This novel promises a captivating blend of coming-of-age drama and speculative fiction. The introduction of Charlotte, a mysterious newcomer with a claim to future knowledge, immediately injects a thrilling element of uncertainty into the lives of Nell, Stevie B, and Cole. The author skillfully sets up a classic love triangle, adding layers of complexity and tension to the story.

The concept of time travel offers endless possibilities for exploration, and the idea of choosing between a familiar, comfortable life and an unknown, potentially better future is a compelling one. As the characters grapple with this life-altering decision, readers are likely to find themselves deeply invested in their choices.

With its exploration of friendship, love, and the allure of the unknown, this novel has the potential to be a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant read.

I wanted to love this since I was immediately sucked in while reading the synopsis but this reads way way too young for me. It is marketed as YA but much closer to preteen leading into YA. I think it'll pop off in that demographic but not for me unfortunately.

The way I have needed my next sci-fi book like my next breath! This was stunningly original and I am always such a sucker for a good time travel background. The mystery surrounding what the future held and why Charlotte came back for them was so intriguing and kept me going and then took me out. I loveloveloved the trio's dynamics (a classic) and the underlying concept of what it means to fight for your future.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Were they going to be able to achieve their goal? The tangling of relationships mixed in with time travel really kept my interest. I think this was a great read.

"Are we gonna be okay tomorrow? If you can't promise me forever, can you promise me tomorrow?"

Sixteen Minutes is the kind of book you read and keep thinking about weeks later. I don't know if I'll buy a copy or reread it, but I know that I'll be thinking about it for a long time. It's not a perfect book, I'll be honest about that now. It has some problems that made it hard to get through. But, to me, it's worth giving the chance. The potential not-so-great things are worth pushing through to get to the powerful stuff. The stuff that will cling to your brain and heart and hold on forever.

I love this book because it's so unashamedly honest in its portrayal of the teenage experience. There were so many quotes that I highlighted simply because they perfectly captured the essence of what it felt like to be a teenager. All of the chaos and confusion and uncertainty is wrapped up in an exciting adventure that left me breathless (sometimes literally).

I don't know if everyone would enjoy this book. But, if you're on the fence about it, I'd say give it a try. If you like YA sci-fi with time travel and small towns, read it. If you need to hear that you matter and that your life is worth more than you know, go buy this book.

I wasn't in the best headspace when I read this book, but I think it helped heal something in me. I think that Nell and Cole and Stevie B and Charlotte came together to remind me that I am important. That I matter in ways I'll never know. That my little life has the power to change individuals and maybe even the world.

What I Loved
- Nell, Cole, and Stevie B. There's no way to separate them, even just to talk about why I love them. They are a trio that is truly unbreakable, and their relationships (platonic between some and romantic between others) are written so well. They feel realistic, and their actions always make sense because of who they are.
- The "small town girl" trope. I think this will always be a special trope to me, despite not living in a small town myself. What I love the most about this part of the book is that Nell doesn't have the same arc that we usually associate with this trope. I can't explain this in more detail without spoiling parts of the ending, but just know that I think the author really understands the beauty of the ordinary and that sometimes that's enough.
- The themes. It's hard to talk about this book without launching into a whole analysis of how beautifully the themes are woven together. At it's core, this is a book about why we all matter. This message is intertwined in every moment, action, thought, and piece of dialogue, and it happens so naturally. None of the themes felt forced or heavy-handed.
- The writing style. I go back and forth on this, but I've decided that I love it. Nell's voice is so unique and powerful, which makes the narration of the story even more powerful. There were a few moments where I wondered why the author didn't switch to another POV, but it all made so much sense in the end. I also really love Nell's accent. Dialects and accents are really hit-or-miss for me, but it worked here and definitely added something extra special to the story.

What I Didn't Love
- The pacing was a little slow in the first third of the book. There were several times where I struggled to pick it back up, but every time I did, I would get sucked back in. Once the story picks up, though, it rockets off into a fast-paced story that you will not be able to put down.
- Some things don't get explained. If you want a sci-fi book where everything has a specific explanation and every single part of the story is explained, then you may not enjoy this book. There are explanations for the science-related elements, but one of the big parts of this book is discovering why the characters have to time travel in the first place. For me, the answers for this weren't enough to really wrap up that thread. I understand why the author chose to do things this way, but I didn't love it.

