Convergence holds a promising premise. There’s time
traveling, a long-standing war, and three middle-schoolers stuck in between. At
first glance, any science fiction lover would be drawn to Trudie Hayes’s tale.
The story starts during the first day of school, a daunting event
for any middle schooler, and even more so to the three protagonists of the
story. Chandler comes from a privileged family who has fallen on hard times,
while Marissa lives with her mother who works diligently to provide for her
daughter, and Otis, a seemingly smart and prodigal child, lives with his wise
and supportive grandmother. At first
glance, all three are polar opposites, from capabilities to up-bringing and
looks, but they’ll soon discover that they have one thing in common: a purpose,
a task they must fulfill and a role they must play.
The book started off with this promise of adventure and
thrill. Just getting to school for the three main characters was an event
within itself, and as a reader, I was excited to see where and how the story
will unfold further. However, as it progressed, I found some of the details a
bit confounding and as a result, hard to follow. In fact, I often echoed some of the
characters’ confusion in some chapters, re-reading paragraphs once and even
twice over. Even after that, I was left still wondering what the author really
meant, or where the story was truly going.
Despite this, there is one redeeming fact that I found
admirable about Ms. Hayes’s work. Despite her characters’ differences, she
manages to find a common thread between them, to allow them to work through the
confusion of time traveling, through their various tasks and roles, within
various different worlds. With this, she sends a powerful message: that anyone
can work together (despite disagreements and silly spats) for a common and
greater good.
I wish the book delivered this message clearer, rather than
being muddled by its weak execution. The message to its readers is important,
and I hope that with a bit of editing and fine-tuning, Convergence will get there. I
do commend Ms. Hayes for creating
alternate worlds and realities for these three characters to explore and learn
from, not only about their surroundings, but about themselves as well.
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