What do you get when you cross a group of fourteen year old girls with New Years Eve, stolen alcohol and no parental supervision? In the case of Gemma Sinclair and her friends a time capsule, containing predictions for each other's lives, not to be opened for ten years. And what do you get when thirteen years later when that time capsule is re-discovered? A whole lot of forgotten memories and one girl's uncannily accurate predictions. She couldn't have truly seen their destinies... could she?
In order to agree with letting Gemma and her friends Nikki and Fay spend New Years Eve with no supervision, Gemma's parents insisted that they be joined by the daughter of the colleague they were going to a party with. Miranda was an enigma, dressed head to toe in black with her hair tied off her face with a long headscarf. It was she who supplied the contraband vodka, she who proposed the timecapsule, and when it is reopened she who made the predictions that scare the other three girls. For Gemma, at a crossroads in her life, it is the predictions that have not yet come true that are the most concerning. It is in her predictions for Gemma's future that Miranda cautions her against marrying the first person who asks her... but her long term commitment-phobic boyfriend Adam has just proposed... and she said yes!
Gemma feels hugely panicked by the fact that in marrying Adam she could be about to fulfil one more of Miranda's predictions. So she enters a period of doubt and soul searching whilst trying to track Miranda down to find out what she meant by her warning. Whilst the escapades don't reach the hilarity of other novels they are still entertaining, and keep you entertained and interested.
The characters are well created, and the plot is somewhat original. The ending is a little unexpected, but I did feel that the twist was a little unoriginal - it almost felt like the author herself didn't know how to get out of the tale she had spun.
This is an enjoyable read, but sadly didn't live up to the potential heights it could have reached. A bit of a disappointment really.
Like this? Try Why Not? by Shari Low
