Invictus

This book doesn't come out until September, but I was lucky enough to get the ARC at TLA.  After hearing the pitch and seeing the cover, I couldn't wait to get started, and I wasn't disappointed!  Invictus has everything:  time travel, plot twists, the fate of the universe up for grabs!  This is one of the best books I've read this year.  Seriously, pre-order it now, and wait anxiously for September's arrival.

Farway McCarthy was born out of time.  His mother was a recorder in the Corps, traveling throughout time to record the past for enlightenment and entertainment.  On a trip to ancient Rome, she got pregnant, and the baby, Far, was born on a time ship in the grid, the void outside of time.

The lack of a real birthday and the mystery of his parentage have always been a minor annoyance to Far but nothing more.  By the time Far is ready to take his own final exam sim to be a member of the Corps, his mother and her crew have been missing for years.  He doesn't just want to be a time traveler for adventure's sake.  He is hoping to find his mother.

When Far fails his exam under suspicious circumstances, he is bereft.  But then another opportunity arrives.  Far has the chance to be captain of his own ship with his own crew stealing artifacts from the past.  This kind of time travel is riskier, but the pay is much better, and he'll have plenty of chances to search for his mother.

Far is enjoying his rebel existence until a strange girl shows up to ruin a job and blackmail her way onto the crew.  Who is Elliot, and what game is she really playing?

Ryan Graudin's new book is a thrilling time travel adventure that will keep you guessing and missing sleep as you race toward the conclusion.  Highly recommended for grades 8 and up.