Review: Clockwise by Elle Strauss

Title: Clockwise (Clockwise #1)
Author: Elle Strauss
Publication: November 21st 2011 by ESB Publishing
Genre: YA Contemporary, Fantasy
Source: Provided by the kind publisher..
Goodreads

Casey Donovan has issues: hair, height and uncontrollable trips to the 19th century! And now this --she's accidentally taken Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time. Awkward. Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just "brotherly" protectiveness? When they return to the present, things go back to the way they were before: Casey parked on the bottom of the rung of the social ladder and Nate perched high on the very the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her younger brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again. Which of course, she does.

-- My Rating --

4/5 Oscars: Really liked it

-- My Thoughts --

     I have always been a fan of time-travel stories. The concept is enchanting and every book I have read about it was exceptional and lovely. This book was more of a light, cute read with a small yet significant time travel element. 
     Casey is far from a normal girl. yes, she has normal girl issues: uncontrollable hair and an uncontrollable crush on Nate. But she also has uncontrollable trips back to the 19th century. And things get worse, when she accidentally takes back Nate with her on a trip to the past. From worse to worst, Casey has to bear with them all...
     I love some light read in the summer. On one side, this was a typical high-school romance. All the high school drama was portrayed perfectly and the teenage insecurities were also evident and felt real. But on the other side, the time travel element is not unique in YA, but Elle Strauss did a unique approach to the genre. The time travel was much more interesting that Casey's normal high school life, so I always wished she would go back to the past when she was actually in the present.
     The plot was fast-moving. And the romance was cute, but it felt real. Casey developed a lot throughout the book, so the character development gets an A+. Although this book was not AMAZING, it was great, nonetheless. And I cannot wait to read the second book in the series, and get more time travel drama!