Book Review: Amendments by Hannah Lynn

 
 
In Unity, everyone gets two amendments---two chances to go back in time and change something from their past. Em would love to use hers to make a happy life with Gabe and get a job she can enjoy, but her sister's alcoholism and reckless decisions are on ongoing problem, and Em might have to choose between the two.

Book Review: Amendments by Hannah Lynn | reading, books, book reviews, science fiction, time travel, dystopian
Title: Amendments
Author:
Pages: 360
My Rating: 3 Stars
More Info: Goodreads, Amazon
 

Review:

I normally avoid books that deal with time travel because I tend to have a lot of issues with how its portrayed, but the first few pages of this book were dark and well-written and convinced me to give it a go. I mostly enjoyed this but did have a few issues, so I’ll do some lists and get the negatives out of the way first.

Things I Disliked:

The book felt long. Maybe just too much description for me.

– The plot didn’t have a solid goal, and I tend to get impatient with plots like that. But in the end, it made sense why the author started and ended where she did. It was basically one turning point in the main character’s life to another turning point.

Some of Em’s decisions frustrated me. They were believable, but they weren’t the decisions I’d have made, and I kind of wanted to shake her and tell her not to do that.

– Em used the word ‘cripple’ to refer to someone in a wheelchair a couple times. It’s believable that someone would say that, but I’m not sure it was necessary to the story.

There were a couple things about the time travel that didn’t quite make sense to me.

Things I Liked:

This book was dark. I like dark. But it wasn’t hopelessly dark.

The characters were realistic, complex, and imperfect. And their relationships were imperfect, both the romance and the sister relationship.

– While there were a couple things that bothered me about the time travel, I was able to just roll with this version because I liked how the author explored the potential consequences and ramifications of such a society, one that allows citizens to travel back in time and do things differently, but with rules and regulations.

The time travel also made the book thought-provoking. It made me think about whether I would amend if I could, exactly when I’d go back to, what I’d change, what I’d put in my letter. It also made me think about how different society and life would be if people could amend. Would anything you do really matter? Chances are it would just be amended by someone eventually since people were constantly turning back time. That would be an unsettling way to live. And if people were constantly turning time back, how would society move forward? Would the benefits of being able to amend really outweigh the negatives? I love when books make me think.

Other:

– I’m not sure if this will be part of a series. The way it ended felt like closure, but then one little thing happened that created an opening for the story to continue, and it seems like the author might still have more in mind.

Overall:

Although I did have some issues, I thought this was a good story with a unique premise, and I really enjoyed how dark and thought-provoking it was!

 

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  1. Jennilyn

    Loving the balanced review. And as usual you feature books that are so out of my radar. I am not familiar with Amendments until now. It’s strange how I love movies about time travel (Looper, Predestination, About Time, among others) but I don’t really read any time travel books. I have to remedy that in the future. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Thanks! I don’t know if I’ve seen any movies about time travel, but I have read a few books, so we’re the opposite lol. I hope you find some time travel books you like ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Lola

    I don’t care for time travel at all and usually just get annoyed about how it doesn’t make sense and am unable to enjoy the book then. Although I have read some time travel books I did enjoy and am willing to pick one up if the premise really interest me. This one does sound pretty unique with how they only have to amendments.

    The time travel thing in this book probably would bother me too with how it doesn’t make sense, but I do like the sound of how there were rules and regulations surrounding the time travel, that sounds pretty realistic. That’s too bad this one felt so long. The characters and relationships do sound well done and realistic, even if you didn’t always like Em’s behavior and decisions. Great review!

    1. Kristen Burns

      I get annoyed at how it doesn’t make sense too, but I’ve started learning how to just kind of accept it despite the parts that don’t make sense when the book sounds interesting enough. And this one did sound interesting and totally hooked me with the first few pages.

      I definitely liked the complex characters at least! Thanks!

  3. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

    I really do enjoy time travel books… when they’re done well. And there’s the kicker. Because it’s a plot device that can go so wrong. But when it can seem plausible and , like you mentioned, actually be thought-provoking, that’s a win. Nice that this one had that going for it.

    1. Kristen Burns

      For me, there’s only one version of time travel that makes sense and that won’t annoy me. Have you ever read The Time Traveler’s Wife? That kind. But I’m learning to just accept the other kinds, and I really did like the thought-provoking aspects here!

