Character Interview: Em from All Our Yesterdays

Interview:

I am so, so happy to have Em here today for y'all! She's the main (and my favorite) character in All Our Yesterdays. She's a total badass, and I completely wanna be like her. But anyway, please welcome her and understand that she's a little bit uncomfortable answering questions.

Favorite color?

I used to love pink. Now I’d just be happy to see anything other than the blue of my prison uniform and the white walls of my cell.

Skittles or M&M's?

Oh my God, candy! I haven’t had anything sweet in months. I would kill someone for some peanut butter M&Ms right now.

Who explained the time paradox theory to you, and how?

I’m sorry, I don’t talk about him.

Do you remember anything at all from your previous trips back into time?

No. The person who made those trips had my face, but she wasn’t me. More than a dozen different versions of me that I’ll never know have broken out of this cell.

Describe yourself and Finn in three words.

Together in everything.

Favorite book & movie from before?

Ironically, my favorite book used to be A Wrinkle in Time, but I don’t think I could ever read it again knowing what I know now about time travel. My favorite movie was The Breakfast Club.

*Woot, love A Wrinkle in Time!*

What is it like in the prison?

Hours and hours of boredom punctuated by moments of extreme terror. If it weren't for Finn’s voice next door, I would have given up months ago.

What's your favorite memory of before?

All the best times in my old life have become the most painful to remember now. They just remind me of what I’ve lost, so I try not to think about before.

A Little about the author:
 Cristin Terrill is a young adult author and aspiring grown-up. She grew up semi-nomadic and graduated from Vassar College with a degree in drama. After getting her masters in Shakespeare Studies from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, she lived in London, Austin, Boston, and Washington, DC while working as a theatrical stage manager. Now she writes and leads creative writing workshops for DC-area kids and teens. All Our Yesterdays is her first novel.

Connect with the Author:
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All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for Blog Tour
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: September 3, 2013

"You have to kill him." Imprisoned in the heart of a secret military base, Em has nothing except the voice of the boy in the cell next door and the list of instructions she finds taped inside the drain.

Only Em can complete the final instruction. She’s tried everything to prevent the creation of a time machine that will tear the world apart. She holds the proof: a list she has never seen before, written in her own hand. Each failed attempt in the past has led her to the same terrible present—imprisoned and tortured by a sadistic man called the doctor while war rages outside.

Marina has loved her best friend James since the day he moved next door when they were children. A gorgeous, introverted science prodigy from one of America’s most famous families, James finally seems to be seeing Marina in a new way, too. But on one disastrous night, James’s life crumbles apart, and with it, Marina’s hopes for their future. Now someone is trying to kill him. Marina will protect James, no matter what. Even if it means opening her eyes to a truth so terrible that she may not survive it. At least not as the girl she once was.

All Our Yesterdays is a wrenching, brilliantly plotted story of fierce love, unthinkable sacrifice, and the infinite implications of our every choice.

Like I've said before, science fiction isn't really my thing. But I wanted to try this one, because let's face it, time travel? Awesome! And again (just like before) I was pleasantly surprised! It turned out to be a fantastic premise, which was backed up by several different theories...that weren't too sciency.

Em was a good character for me-- she seems like a total bad-ass, but she doesn't act robotic (a.k.a., do everything you would expect a bad-ass to do). She makes a bunch of good choices and several bad ones, but the thing that I liked most about her was just....I don't know. Her. Does that make sense at all? I liked that she wasn't afraid to tell Finn exactly how it was, and that she never backed down. She did what she knew was right, in the end. But it's really weird, because she's not necessarily the one who did it. She got it going, though.

I really enjoyed the chapters from Marina's point of view-- they were so innocent compared to Em's, but they gave me new perspective on the entire story. Honestly, I wish I could reveal more, but for the sake of spoilers I'll leave it be!

The romance between Finn and Em was adorable. It wasn't all in your face like some books do it, but it was subtle and I enjoyed it. It was sweet and cute, and I hope to see more romances like that in the future.

And honestly, I hope to see more plotting like this in the future too. Because the plot was rock-hard awesome, and I couldn't have asked for more twists and turns. It kept the story moving at a good pace, and I was never confused or left wondering what had happened, which is really all I can hope for. That, and a fantabulous ending. Which I also got, if you were curious. ;)

All in all, All Our Yesterdays really delivered an awesome story. I never saw it coming.