This latest novel by Sandi Kahn Shelton is one of those rare stories that truly grabbed me on page 1. I got caught up with everyone's life, even Nate, whom I found to be a bit TOO obnoxious at first (sorry, I instinctively LOATHE anyone who calls anyone, especially children, 'dude'). The dialog rang true - I could hear all of the characters speaking in my head, something that only happens when I feel the author has really nailed how real people talk. These are some messed up characters, but I liked everyone anyway!

I was sorry when the book ended, but really, really want to revisit these characters down the road, maybe when Arley and Christopher become teenagers?! I have already passed this on to my sister with glowing reviews and I plan to go back and read Shelton's previous novels.

I have to confess I wasn't too thrilled when I read the premise of this plot - time traveling always gives me a headache as I end to overthink it, which ultimately ends up taking away from the story. But I decided to go with it and call it 'altered reality' instead of 'time traveling' and ended up enjoying it the way I enjoyed "Freaky Friday" when I was a kid, or the latest Sophie Kinsella (non-Shopaholic) novel. I found myself rooting for just about all the characters in the book (except for a few rather obnoxious ones who I won't reveal here).

About half way through I had to keep myself from turning to the last few pages to find out how it all turned out - but I refrained from doing so, and by the time I got to the end of the book, was happy with the conclusion, and was equally happy I hadn't ruined it for myself by peeking. It was a clever premise and was fun to read, especially with some of the details Allison Winn Scotch sneaks in (the main character can always win bets on who will get kicked off of 'Survivor', since she'd already seen the season several years before in her 'other' life - !). This is a light novel with some poignant moments that will have you plowing through it to see how it all turns out.