cast includes 6 students, and the narration is shared between them, each chapter changing to the perspective of another character. The book begins with Diana, the daughter of the senator. Her father wishes to pass a bill that would require a mandatory check on any student that could pose a threat to schools, by checking their phones, computers, etc. Many people are in opposition to the bill, so Diana is expected to stay as presentable as possible so people trust her father. Diana, along with the students Tad, Frankie, Cas, Z, and Rashid, all arrive at the school one by one when the first bomb detonates. Most of the students are trapped and the ones who are free make it their goal to search for survivors. I thought this book did a swell job with the main characters, who all have their own problems and outlooks on life. Just about anyone who reads this book could relate to one of them on a personal level. The amount of detail we see on the main cast is heavily done through the consistent perspective changes, which tell different sides of the same story. The book is also very descriptive, and while not many dead bodies are described, you can really tell how gruesome the circumstances are. One thing I did not appreciate though was the book’s main plot twist, which I didn’t exactly grasp from the beginning but was predictable nonetheless. It’s sort of a weak tie to the much bigger disaster the bombs cause. Also, the book tends to drag along in some spots. At some points I found myself skimming through trying to get to the more interesting parts. All in all though, Time Bomb is a pretty decent read. If you’re someone that likes more realistic settings or becomes invested in characters like I do, I would give this book a shot.