To be honest, at first I was attracted to this book because of the cover. After I read the summary, I was thorn between reading it and not reading it. This book seems intriguing, and based on the summary, the type of book that I like to read. Minus the time-traveling part that is. I usually avoid time-travel stories as much as I could. So I decided to let fate decide for me; if my request was approved by the publisher, then I’ll read it. If it wasn’t, then no love lost. Or so I thought at that time.

My request was approved the next day, and I immediately started reading when I was more awake this morning. I didn’t expect myself getting hooked just after reading the the first few chapters. I was on my tablet all morning, I couldn’t put the “book” down.

The book is about Corina Marion, a sixteen year-old girl from a small town called Sadler. She has developed a resentment for her father, whom she only knows in letters, and has never met face-to-face before, because he was a Red Cross doctor in the war. When her father died, she was angry—angry because her mother was devastated and couldn’t seem to let go, angry because people expect her to feel things when she didn’t even know him, and angry because everyone kept talking about this war hero even though they didn’t really know him. Through Corina’s narration, I felt slightly angry too. That was one of my fatal flaws, judging without knowing the whole truth.

Corina was given the chance to learn about her father by this old man who seems to have magic. She was sent to the past. So, the time-traveling has begun. I thought it would give me a headache or made me frustrated, like what time-traveling stories always did to me (I watch movies) because of the consequences and such. Surprisingly, it didn’t happen. It was easy to go through. Because according to that old man, none of Corina’s actions would have consequences to the future. She could tell her father who she really is, and it won’t affect anything a.k.a no headache and frustrations for me.

When Corina first met her father, the 22 year-old version of her father, she was wary. But as she get to know him, her views about her father started to change. I know mine did. Luther Marion wasn’t what I expected at all. But even so, some of Corina’s anger was still there. The second time she met her father, it was the 31 year-old version of him. He still have memories of Corina from all those years ago, although it was only a few minutes (hours?) ago for Corina, thanks to the time-traveling. I really love reading the interaction between Corina and her father. Corina’s voice was fun to read, she was witty, and so was her father. They have developed something akin to friendship between them. Corina realized that what she thought about her father was wrong. So, for everyone of you who gets emotional easily, this is a good time to take out your tissue papers or handkerchief. My tears were running down my face as I read this part, before Corina had to time-travel again to see another version of her father.

The third time Corina met her father, it was the 45 year-old(?) version of her father. She was in the middle of a war zone in China. From her previous encounter with her father, I had a feeling that the gears in Luther’s head was turning. And I wasn’t disappointed. After Corina saved her father, he revealed that he knew Corina’s identity. And again, my dam bursts. I cried, again. She accused her father of promising her mother that he’ll come home, which caused her mother to live in some kind of fantasy. And she asked why. Why her father decided to join the Red Cross when he could’ve live a quiet life as a doctor in Sadler? It was heartbreaking, when Corina finally get to listen to her father’s side of the story. It made me start crying again. And I cried again when Corina finally had to leave. They had just reconciled, and they didn’t get to spend time together as father and daughter when not in mortal danger. She finally called him dad when they hugged, and I just can’t seem to stop crying at this point.

To sum it up, this book will definitely take you on an emotional roller coaster ride, and it won’t disappoint you. It is a heartwarming, heartbreaking, and bittersweet tale as Corina gets to know her father, and at the same time, discover things about herself. The number of time I cried shows how great this book is. For readers who love reading about father-daughter stories, this book is definitely for you. But I will most definitely recommend this book to everyone. I promise you, it will hook you from the start, like it did to me.