Cristin Terrill

Em must travel back in time to kill the boy she loves. Marina will do everything she can to stop her. The catch? Marina and Em are the same person. A brilliant, brain-warping thriller and love story that leaps back and forth through time.

All Our Yesterdays

"Em must travel back in time to prevent a catastrophic time machine from ever being invented, while Marina battles to prevent the murder of the boy she loves"--

Monicap

Plot: 5/5
this book was so action-packed and fast-paced and cool and there's time travel and conspiracy and torture and assassination and GAH all the things!

Characters: 5/5
Em: she was this perfect combination of tough yet vulnerable that I absolutely love.
Finn: This is an awesome person. I can't see how Marina ever thought he was annoying or an idiot or anything bad, because he just so funny and cool and smart and just an awesome person.
Marina: Okay, what was really cool about this book and this character is that throughout the story (view spoiler)[I could feel, I could SEE Marina turning into Em (hide spoiler)] and THAT was really cool.
James: I just--no--the feels. I sorta loved him but I was confused about how I felt about him, because I also thought I hated him at times. It's just--seeing this one guy from two vastly different perspectives sorta jerked me around.

Sorry for being confusing.

Romance: 5/5
Once upon a time, there was one book (which I can't for the life of me remember the title of) in which I opened the first page and the main character was already professing her love for some boy and the author thought I would go along with it, but I hated him. Since then, whenever I open a book and a main character is ALREADY in love with somebody, I EXPECT to hate him. But I never ever do. Because, in these other various books (among them this one and Clarity) I was SHOWN why the character loves him, and I was given a chance to fall in love with him myself. And I mean, hello, Finn is an awesome person. Also, James. Loved him and was confused about him at the same time. 

Overall grade: 15/15
SO GOOD.

Christine

OW OW OW OW OW I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO HURT SO MUCH AFTER READING THIS OWWWWW
--
Reread October 2023: this is the only love triangle i will EVER care about. i remember why i rated this 5* now.

Nessa Luna

Actual rating: 4,5 - In 2013, All Our Yesterdays was released. I had heard about it before its release already and got curious. A book about time travel? Yes sign me up! Why did it take me so long to actually read the book? No idea, maybe it was because I was waiting for that gorgeous cover to be released in paperback? I really do not remember why it took me so long to read this book, but after finishing it it made me wish time travel exists so I could travel back in time and tell myself to read the book right away. (I'd create a paradox, but hey apparently that's not such a big deal). So yeah, I guess I could say I really enjoyed this book! I'm sorry but this review might contain a couple of spoilers, so beware.

All Our Yesterdays is about Marina and Em. Marina is in love with James, and has nothing to really worry about. Em has been in prison for a long time and only has one goal - to escape and kill him. Together with the boy in the cell next to hers, she must escape back in time to ensure her past self will never have to suffer the way she suffered. But that isn't as easy as she had hoped it would be.

I really got sucked into the story right away, mainly because it starts right away with a scene that makes you think 'what happened?'. It starts with Em in a cell, staring at a drain wondering why she feels that drain is so special. And it doesn't get less exciting from that point, in fact - I really thought this book was very thrilling and I told myself to at least finish the chapter before going to eat, sleep or work. I really liked the way this story was written, I think the author did a very good job. I would love for her to write more books, but not a sequel or anything - just another book. Personally, I think a sequel wouldn't fit. Because this book kind of got a happy ending (maybe not a Disney happy ending, but I never expect books to have that kind of happy endings), and I don't think a sequel will add anything to this story. No, I just want the author to write another book with a complete new story. Though I wouldn't mind her writing about more time travel, hahaha!

