ARC Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
27August 5, 2013 by Alice in Readerland
“You have to kill him.”
Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.
Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.
Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.
All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.
Special thanks to Disney Hyperion and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite books I’ve read all year (some of you may remember that I named All Our Yesterdays one of my choices for Best Books of 2013). I have an eARC, but it’s the type of book that I’d love to have a physical copy of, and I hardly ever say that!
There are so many aspects of this book I enjoyed, but I’m only going to briefly talk about a few of them, because, you know:
Spoilers!
The character that I was drawn to the most was Em. She was very tough and I loved her determination to keep coming back and trying who knows how many times to fix everything.
But I also loved how much she cared and how devoted she was to Marina. I loved how she wanted Marina to have a better future and reading Em’s thoughts was really touching.
I also love how Cristin Terrill handled the flashbacks. Flashbacks, particularly in books, can be such tricky things. Often, I feel like they’re info-dumps or that they take me out of the story, but the way the flashbacks were handled (and what caused them) in All Our Yesterdays was very well done.
I really loved the writing style in All Our Yesterdays, I kept alternating between tearing through the pages because the story was so intense and trying to slow down because it was so good that I didn’t want it to end.
There are lines that will make you laugh,
there are scenes that will make you cry,
there are plenty of twists,
great fast pacing,
and an ending that will make you go:
Cynical Cindy Says
The complaint that I had about this book is in the last few chapters. Without giving too much away, I really liked that Em had compassion and love, but at the same time, it bothered me because it seemed like she was letting other characters really suffer because she wasn’t strong enough to make a choice.
I’m already very excited for the second All Our Yesterdays books. You can bet that that’s one book that I will definitely have on pre-order (and I hardly ever pre-order anything)!
Remember to come back next week to see my interview with the author, Cristin Terill, where she talks about character voices, fun stories from her days working in theatre, and of course, time travel!
Alice in Readerland 
Can’t wait to read this… been on my want to read list for a while!
I hope you love it when you read it! :)
This sounds like a really interesting idea for a book! I love time travel books and haven’t read a good one in a while.
I hope you love it! :) It took me by surprise because I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did!
Ohhhh I want to read this one SO bad!!
I hope you love it when you read it! :)
THIS is how you do a review with gifs! :D Love the Donna gif especially. All Our Yesterdays sounds really great- flashbacks are really tricky, so it’s good to hear that they’re done well. Plus plot twists are the best. Great review!
Thanks, I had a lot of fun with the gifs! :D
Sounds like an interesting book. Great review!
Thank you! :)
River, Donna and Veronica Mars gifs… this might just be my favourite post ever!
But more seriously – it does look like a fascinating book. Great review and definitely one I will consider checking out.
Thanks, I had a lot of fun looking for the gifs! :)
Seriously, this book is haunting me. I keep seeing it everywhere and everybody is raving about it. I WANT IT :D Can’t wait to get a copy!
Mel@thedailyprophecy.
I hope you love it when you read it! :)
I loved All Our Yesterdays too especially with the way it had so much heart pumping action and the way it handled time travel…the thing between Marina and Em was awesome too!
Here’s my review on All Our Yesterdays.
I loved the Em/Marina connection! :)
[…] and named it one of the best books of 2013 (you can see my ARC review of All Our Yesterdays here), so I’m very excited to welcome the author Cristin Terrill to my blog for an author […]
Flashbacks can be tough, so I am happy to hear that they were handled well! The whole story has me intrigued, so I will definitely look into it.
I was really happy with the unique way the flashbacks were handled. I hope you enjoy it too! :)
I am so terribly keen to read this novel! I actually have a copy waiting for me at the library, so yay! I’m glad you liked it, and I trust your judgement. So I am pretty sure I will end up liking it, too :D
Thank you! I really hope you like it too! :)
I’ve heard so many amazing things about All Our Yesterdays. It’s on my TBR for this month :) I’m even more excited to read it now. Great review!
I hope you love it! :) Thank you!
I seriously haven’t heard ONE bad review about this book! I LOVE your gifs on all the feelings and parts of it :) I’ll have to read it asap!
Thanks, I had fun finding the gifs! :)
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