Teen Reader Recommends: This Is How You Lose the Time War

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Moher and Max Gladstone

From the minds of Amal El-Moher and Max Gladstone comes a truly revolutionary science fiction epic called This is How You Lose the Time War. For being a novella, this book manages to pack a lot into 147 pages. In dual point of views, two sworn enemies on opposite sides of a war through time leave each other letters that start out taunting and end with devotion. This book truly takes the reader time traveling as certain events take place that aren’t revealed until the very last page. I remember finishing the book and immediately turning back to the first chapter to watch it all click into place. I can’t remember a time I’ve been more satisfied and shocked by an ending. 

Besides its incredible story structure, the book’s prose is poetic. Each chapter begins with a letter littered with slightly vague pop-culture references next to tender expressions of love and taunting attitudes. The love affair between these two women is incredibly poignant and intense in the face of sure tragedy, but the book practically aches with hope. Red and Blue’s love story is one of the greatest I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. 

This book isn’t for everyone. Time travel can be a little confusing as a concept, and each chapter introduces a different piece of an ever enlarging puzzle with no clear picture. That said, it made the book really engaging because I wanted answers to my questions. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction or time travel and wants a fresh take on the genre.

— submitted by New Trier student Charlotte R.