I received an ARC from Nancy Paulsen Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings: Blood, cursing, death, death of a parent, drug abuse, drug use, grief, gun violence, infidelity, injury/injury detail, medical content, and sexual content (kissing and alluding to sex).

I love a good time travel story, and this one is interesting, but it definitely feels more middle grade than YA, which it is marketed as. The writing is simple with very casual language in a way that didn’t feel very contemporary. I think this book would be most popular with young teenagers/older preteens.

Thank you so much for allowing me to ARC read this book.

However, I had to lowball this rating.
This book seems like it is wonderful for a kids read. However, for a teen/adult, there’s too much that is just Randy thrown in and just confused the readers.
I honestly couldn’t finish the book and had to DNF it.

2.75/5
Gripping scifi that I can appealing to 12-15 age range.
While I feel like I'm too old for the target age range I can definitely like this book is good for Grades 7-10. The characters were interesting enough that I didn't mind following them and the mystery set up at the beginning was intriguing.
I feel like the book did slog in the second half but I still liked the ending. Thought it was fine but I could see someone loving this book.
Thanks to the author and publisher for the E-ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! Here’s another one of those books I try to see from adult and YA reader age perspectives bc my rating is different for each. I try to keep my star score around the middle. As an adult reader, there were many things here that didn’t add up or left things hanging/left questions. The references to real science were neat, but it all still didn’t add up for me. I also wasn’t buying the Stevie B & Cole & Nell triangle -it just seemed unnatural and not like a real love thing. The character of Charlotte was randomly thrown into their school all of a sudden (why does she even bother to go to school?), and the lead-up to the weird circumstances and reasons why she’s there and hanging out with Cole seemed rushed, like we opened the book in the middle of the situation before we even know anyone. Charlotte and Cole are being sketchy, and Cole won’t explain himself, and then all of a sudden like the next day after Nell and Stevie question him and he won’t answer them, he and Charlotte come clean about what’s going on with really no issue. Nell also puts things together too easily with very few clues. The book is fast-paced, which I think kids will like. The characters are likable, and there’s a small-town vibe some kids can relate to. I think there’s also enough adventure and a little mystery thrown in that they’d enjoy. For me-too many holes and unrealistic parts to the narrative. For kids-a fresh story with enough mystery they’d probably like. I would rate it 2 stars but maybe 3 bc it has more appeal for kids who aren’t paying as much attention to the things it’s missing. FYI some profanity and talk of drug abuse

This is the first time I have written a review for an ARC book, so apologies that I am not as eloquent in my words as I would like to be.
Minor spoilers follow.
The book started off a bit slow for me, but I stuck with it. Once I realized how the title of "Sixteen Minutes" tied to the plot is when things got interesting and I was truly hooked.
A few of the plot points didn't entirely make sense or felt unnecessary to me, but it didn't damper the overall enjoyment of the story. Such as: why did Cole teach Nell to steal when they were children? It also seemed like as a child he knew more than he should have, and perhaps it is meant to be attributed to the aspect of quantum entanglement but it didn't seem clear to me.
The end of the book also felt a little rushed. I would have liked to see more detail in Nell and Charlotte's heist to give more emotion and emphasize the raised stakes of the clock running out. Just because they were in a hurry doesn't mean the writing has to be hurried. There could have been more emotion after as well with Nell and her mom, perhaps a more fleshed out reunion and heartfelt conversation between them to wrap things up.
Overall though, I love the book and think it is definitely worth a read. My thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

In a small, working class, pretty much nothing town in NY, we meet three high school students who have been friends forever. Nell’s dad is dead and her mom works at the penitentiary. Her boyfriend Cole has a little sister who suffers from asthma and has very dangerous breathing episodes. And the last part of the friendship triangle is Stevie B who is an amazing artist and begins realizing some of what he drew a couple yrs. ago are actually things that are happening now. When a new girl shows up at school things start to lean towards the idea that she may be from the future. This one is hard to put down.
I’ve not read Reilly’s other books, but I enjoyed this one so much that I will definitely go check them out.

