I do loves me a good YA read, and this was one that was incredibly original and I was utterly hooked.
In the Secret Runners of New York we meet Skye and her twin brother Red. They have just moved into their mother's boyfriends very affluent building in New York and start at an incredibly prestigious private school.
As the rumours of the impending apocalypse are circulating and people are seriously considering how to cope with the incoming gamma cloud that will knock out all electrics (including most people), Skye and her brother join the most exclusive gang of all...The Secret Runners of New York. This running club have access to a portal underneath Manhattan that takes them into the future. Skye realises that the apocalypse rumours aren't rumours at all...but devastating reality. Can you use the knowledge of the future to alter the present? Or can you only sit and wait for your fate to come to you?
I've read mixed reviews for this book and as I've never read a Matthew Reilly book before I have nothing to compare this to, but I have to say I absolutely loved it!
A huge part of this story is Rich Kid Problems. Which I have to admit I've not read too much of, but it's fluff that I devoured! The social hierarchies of not only the kids but their parents, the worries and emphasis that they place on material things like 'what designer dress are you getting for this ball' and having your life all mapped out for you so studying and working hard is not so much a worry. Madness!
I was a little wary of the time travel element at first. I wasn't sure how this was going to fit into what is essentially a school drama but Reilly has written his story so cleverly that it's seamless. The eeriness of The Other Manhattan juxtaposed with the current day bustling Manhattan was brilliant.
There are characters that you kind of love to hate, and in this book it was Misty...ooh how I wanted her to get her comeuppance!
If you love your stories like Stranger Things (as the future New York reminded me of The Upside Down) then this is the book for you!
A 4 star read for me.
I would like to thank Readers First and Hot Key Books for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.