I don't know what I expected when I started this, but it wasn't the book I got and if I could give this more than five stars, I would. 
 In so many ways, it shouldn't work - there are so many threads within the pages, so many different themes of love, friendship, sci-fi, growing up, family, history, finding your place, alternate universes and traditions that it would have been so easy for the storyline to get muddled and bogged down, but when I read it, every page held my attention and every time I had to put it down, it filled me with this antsy regret that I couldn't keep reading. 
 The central character is Natalie and she has always been different. She's the adopted daughter of two wonderful parents, the elder sister to twins and she has never felt as though she belongs. Since she was a child she had dreams of an older woman, Grandmother, who would tell her various parables from the First Nations and the book starts with Grandmother telling Natalie that she has 3 months left to save someone. What follows on from there is a time travel sci-fi lovestory very much grounded in a very realistic world. It sounds odd, but whilst reading it, I never felt 'this is ridiculous - it's not even possible' it felt like something that of course could happen. 
 Natalie is a wonderful narrator - she felt real. Confident in herself (or at least good at faking it), complex and layered - she never felt caricaturish, and reading on, even when you don't agree with her, you understand her. When her resolve wavers, you understand because it feels like a genuine reaction. I felt invested in her very quickly, which isn't always the case. 
 Beau is just the most wonderful character - he had a Tim Riggins feel, although perhaps even more likeable and when the twist came, I got why Grandmother had put the events into motion, as messed up as it was in some ways, because how could you not? 
 The First Nation stories used to tie the story together was such a wonderful decision - I found myself reading them and trying to work out how they tied it together. It was clever without feeling too clever and it ended perfectly...which you don't get to say that often with YA books. 
 I just can't really say enough about it...I would have read 300 more pages and been happy to do so. I get that for some people it may be a completely different experience, but for whatever reason, this story, and how it was told, really grabbed me and I'm so happy that it did.