Character-wise, I really liked Em and Finn. I felt a bit dumb when I didn't immediately realise who they were though. I actually had to reread a part of the book because I thought they were but wasn't sure. The one person I did 'recognise' almost immediately was the doctor, so I guess the other two would have been obvious as well - but I just completely missed that. It didn't bother me too much though, because I just enjoyed reading about Em and Finn - I loved reading about their relationship and their determination to kill him. I also liked Marina and James and their relationship. I loved how she tried to take care of him after the event that kind of started all of this, and I really wished for them to have a happy ending. (view spoiler)[Even though I already knew that was going to be impossible. (hide spoiler)]

The only thing I was a bit bothered about in the beginning was the fact that Em and Finn were creating a paradox by traveling back in time and killing the person that created the time machine - thus erasing that timeline. But then, in the story it was explained that paradoxes weren't really that bad as everyone had thought and that everything would work out eventually. Other than that, I was also a little bit bothered by the flashbacks. Because they were the same font as the normal story and not italicized or anything - or a different paragraph. It was a bit annoying because I couldn't really see where the flashback started or ended. But hey, there weren't that many flashbacks so it wasn't super annoying. What I am still a bit confused about is that ending. Because how did that happen?! (view spoiler)[I mean Finn got shot and died. How is he suddenly still alive after that, and how does Marina not remember anything that happened to her in that cottage? I have the idea maybe the author wrote this while she still had the sequel in her mind, but ??!?! I'm just a bit confused about this ok. (hide spoiler)]

In the end, I really enjoyed All Our Yesterdays and it's really made me want to pick up books I'm interested in right after they get released. Because maybe I am missing out on a book like this because I'm not too sure if I'm going to like it. If it sounds interesting, I really should just buy it and read it. If it's not that interesting after all - it's a shame, but if it is - I won't be that person that finds out about it two years after it's release!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

Janice Hopper

Started out promisingly, got hopelessly baroque & tangled in the last quarter of the book. Too bad. I was with the author till then.

sofia !

Elena Davis

this is one of those books that I can read in one sitting and absolutely love and wish for more, but that I really hope there isn't going to be a real sequel for. the plot was fleshed out in just the right way, the non-linear timeline in the narrative was executed brilliantly, and, although Em/Marina was one of those cookie-cutter main characters that the reader can just slip their own image into, there was genuine honesty to her character development.
what I really want to see is two parts of the story: a) all the build-up and other attempts to right the past by Finn and Em, and b) everything that makes James think he's doing the right thing. those two aspects of the story are pretty vague in the book (in a good way), but there could be something to how the story changes looking at those other timelines.

I'm also a masochist when it comes to my entertainment, I love to see my main characters suffer at their own hands, so I would also want to see a timeline where Marina and Finn figure out the time travel stuff and try to bring back James. or Marina going all power-hungry just like the man she went back in time to kill.

overall, a great book, only took me a couple hours to read, and it left me wanting more.

Leah Patton

This story took me a long time to get into, about ten chapters in fact. This could be because I had just finished reading Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and was thoroughly torn apart but it could also be because I'm picky. All Our Yesterdays starts with the future and the romance that is discusses has already happened. The characters are already in love, and because both Em and Finn were new to me, I couldn't relate to them. This put me off from the very beginning.
However, All Our Yesterdays did have a few things that I couldn't help admire.
1. The characters.
Em and Marina are both humanly flawed. It's awesome. Marina is selfish and vain and a pushover. Em is scarred and empty. However…
2. The character development.
Both Em and Marina have lots of self-realization in the story and grow from that. Em realizes that she selfishly keeps James around even though he will grow to hurt you past self. Marina realizes how mean and vain she can be and even Em realizes that she's stronger that Em herself would be at that time.
3. The ending
Cristin Terrill does something that only very talented authors can accomplish. Her book only comes in full circle at the very end. Even though I felt that this might have caused me to disconnect, I can still appreciate how much skill this takes.

All this said, at the very end I was flipping pages like a mad woman. I just wanted to know what happens! I could definitely see this becoming a very entertaining movie and I recommend it!

A brilliantly brain-warping thriller and a love story that leaps back and forth in time – All Our Yesterdays is an amazing first novel, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games. Em is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet. Em and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way out. The present is torture – being kept apart, overhearing each other's anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse, she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future . . .

Kelsi Proulx

I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I read it traditionally instead of listening to the audiobook. There was just so much going on and I think I missed a lot of details. I spent a lot of time feeling confused. I think I will try reading the actual book and my rating might change.

Eleanor Luhar

Okay, the plot of this book is kind of complicated and my summary probably won't do it justice, but here goes:

Em and Finn have been held prisoners in their cells for months. The doctor puts them through horrific interrogations on a regular basis, trying to determine the location of some documents he believes to be in the possession of Finn and Em.

