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A Penny Lost

A Penny Lost - Aspen Bassett


*I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*


Synopsis (from Goodreads)
"Penelope Grace, usually forgotten under the shadow of her twin sister's perfection, tries her hardest to hide her freakish ability to see into anyone's soul. Until she senses an unusual energy like a human shaped void in the universe. When Penny investigates the source, she gets tossed through a crack in time along with the cute boy next door. The Void follows them through history, increasing the dangers as if testing Penny. But what is it testing for? And why does it claim to know her better than even she knows herself? Even as Penny searches for answers, she must fight to survive the tragedies of both the past and future in order to get back home."


Review
This story had a very intriguing premise, which is what peaked my interest in it. I love all things time-travel. I felt like the author's take on it was very unique and different, especially as we see timelines hopping around and intersecting at different points. I also really liked Penny's empathic abilities! That's something that is fresh and new and I felt like it was described really well. I liked that this book avoided many typical clichés. The story was fast-paced and kept you interested in knowing what was going to happen next. The plot set up a lot of questions, gave a couple answers that led to more questions. At times, however, the plot felt too convoluted and I wasn't sure exactly what was going on. 

I liked the character of Penny, and I felt like her frustrations, sense of humor, and bravery were shown well, though her logic was sometimes really dumb. Stranger was sweet but kind of blah, even with the hint of his tragic backstory. Ricky had the most interesting story, but he was basically there as a plot device for Penny. 

My biggest hang up was that the writing was not as polished or smooth as it could be. The tone shifted constantly, sometimes within the same scene. The dialogue often felt stilted. Plus, it may have just been the format of the copy I received, but conversation lines weren't different paragraphs, so sometimes I had to reread sections because I missed where the quotation marks ended or started because it wasn't clear.

The mystery behind the plot and the ending are interesting enough that I think I might read the next book to find out how it all fits together, and to find out who Penny really is, though I don't think I would buy it.

Rating
I give this book 2.5 stars.


Details
Genre: YA, Sci-fi.
Language: Mild.
Sex: None.
Violence: Mild.

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