You tell me “Crimean War”, you tell me “Chemistry”, you tell me “Siege of Carlisle” and by now I  have already rolled my eyes 10 times and you have lost my attention. I will however award the respect that is due to those topics, because even if they may not be my cup of tea they will be fascinating to others.

Let’s go back to those topics just for a minute, or as I like to call them “ingredients”. Now, when you add, time travelling, love and loss and thrill with a race against time to the mix it simply becomes a delicious cocktail.

“The Next Together” is with no doubt one of the most unique piece of modern literature I have come across this year.

It is brilliantly written and the author uses a language that is faithful to each time period, where our main characters, now in 2039 both scientists, Katherine and Matthew slips through repeatedly. Their life is in danger whether they are travelling back into the past or back to the present. Their mission if any is unknown not only to them but also to the reader. One thing however that endures through time is their love for each other and no matter what obstacles they encounter this is the only truth that remains unchanged.

Putting the tale aside for a moment, something that must be said about the actual book is that everything in it is a clue. Whether it be the cover, the post-it notes exchanged in one of many Kate & Matt’s lifetimes, or the undisturbed timeline drawn out from page 1 to the last and maybe the only clue that a third party may play a hand in our protagonists fate, this book is constructed as a wonderful puzzle leading the reader on a quest to the last missing piece…which obviously will not be revealed here :).

It may not seem like it but this debut novel is a hell of a roller coaster story and I cannot wait to get on the next ride.

All fans of YA and historical fiction are in for a treat with this one.

LaChouett

Thanking team @WalkerBooksUK for providing me with a copy of this title.