Review Detail

In the interest of full disclosure, you should all know that the author of The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare is a dear friend of mine. We’ve met in real life and everything. However, as ever, I stand fully behind my opinion of the book itself and don’t consider the author of the book when I’m reading. Can I just say how glad I am when I legitimately enjoy the books of author friends? I always end up wanting to throw a party in honor of awkwardness averted. Right, focus! M.G. Buehrlen’s debut novel is a strongly-plotted, intricate time travel novel which takes the reader on epic journeys to the past.

What I Loved:
I bonded with Alex Wayfare in the first chapter. She’s talking to a psychiatrist about why she pranked her teacher. Though I was about as rule-following as they came in high school, Alex’s story of a teacher not listening really resonated with me. While I’ve had a ton of amazing teachers, there have been quite a few real stinkers too, and this snippet of struggling with the academic portion of high school isn’t something I’ve seen too often in YA. Alex is, as this suggests, a bit of a rebel. When pushed, she’s strong and fights for herself. She’s also skilled with electronics (thus able to rig the teacher’s phone to buzz like in an episode of The IT Crowd – I see your reference, Mandy). In fact, Alex took refuge in electronics as a safe space away from people, who cannot be understood by taking them apart and seeing how the wires connect. Alex is prickly, a lone wolf, who’s never been close to anyone outside of her family and has the idea that pretty much everyone sucks. Some readers won’t like Alex, but I’m betting there’s going to be a major character arc here and I’m looking forward to seeing Alex open up to friends and overcome her prejudices.

For all of her life, Alex has been having these rare but traumatizing moments where she fades out and is somewhere else briefly before returning. She doesn’t know why it happens or what it means, but avoids a lot of objects as a result. Turns out that she’s a time traveler who’s lost her memories. Pretty sweet, right? I’m not going to get into this in too much detail, because Buehrlen explains it much better than I could. Suffice it to say that I am really picky about the logic of my time travel books and The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare actually works for me. Everything ties up nicely and is clearly explained, despite the complexity.

Readers who struggle with flashbacks or time jumps are, by necessity, going to have difficulties with Alex Wayfare. Personally, I don’t mind a good flashback. In fact, several of my favorite scenes are when Alex descends into a past life. Buehrlen has obviously done a lot of research into her historical time periods and has peppered them with fun references and jokes. Alex goes to the 1920s, the 1960s and into the old west. I’m not usually a fan of Westerns, but that part was so great because train robbery and spoilers.

The romance in The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare is fairly minimal thus far, but I’m curious to see how it develops. There are a couple of possibilities for Alex’s affection, but it’s still early days. Though he’s not in much of the book, I currently like Jensen the best, because he has a couple of great speeches. He’s all for being open and honest, ideals of which I very much approve. Plus, he seems smart enough to realize that he needs to be Alex’s friend first, because she’s so not ready for a relationship yet.

What Left Me Wanting More:
Alex Wayfare hasn't gotten me emotionally yet, but I am entranced with the world and hope for that in the future.

The Final Verdict:
The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare is one of my favorite time travel novels. It balances between light-hearted and heavy; it’s got a logical sciencey background but it is easy to understand too. I’m most definitely looking forward to Buehrlen’s follow-up, especially to see where in time Alex will go next!