#Saturday Review - Into The Dim by Janet B. Taylor (YA, Science Fiction)

Series: Into The Dim # 1
Format: E-Galley, 432 pages
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

When sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.  

*Key Characters* Hope Walton, Bran Cameron, Lucinda Carlyle, Phoebe, and Collum MacPherson

*Setting* Scotland, and 16th Century London in the times of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. 

*Summary* Into the Dim is author Janet B. Taylor's debut novel. Eight months ago, 16-year old Hope Walton's mother was presumed to be lost after a devastating earthquake destroyed the building she was supposed to in. Hope doesn't get much leeway by her family, minus her father who has moved on with his life. She is pretty much the black sheep of the Walton family as she is the only one who isn't a pure blood having been adopted when she was 4. 

Hope's summer gets a bit more exciting after she is sent to Scotland for the summer to meet with her mother's sister Lucinda Carlyle, and discovers that the ability to time travel is real, along with a shocking secret that I dare not spoil for fear of being hung up by my toenails. When she isn't learning everything there is to know about time traveling, she starts to fall for a mysterious boy named Bran Cameron. Who is Bran really? What does he really want with Hope?

In this world, there are the so called good time travelers (Viators) and the bad ones called (Timeslippers) who are lead by a lunatic named Celia Alvarez. Hope, Phoebe, and Collom are sent to London in the year 1154. They have 72 hours to get in, find what they are searching for, and get out before they are stuck there. Here is where almost all of the action, and adventure happens. Here is where Hope starts to get answers about her past. Dare I say this was also the best part of the book? I adore Eleanor of Aquitaine and what she did for the women of England. She was gutsy, courageous, and I loved that Hope gets a chance to meet her face to face.

Hope has some interesting quirks that readers will quickly pick up on and of course, call her names like Special Snowflake. She has an eidetic memory (photographic) which means she can remember everything she's ever read. Her weakness is that she is claustrophobic which I can totally relate to and I have to say, IT SUCKS! Let's put a few things to rest. No, Hope is not a special snowflake. Do people who actually use this term know what it actually means? 

A malady affecting a significant portion of the world's population wherein the afflicted will demand special treatment, conduct themselves with a ludicrous, unfounded sense of entitlement, and generally make the lives of everyone around them that much more miserable.

I do hate railing against the same things over and over, but perhaps it is time to stand up against those who have no problem tearing women apart, and leave men alone for doing the same things! A positive for me is that Taylor avoids the love triangle of doom. Hope is focused on one, and only one person. Hopefully that stays the same in the sequel. 

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