    2. Kristen Burns

      For me, there’s only one version of time travel that makes sense and that won’t annoy me. Have you ever read The Time Traveler’s Wife? That kind. But I’m learning to just accept the other kinds, and I really did like the thought-provoking aspects here!

      1. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

        Funny you should mention The Time Traveler’s Wife. I’ve had that one sitting on my bookshelf for probably close to 10 years. And still haven’t read it. At this point I swear I have some kind of mental block about it. The synopsis seems kind of confusing and over the years I have built it up in my head to be this totally convoluted kind of time travel that I won’t understand. That I’ll be totally lost the entire time and it will ruin the book for me. Ridiculous, no? Every year I promise myself “this is the year I will finally read The Time Traveler’s Wife!” But I remain convinced it’ll be so over my head that I never do. *sigh*

        1. Kristen Burns

          I read it years ago before I was a blogger, and I’m always hesitant to rec books I read pre-blogging because I’m never sure if the book was actually good or if I was just easily impressed lol. It was quite dark, but well-written. And it’s one of the only time travel books I read that was 100% believable with the time travel. The blurb is confusing, but it makes more sense once you read it. It’s the kind of time travel where any future traveling to the past has already happened in the past.

  4. Angela

    What an interesting premise! This one would definitely make me think, too, and I’m interested in how the time travel works in society, the rules, etc.

  5. Greg

    Cool idea. I want amendments lol. But yeah time travel is tough and I know you’re not usually a fan. ๐Ÿ™‚ Glad this one mostly worked. And yay for complex characters! And yes that is pretty thought provoking! I feel like society would very quickly be a mess! And how would one’s right to amend be curtailed when it affects someone else- and how on earth would they regulate THAT? Makes the brain hurt thinking about it. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Kristen Burns

      Right? Gotta be honest, I could use some amendments myself lol. I’m learning to just kind of accept the time travel, even though it bothers me, when the story sounds interesting enough. I don’t know that society would be a mess, just that it would never advance. If at least one person went back in time each day, even if they only went back to the previous day, society would be forever stuck on that date. Are there are some people who go back like 50 years and redo their whole life! So yeah, lots to think about!

  6. Crystal @ Lost in Storyland

    I haven’t read this book, but time travel are interesting because of how they explore the potential consequences and ramifications of having the ability to travel through time. This sounds like an interesting read ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra

    I usually enjoy books with time travel, but I think I just tend to kind of roll with it even if it doesn’t quite make sense, lol. The premise of Amendments sounds pretty good though in spite of the book’s issues. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.

  8. verushka

    Oh the blurb does ask an interesting question, I think, and the author explores the possibilities in the book as a result — great review Kristen — and introduction to an intriguing book.

  9. Bookworm Brandee

    I’m not sure this book would be for me considering your issues – I don’t like many of those things either, especially the undefined plot and the poor decision making on the part of the protagonist. But I’m happy you found some good in it, Kristen. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  10. Becky @ A Fool's Ingenuity

    Books should never feel like even if they are long because you should be sucked into the story and not counting the pages left (unless you’re counting because you just know there’ll be a cliffhanger as there is absolutely no way all the story threads will be resolved in so few pages). That’s definitely a mark down for this. But the premise does sound interesting, I actually really like time travel books (but agree that often time travel isn’t always dealt with well) so I liked the idea of being able to have the chance to alter things but can see how that would be so difficult to write well because there are so many issues with time travel. I can see how this might have gone wrong.

    1. Kristen Burns

      Maybe you have a point, but I think I’ve also been having a hard time concentrating, so a lot of slower-paced books have felt long. See, I just can’t ever accept the whole being able to alter things premise of time travel because it doesn’t make sense! But it actually was more believable in this one than in other books I’ve read with that type of time travel. If you like time travel, you’d probably like that aspect.

  11. Olivia Roach

    I love time travel as a theory and something to play around with. Doctor Who used to be and sort of still is one of my all time favourite shows and I am amazed at how well they handle and play around with time travel. They complicate it so much but it all makes sense! Looper, the movie, does a good job with it too. Books and time travel is something I have a harder time enjoying because it often goes wrong… it sounds like there were some elements here to the time travel as well which didn’t work, so I wouldn’t pick it up. But it doesn’t sound like a bad book all in all! It sounds like an okay read.

    1. Kristen Burns

      It can definitely be interesting. My problem is just that there’s only one version of time travel I can truly accept. All others have flaws that don’t make sense to me. I’ve never seen Looper? I’ll have to look it up. This was definitely not a bad book though!