Sixteen Minutes by K.J. Reilly // A Book Review

Summer of 2024 was all about the ARCs, and I had the time of my life reading so many incredible stories written by such talented authors. Each book has been so unique, and Sixteen Minutes is no exception.

I found the author of Sixteen Minutes on Instagram, and her posts intrigued me enough to request it on Netgalley. It also helped that the cover was so pretty. I mean, it’s pink and magical and so romance-coded. I saw that it was about time travel or something, and while I don’t read a ton of sci-fi, I requested it anyway.

And I was not disappointed.

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The Review

“Are we gonna be okay tomorrow? If you can’t promise me forever, can you promise me tomorrow?”

Sixteen Minutes is the kind of book you read and keep thinking about weeks later. I don’t know if I’ll buy a copy or reread it, but I know that I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. It’s not a perfect book, I’ll be honest about that now. It has some problems that made it hard to get through. But, to me, it’s worth giving the chance. The potential not-so-great things are worth pushing through to get to the powerful stuff. The stuff that will cling to your brain and heart and hold on forever.

I love this book because it’s so unashamedly honest in its portrayal of the teenage experience. There were so many quotes that I highlighted simply because they perfectly captured the essence of what it felt like to be a teenager. All of the chaos and confusion and uncertainty is wrapped up in an exciting adventure that left me breathless (sometimes literally).

I don’t know if everyone would enjoy this book. But, if you’re on the fence about it, I’d say give it a try. If you like YA sci-fi with time travel and small towns, read it. If you need to hear that you matter and that your life is worth more than you know, go buy this book.

I wasn’t in the best headspace when I read this book, but I think it helped heal something in me. I think that Nell and Cole and Stevie B and Charlotte came together to remind me that I am important. That I matter in ways I’ll never know. That my little life has the power to change individuals and maybe even the world.

I received an ARC from Nancy Paulsen Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings

Blood, cursing, death, death of a parent, drug abuse, drug use, grief, gun violence, infidelity, injury/injury detail, medical content, and sexual content (kissing and alluding to sex).

What I Loved

Nell, Cole, and Stevie B. There’s no way to separate them, even just to talk about why I love them. They are a trio that is truly unbreakable, and their relationships (platonic between some and romantic between others) are written so well. They feel realistic, and their actions always make sense because of who they are.

The “small town girl” trope. I think this will always be a special trope to me, despite not living in a small town myself. What I love the most about this part of the book is that Nell doesn’t have the same arc that we usually associate with this trope. I can’t explain this in more detail without spoiling parts of the ending, but just know that I think the author really understands the beauty of the ordinary and that sometimes that’s enough.

The themes. It’s hard to talk about this book without launching into a whole analysis of how beautifully the themes are woven together. At it’s core, this is a book about why we all matter. This message is intertwined in every moment, action, thought, and piece of dialogue, and it happens so naturally. None of the themes felt forced or heavy-handed.

The writing style. I go back and forth on this, but I’ve decided that I love it. Nell’s voice is so unique and powerful, which makes the narration of the story even more powerful. There were a few moments where I wondered why the author didn’t switch to another POV, but it all made so much sense in the end. I also really love Nell’s accent. Dialects and accents are really hit-or-miss for me, but it worked here and definitely added something extra special to the story.

What I Didn’t Love

The pacing was a little slow in the first third of the book. There were several times where I struggled to pick it back up, but every time I did, I would get sucked back in. Once the story picks up, though, it rockets off into a fast-paced story that you will not be able to put down.

Some things don’t get explained. If you want a sci-fi book where everything has a specific explanation and every single part of the story is explained, then you may not enjoy this book. There are explanations for the science-related elements, but one of the big parts of this book is discovering why the characters have to time travel in the first place. For me, the answers for this weren’t enough to really wrap up that thread. I understand why the author chose to do things this way, but I didn’t love it.

Favorite Quotes

These are from an ARC, so quotes are subject to change in the final, published version.

“But each and every time, it felt like we were flying. And soaring like that, falling away from this place, felt like we were sneaking some thrill we weren’t meant to have . . . and in that moment we’d know we were alive.”

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“We’re all dominoes tumbling. One into the next, throughout time. And some of us matter in extremely important ways, even though it may not seem that way to us during our lifetime.”

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“There is magic to this life. And now I know that the magic is us, in the here and now. And that it’s precious.”

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Listen to my Sixteen Minutes playlist

My Rating

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About the Book

When a new girl arrives in town, seemingly from the future, three teens’ lives are turned upside down in this speculative YA novel full of love and loss, and the power of the unknown.

Seventeen-year-old Nell knows two things for sure—she’s never going to get out of her rural, dead-end hometown of Clawson, NY and her best friend Stevie B and longtime boyfriend Cole are never going to leave her. That is until Charlotte, a new girl, arrives at their school and their lopsided friend triangle is turned on its axis. While Nell and Stevie B are certain that Charlotte isn’t who she says she is, Cole is caught fully in her thrall. There are secret calls and meetings between the two, and Nell knows Cole is keeping something big from her. Now, for the first time in their lives, Nell worries she could lose Cole.

When Nell and Stevie B finally confront Cole and Charlotte, they learn the impossible—Charlotte is actually from the future, and for life altering reasons none of them could have imagined, she wants Cole to jump to the future with her, leaving Nell behind. It’s dangerous, it’s reckless, but Charlotte convinces them that it’s the only choice they have. The trio’s future has always seemed set—but with the knowledge that time travel is real, and with a multiverse of futures before them, they now have the option to live lives they could have only dreamed about. The only questions are, who will take the leap and who will be left behind.

About the Author

Let’s Talk!

Have I convinced you to add Sixteen Minutes to your TBR? Are you a big sci-fi reader? Do you like time travel and small town stories? Let’s talk all things YA sci-fi in the comments below!