A Review of the Out of Time Trilogy by Nadine Brandes

Hi guys.

BOY DO I HAVE A REVIEW FOR YOU TODAY.

Which is of course not in reference to the actual review, but rather the books that I'm reviewing.

Because this past month, I read the OUT OF TIME TRILOGY BY NADINE BRANDES.

I had heard sooo much praise for this trilogy from other people in the blogosphere. I was dyyyying to read these and if you remember, they were on my list of books to read in 2019. So you can imagine my excitement when I finally got them!

This trilogy blew me away, guys. It really did. And I couldn't figure out a way to make this review neat and coherent, so I really don't know what you're about to read other than a disorganized list of my thoughts on the whole thing. xD

(I was so excited to start the first book that I read ALL day just to finish the book I was reading-- I'm talking like 200-300 pages-- so I could start A Time To Die that night. xD)

(Also, spoilers will be announced and you'll have to highlight them to see them.)

THE PLOT

This trilogy is about Parvin, a girl who lives in a dystopian world where everybody has a Clock that tells them how much time they have left to live. There are also Radicals, who choose not to use their Clocks or perhaps lose them and are unable to get another one. Radicals are often sent across the Wall, which separates the civilized world from that which was destroyed many years ago. Nobody really knows what's on the other side, but they know people go there to die.

Parvin believes the sentencing of the Radicals is wrong, as a sort-of Radical herself who shares her Clock with her twin brother. Eventually she is sent across the Wall herself, and there God teaches her so much about His love and faithfulness, and plants a desire in her heart to free her people from the oppression of Clocks and the Wall.

THE CHARACTERS
PARVIN
Parvin. Was. Amazing.

SO much love for this girl. At the start of book 1, Parvin is so hopeless and has so little value for herself and her life. She hopes her and Reid's shared clock belongs to her so that she can die in a year and he can live. She feels she's wasted her life and the only thing she can think to do is write an autobiography so that she's remembered.

But then her faith in God begins to grow. She goes through trials. She goes through some pretty awful stuff. (Y'all who have read the books know that one thing we're both thinking of.) Yet in the middle of all of this, she grows stronger. She fights on and questions God and doubts herself and her faith, but every time she still comes out stronger.

Watching her grow and change and slip into the role of a leader is absolutely amazing. She's such a believable hero. That role doesn't just fall in her lap, or get handed to her; it finds her and she finds it and claims responsibility and it's fantastic.

JUDE

Okay. So Jude and I were not friends when we first met.

I mean, his entrance? Great. even though he could have shown up just a LITTLE bit sooner But I just didn't care for him for the majority of this book. I didn't hate him; it was just hard for me to really click with him and ship him with Parvin when he was so moody and hateful to her sometimes.

By the end of the series, though, my appreciation grew for him a whole lot. I still think he needs to chill out and have an attitude check, but really, where would we be without him?

WILLOW
Oh, Willow.

This girl just needs a good ol' bear hug.

She's the spunkiest, sweetest little sidekick. She and Parvin grow to care about each other a whole lot and I didn't really think I would love her so much but here we are.

And then stuff happens and in the last half or so of the trilogy... JUST SOMEBODY BRING THIS CHILD TO ME SO I CAN HUG HER AND GIVE HER COOKIES.

SOLOMON

SOLOMOOOON.

So in the first book I didn't really have any attachment to this guy because he just wasn't in it a whole lot. He had a part, but he was just so far away I didn't really feel like I knew him.

But yeah, he's definitely one of my favorite parts of the story now. (spoiler ahead) And his and Parvin's relationship? YES. YES. ONE OF MY FAVORITES. Jude who? (spoiler over)

SKELLEY CHASE

Oh boy.

I don't want to say much, but prepare yourself to hate the smell of lemons.

MRS. BLACKWATER

I can't actually remember if we were given her first name? But I love Parvin's mom. In the beginning she's the kind of person you're not sure how to feel about, so hard and seemingly uncaring. But then as time goes on you start to understand her a little more; she's just a reserved, no-nonsense kind of person. She does care about Parvin, more than Parvin realizes at first. And I love her.