Em is obsessed with the drain in the centre of her cell, positive that it has some kind of important meaning. Eventually, she manages to unscrew it, and discovers something incredibly unexpected; a note from herself.

With the the help of Mike Connor, a guard that other versions of themselves had convinced to help them in the past, Em and Finn escape their cells and make their way to Cassandra. Before the doctor can stop them, they switch on the machine and are transported four years into the past.

This is written from two different perspectives; Em's, and Marina's. Through each girl's story, we discover the truth about the doctor, Cassandra, and the death of Nate, the brother of Marina's childhood love's brother.

I know this all sounds really complicated, and sometimes it does get that way, but it is written so well. Em looks at Marina like she's a different person, which I suppose she is, really. The relationships between each version of Marina/Em and the two different boys is so unique to this book. I suppose it's a regular love triangle, but at the same time, it's not.

I really liked this book. It's not quite made it's way to my favourites list due to the fact that there were times where I got a little bit lost. But it definitely deserves 4.5 stars, because it is such an gripping, unique book. I'm so glad I read this.

BookMarked

Justine Rose

For starters - I owned this book for at least a year, maybe two, before I even opened it. I kept looking at it on the shelf, wanting to read it, before changing my mind and reading something I knew would be worth it. 
What. A. Mistake. 
During this book, I couldn't believe it had taken me so long to finally pick it up! 

Granted, I was confused at first with the whole 'Cassandra' thing (I had no clue who Cassandra was - turns out it was a what) and I'm usually not a fan at all of Sci-Fi or time travel or anything in between. This, however, had me out of my comfort zone, and I'm glad I gave it the chance. Not sure about other readers, but to me it was pretty obvious who Marina and Em were (it's literally in the name!)

It was a fast paced novel and I loved being able to see both perspectives. I must say, the end, while bittersweet, did leave me fairly confused (emotionally). On one hand, I was freaking celebrating what happened, because that was the whole point of the book, right? Plus, it made it easier for the ship I loved to sail. Then again, I was pretty shocked at how it happened. I think I cried. Still, the ending was bittersweet and I appreciated the author for writing what I would have found hard to write.

Hope Lenzen

** spoiler alert **
           This is one of those rare books that are part of a series but if it wasn't id be happy with where it ended. 

Em and Finn are amazing and I lie the whole started out hating each other thing... On Em's side cause we could all tell Finn was into her from the beginning.

James was an ass... I didn't like him. From the start I guessed he was the doctor and when he resorted to using Marina's feelings for him to get her to do what he wanted it was the last straw. That's one of the worst things he could of done (and he did everything bad he could possibly do) and I'm proud of Marina for walking away.

I love this book and I will happily read the sequel.

And if they ever turn it into a movie... Well I'll pay to watch it

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

I MEAN- just- FEELINGS.

Also, does this NEED a sequel? Because that ending was actually pretty good and why would you need a sequel?

Jessica Nottingham

Well, I'm floored. If it was up to my current range of emotions, I'd just be babbling to you incoherently about how amazing All Our Yesterdays really is and how much you absolutely need to read this stunning debut. Luckily I still have a minor amount of brain power left to attempt a review. It's become a rarity for a book to really blow me away, but this one made it look easy. Yes friends, it's that good.

I don't care whether you classify this book as dystopian or science fiction, because in all honesty it's a bit of both. What you can classify it as is an expertly written story. Terrill takes a concept that is difficult to wrap our minds around, and manages to make it entirely plausible. Imagine a world where time travel is real. Where anything that was done was able to be undone. Where one decision ripples across the entire rest of time. What would we do with such a power? That's the question that haunts the reader as they traverse this story, and it creates a lightning fast plot.

Add to this vivid, three dimensional characters, and I was in love. Told from the alternating view points of Em and Marina, All Our Yesterdays becomes almost hypnotic in nature after a time. Events unfold from the viewpoint of each of these characters, before merging them into something that I wasn't expecting at all. The amount of raw emotion here, the perfectly flawed characters, the bold romance, it all pulls you in. I was under a spell as I watched the characters barrel towards the inevitable climax. You might manage to figure out what's coming, but you'll be powerless to stop flipping the pages.

