Time Riders (review)

Sal, Liam, and Maddy, three teens moments away from death, are saved to become time riders, individuals who protect a future world from the various shifts caused by time travel. The three kids are just settling in as a team and learning their respective roles when a particularly critical time shifts occurs, separating the trio and sending two first to a New York in a realm where Germany has conquered all and then to a post-apocalyptic wasteland peopled by creepy near-humans who evolved out of the disaster. Suddenly the time for trial runs, jokes and bonding, and guidance is over, as the kids recognize that if they don't right things quickly, they will be stuck, along with everyone else, in a world that never should have been. Though the tags that identify the kids' different ethnicities and eras get overused, the characters are expertly developed, each displaying vulnerabilities and quirks that make them memorable as individuals, even as their unique features mesh well into an unstoppable, loyal team. Both their horror at their near deaths and the terrifying potential consequences of time travel and their excitement at the adventure of their new lives feel authentic, and readers will likely identify with their acceptance of the risk that comes along with their quest. This is a brilliantly paced, fascinating look at the ways in which one seemingly small change can ripple out to—literally—the end of the world.