THE BOOKS

A TIME TO DIE
5/5

I had really high expectations for this one, because of all the good things I'd heard about it. And it did NOT disappoint. It was a fantastic beginning and set the bar really high for the rest of the trilogy.

A TIME TO SPEAK

6/5 (I do what I want)

This booook. I think I've said it multiple times already, but I have to say it again because it's just so ironic: A TIME TO SPEAK LEFT ME SPEECHLESS.

Seriously. I can't remember the last time I was so totally blown away by a book when I finished it. Parvin's leadership in this one is just amazing. And this book in particular has my favorite God-moments, when Parvin hears Him speaking to her. My very favorite one of these is:

"I AM HERE.

But Willow! Father! Tawny!

I AM THERE."

It gave me chills.

I just can't even tell you how much I loved this one. Definitely my favorite of the trilogy.

AND THEN THAT ENDIIIING. Talk about having me almost crying on the edge of my seat!!

A TIME TO RISE

4.5/5

AND THEN THAT BEGINNIIIIING.

The beginning of this book had alll the stuff of an amazing finale. You know, that opening scene that has you pumping your fists going "YEAH MAN YOU GOT THIS! YOU'RE THE STUFF!" and also feeling the feels because you know it's almost over.

The only reason I don't rate this one a full 5/5 is that I'm really picky about finales. And after that second book, to meet my standard of finale satisfaction, it would have had to be absolutely incredible and blow book #2 out of the water. Maybe it did for some people? Just not for me.

But it was still amazing, guys!! Don't get me wrong. 10/10 recommend for the sled dogs These characters' determination to fight through and trust God and free their people is just extraordinary.

The ending satisfied me. It was a little different from what I expected, but it was victorious and full of hope. It was beautiful.

(spoiler ahead) I just want to take a minute to talk about Parvin's relationships with Jude and Solomon. When she met Solomon, of course I thought he would be her love interest. But then she met Jude, and I thought, oh, now she's either going to be with him instead of the first guy she met or not fall in love with him and be with Solomon. Either way, it's a different twist. But then Jude died, and I thought, great, now she's going to just go from loving Jude to loving Solomon because Jude's out of the picture.
But I actually really love how this was handled. I mentioned earlier I didn't support her relationship with Jude because he wasn't that great of a person to her sometimes. But when she starts to fall in love with Solomon, she realizes that the love she has for him is different from her love for Jude. She even refers to her love for Jude as a "discovery love". And this makes total sense because think about it, she's never had a close relationship with a guy before (other than her brother), and Jude shows up to save her and they travel together through thick and thin so of course she's going to care about him. But there's no question that Solomon is the one for her. This was a really long, rambly way of saying it, but I just liked how the whole romance thing was handled. (spoiler over)

Overall, this is for sure one of my new favorite trilogies. (Maybe my favorite. Who knows.) It's one of those stories that I'll be thinking about for a long time. The ones that actually get deep inside your soul and work on you. I can't say I've read very many books that legitimately inspired me, but these did. I love these books sooo much.

These are also some of the first books that have given me a book hangover. I miss Parvin already. Oh, and a day or two after  I finished, I was working on my own book and I have this one character who's in law enforcement, and in my head I called him an Enforcer. xD

So I hope you guys enjoyed my (very unstructured and random) review of this amazing trilogy. Also a quick shoutout to the author! I only discovered her and her books pretty recently, but I just adore her. Watch her YouTube channel; follow her Instagram. She is just the bubbliest, happiest, most adorable person and it's not surprising that she writes such inspiring books. You just can't help but smile when you watch her videos. I can't wait to read her other two books, Fawkes and Romanov!

So have you read the Out of Time series? (You should.) Who was your favorite character? Favorite book? Do you have any other trilogies to recommend? (I love trilogies!)