I had no idea this was a series, and truthfully I have no idea where it's going. I say this because the ending is so perfect, so bittersweet, that I can't see where the next logical starting point is. Still, you can bet I'll be there to read whatever comes next. Cristin Terrill has written a gem of a book in All Our Yesterdays. One that will tear your heart out, make you question your choices, and create a hole that can only be filled with more story. Trust me, this book is absolutely worth your time! I wish I could travel back and experience it for the first time all over again.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

I’ve been branching out lately and reading new things that are completely out of my comfort zone. Time travel books never appealed to me. I couldn’t grasp the concept, and therefore thought it was almost silly for me to even attempt to enjoy a story like that. I was sure that I would be thoroughly confused and unable to enjoy such a story. Well, it’s a good thing I’m not ashamed to say when I’m wrong… because I was wrong.

All Our Yesterdays was, yes, a time travel book. But I never once was confused, or lost, or unable to keep straight what was going on. And it wasn’t overloaded with scientific terms, which I usually find more confusing than informative. The story flowed flawlessly and I couldn’t have been more invested in the story. It had it all – romance, suspense, excitement. The plot and pacing were incredible.

You can’t have a good story without good characters, and these characters were incredible. The relationship between Em and Finn, though partly inevitable because of their circumstance, evolved beautifully. They didn’t much like each other in the beginning, but learned to work together and become a great team. Marina and James, best buddies from early one, had such a sweet and pure relationship. Marina can’t help her love for James, and he adored her like a sister. I don’t want to give too many details away, but these characters are all intertwined. My investment in these characters only became stronger as the story unfolded. I felt like I had a personal attachment to each one.

The fact that this is Terrill’s debut novel really shocked me. Her writing style was that of an “old pro”. I also didn’t realize this was a duology until I started writing this review and visited the Goodreads page for details. I was overall completely satisfied with this ending. Though it ended wonderfully as a stand-alone novel, the fact that there’s a part 2 on the way just makes it a bit more exciting because I’d love to see more from these characters. A wonderful debut from an author to watch. If the first book is this good, who knows what’s in store for us next! ;)

(Thanks to Disney Hyperion and Netgalley for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Pamela Alvarado

All Our Yesterdays messed me up so much. It’s been about half an hour since I finished the book and I can already tell you with absolute certainty that it’s become one of my favorites.

Time travel done right,

Said the blurb, and I have to agree with it.

I mean, wow.

 

It was just so perfectly plotted

I’m not tat good at it to begin with but… I couldn’t find one plothole. Not even one. Time travel stories tend to suffer from those, and mainly because authors start having so much fun with the concept that they think that the more complex they make their time traveling, the more we’ll be wowed by it. To everyone’s dismay, they only succeed in alienating us.

But this authors’ work is so simple, and it works. It’s just damn near flawless. I can’t help comparing your typical time travel book to the doodles of a toddler who’s barely discovering the power of crayons, to the contained strokes of a sesoned artist that is All Our Yesterdays.

It’s really not that unique a book, but the execution is very well done, and that’s all I ask, really.

It has one of those satisfying open endings

So this is what has me tied up in knots, because to be honest, it’s a good ending, a perfect one even. But you know how I just prefer the complete happy ones :/

An epilogue would’ve been nice.

It doesn’t leave you hanging, so don’t worry about that, it just leaves you wanting more, which is good and bad, depending on how you look at it.

The plot twist

There is one little twist that takes place super early, and that I caught like just a page or two before it actually took place and that’s it. I was hooked from that moment on because it was just too awesome. Everything made sense and I was so excited to see where it all led.

The author keeps you on your toes

Nearing the end, I was genuinely filled with dread. I was fairly certain in the grand scheme of things, the world would be alright. But I feared for these flawed but lovely characters. At one point, shit hits the fan and I was positively terrified because this gal is not messing around, people.

Those stupid emotions

Yes, those human emotions, remember them?

They suck.

Because when everything should be straightforward and logical, the pop up like daisies and demand attention. Even in life or death situtions.

In this story, emotions and feelings are very, very much important. Because our characters can’t just easily go epic and badass and take out the bad guy. That’s actually kind of the point, because it’s all just so difficult, and we as the readers get that. And we’re right along with them wondering if they’ll beat their reservations or not.

 

Do yourself a favor and read this book!

This and more gushing and booing reviews can be found at Reverie Society too!

All Our Yesterdays

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