They are diverse in both sexuality and race, both aspects intricately intertwined with the mystery that unfolds in the past and present. However, I did appreciate the wide range of characters. If you’re easily confused by names and many characters, this book might not be for you! It took me half of the book to connect which teenagers in the past grew up to be which parents. Speaking of characters, there are a lot of them to keep track of. While not all of them worked for me, how Lyga manages them was impressive. There are multiple subplots happening at all times. Overall, I loved the way the story builds tension, every chapter felt purposeful. It’s a nice edition but not as plot-relevant as I had hoped.īarry Lyga constantly plays with our perception of events and characters, providing the reader with more information than the characters in the book. A fictional NPR podcast that pops up occasionally was one of my favourite aspects, but it didn’t deliver on the level I had hoped. The switches in both POV and time kept the pace up and were easier to follow than I initially anticipated.

I love stories that use multiple POVs and multimedia aspects and on that front Time Will Tell definitely delivers. The story switches between past and present, following our teenage heroes and their parents as events surrounding the time capsule unfold. Time Will Tell follows four teenagers who dig up a time capsule their parents buried 30 years ago…and find evidence of a murder inside. Trigger warnings: mentions and descriptions of violence, mention of suicide, murder, racism, homophobia An Expansive Story Full Of Layers

I received a free ALC from Hachette Audio in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Time Will Tell is an ambitious YA thriller about family secrets and friendship that also explores racism and homophobia. The teens haven’t just unearthed a time capsule: they’ve also dug up pain and secrets that someone–maybe one of their own parents–is willing to kill for.

I didn’t mean to kill anyone.”Īs the action alternates between the present day and 1986, the mystery unfolds and the sins of the past echo into today. But in addition to the expected ephemera of mixtapes, Walkmans, photographs, letters, toys, and assorted junk, Elayah, Liam, Marcie, and Jorja discover something sinister: a hunting knife stained with blood and wrapped with a note. A young-adult thriller ricocheting between the bigotry of the past and present as teens unravel their parents’ secrets.įour teens have dug up the time capsule that their parents buried in 1986 and never bothered to recover.

Only time will tell book