The Clay Lion

The story:

In a society where time travel exists but is strictly relegated, eighteen-year-old Brooke decides to use her one allotted trip to save her beloved brother Branson, who died of a mysterious illness. When she “jumps” into the body of her younger self with the purpose of changing the past, she meets Charlie, a handsome young man with whom she shares an instant connection. In the end, can she affect history so that there are happy endings for all concerned? Or will she just end up making it worse?


What I loved:

Everything. I love time-travel stories, but honestly, the science of time travel barely has a function in this story other than to serve as a prop for what is, at its heart, a character study. If you could change something in your past, make one thing right, what would it be? Brooke’s journey begins as that of a grieving sister unable to accept loss, but as the story progresses, and she is faced with the consequences of her denial, that’s when the book hits a home run for me. All the main characters resonated with me, particularly Brooke and Charlie. Amalie Jahn’s writing flows smoothly and effortlessly, and I honestly had a hard time putting this book down!


What I didn’t love:

I can’t think of anything offhand. There was just enough science explained to make the time-travel aspect of the story plausible, and while some might burrow into the plot to find holes, I found no glaring ones. The story holds together quite well.


My Final Verdict:

The Clay Lion is a wonderful YA story that I highly recommend. If you are partial to stories about love found and love lost, sprinkled in with a sci-fi twist, then this is the book for you.

Super interesting premise keeps you guessing! You'll get sucked into Brooke's story from the first pages!

If I could give 4.5 stars I would! The story was great and well developed characters. I thought that the time traveling back to save her brother would get old, but each trip was vastly different and held my attention. Well done!