✨”We're all dominoes tumbling. One into the next, throughout time. And some of us matter in extremely important ways, even though it may not seem that way to us during our lifetime."✨

I’m still thinking about this (coming of age) YA sci-fi that touches on love and the realization that the world is much larger than the bubble of our youth.

“Sixteen Minutes” took me on a path full of twists and turns! I thought the science inclusion was well-played. I could really imagine and believe in the multidimensional space and time travel throughout the story. And, I loved that the plot was laid out in a timeline around the major event, creating a suspenseful build up of tension and excitement.

I did have some difficulty gauging some of the character intentions and purpose (for example, the love triangle between friends). However, I eventually came to the conclusion that it seemed to illustrate the idea that in another time and place, with different variables, perhaps life (and the love triangle) would have played out differently.

Overall, I think this was a fun YA book that will appeal to many young readers looking for mystery, adventure, and excitement. The cover art pulled me in and will absolutely appeal to the target audience as well- 10/10 love it!

💖✨”But, I don't look back. With a final, single breath, I fill my lungs with air. And then I do it. Feet first. Heart second. Head a distant third. I jump.”✨💖

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Teen, and author K.J. Reilly for the opportunity to read and review an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an exciting adventure in time, racing to save the life of Cole's little sister but maybe also the world as we know it. I am an adult reading a book that is targeted to a much younger audience. For teens or young adults, this is an edge-of-your seat adventure that opens up the world beyond the vastness of the stars. For someone much older, it is still an edge-of-your-seat adventure while exploring the possibility of other dimensions and the soundness of space-time theories. Reilly does a great job of basing the story on theoretical ideas and stirring in enough fantasy to show that anything is possible. It has a great message about overcoming your fears and becoming a better person such as how you are seen by others close to you. I loved the very creative construct of the portal and that is was not open to just anyone walking through the opening. Considering the background of the kids, I did not understand why Cole would be teaching Nell how to steal without getting caught - I don't think this is a common thing among kids and felt that it struck an off-chord for me. I understand the basis for this later in the story, but didn't like the indication that this was an acceptable activity like earning a Boy Scout badge. Although the action mostly involves Nell and Cole, I really like Stevie B as the anchor of the group and the beacon of change for the town. I very much enjoyed this tale even though I have differing ideas about parallel universes.

When a new girl arrives claiming to be from the future, Nell and her friends face a choice that could change everything: stick with the life they know or embrace the unknown possibilities of time travel.

This was a really fast paced time travel YA novel. I have to admit - a lot of time travel and time loop stuff goes way over my head but I am a sucker for these stories every single time. I love imagining different universes and time loops and time travel and apparently, theoretically, it is possible. The author gives a whole list of books to read in the author’s note!

I liked how brave Cole, Nell and Stevie B were. I also liked how they acknowledged the multiverse. Charlotte was a mystery for sure and I really enjoyed how she and Levi fit into the story. This one went by so quick! I’d definitely recommend it for a perfect weekend read. The stakes are just high enough and it’s just tense enough to keep you finding the pages.

I was provided a digital copy for review by NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

This book is about time travel and parallel universes (multiversity ideas). There was a lot going on and I'm not sure why the main character Nell had a love triangle going on with her boyfriend Cole and friend Stevie B. That storyline was just strange. Most of the story centers around the idea if traveling through time to bring back life saving medicine for Cole's little sister. There really isn't anything else here.

The book was underwhelming and didn't really meet my expectations. However, the relationships in the book are wholesome and cute and can be enjoyable at some points. The ending did feel a bit rushed for me.

A YA novel revolving around three close friends on a quest to save loved ones and the future through time travel. I found this a bit hard to get into until the characters started asking the right questions. From there it was all suspense and some twists. A lot of questions go unanswered, but not all. Overall a beautiful story of self-discovery and friendship.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.