Marking Time: The Immortal Descendants: Book 1 Paperback – Illustrated, November 5, 2012

3.5 stars — I read this in a boxed set, so didn’t have the updated 10th anniversary editions. I will admit that I found the story to read a bit jumbled, especially in the beginning. It feels like we’re thrown in, and then plot things just keep happening and happening, but we haven’t really had a chance to get to know Saira and settle into the book. And that, for me, was where this book didn’t live up to my expectations. Everyone has something that they’re drawn to in the written word, it’s why we all gravitate towards different things, and there is no such thing as a universally beloved book (though some come close). For me that thing is ALWAYS characters. A book can have the most spectacular plot and world building, but if I don’t connect with our main character, then there will always be something missing for me.Saira felt very closed off to me. I can see from other reviews that she’s very loved, but for me she was just okay. I struggled to understand her motivations, to understand her heart. She felt more like a vehicle for the plot than someone for me to connect with. There were definitely moments where I would spy her underneath it all (especially the longer stay in the past), but inevitably I wanted more from her. I wanted to know what she was feeling, how she was dealing with these changes, what she thought of some of these other characters, just…MORE.I actually felt like I got more from some of the secondary and background characters than I did Saira. The kids she meets at St. Brigid’s intrigue me, Sanda’s whole family line really intrigued me with very little time on the page. I even felt like I connected more with Archer, though some still remains a mystery. And most of all, I fell in love with Ringo (though am I the only one who thought he was like 10 for the first half of the book?).The world is definitely intriguing, though I will admit I prefer clearer rules and definitions — those may come in future books. Trying to understand how the time travel works is still ticking away in the back of my brain driving me crazy. Again, things that may be further explored as the series goes on.I’m definitely interested in the mystery and plot, and it was most definitely enough for me to want to read more. There were bits I totally made great guesses on, and others that I totally didn’t see coming!I really hope the pace of information slows down in future books…it felt like the plot was just wham wham wham, and I started to fall in love with the book when there was finally time to settle. I was okay with the fast ride at the end, because that was expected, it was the beginning that had me a bit jumbled.So yeah. A lot to say that it wasn’t the slam dunk I was expecting, but I’m definitely still in for more.

I really enjoyed the slow methodical development of peripheral characters. The place descriptions and time development seemed accurate. The story slipped easily from modern times to the 1880's without being clumsy or breaking the flow of the story. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read!

I honestly couldn’t put this book down. I fell in love with the characters & I really enjoyed reading about 1888 London. I can’t wait to read the next book!

This book manages to avoid many traps that novels in this genre fall into—awkward unbelievable meetings with famous people, hokey portrayals of various gods, over-broad powers given to their descendants, the artificial societies constructed for them to live in, too perfect heros/too villainous villains . . IMO, there are usually a lot of issues writers of this genre miss, perhaps because they get stuck thinking of their characters as more or other than human. April White, however, avoids all traps but some of the last, and does manage to keep her heroine and many of her friends believable.White’s female lead Saira is particularly well-written. I started the book feeling impatient with Saira’s tendency to run away from hard situations, but my irritation with her choices meant I was believing in her as a person. Running away made sense, given her family life, and she did continue to grow through the events of the story. Saira’s friends and most of those helping her also feel like real people—with the major exceptions of both male leads. Ringo is an amazingly good human being and wise beyond his years, someone who’d be a privilege to have as a friend. Those people do exist, but very rarely, so I can give White a moderate pass for him. Lord Devereaux, however, is too wonderful, falls in love with Saira too quickly and his love for her is described too romantically to serve the reality of the rest of the book. Those people who are neither particularly good nor evil are also generally realistic. They have their own viewpoints, goals and fears that make sense in the context of their characters. The evil people are more of a problem, as they often are, and the story doesn’t offer much of a sense of them as individuals—mostly what we know is Saira’s gut-wrenching dislike of being anywhere close to them, especially the two worst characters. Part of the problem is their descent—they’re both Mongers, the short form of Warmongers, and they’re descended from the god of War.Here I do wish White had explained more about the original gods she chose, especially why she picked those particular characteristics to embody. For me, Nature, Time, Vision, even Death, all make sense, but why make War part of this small group? There are only five gods in White’s universe, not many to create a balance amongst. Usually there would be both positive and negative attributes to each god’s powers, but what is War’s good side? Nature creates/nurtures/destroys; Time makes room for growth/renewal/despair; Vision inspires change/the need to control/freezes people in place; Death leaves scars inflicted by loss/pushes people to build for those who come after/offers an end to suffering; War ruins lives, landscapes and cultures—so where’s the good side? Economic growth? Progress in research and development maybe? I don’t know, and there isn’t a good side shown in the story.Understanding why White made War part of her pantheon also would make the Mongers less unrelievedly evil and more actual human beings. Yes, there are people who act like Raven and her cohorts, but they often have understandable reasons for being the way they are, not just the non-excuse of: “they’re Mongers, they can’t help it.” In the book, all Mongers do is try to hurt people. They have no friends except other Mongers and people who are afraid they’ll be the next victims. . . so why does this group exist? What good do they do to balance their harm? They’re just too much like cartoon bullies, and don’t make sense as actual humans. That robs the book of some possible richness and emotional depth, but the rest of it is is so good, I’ll just hope for more in the rest of the series...

I read this book and series almost 10 years ago, and it became one of my favorite! I am now doing a reread with my daughter, and I have fallen in love with the characters all over again! April White is a master with words! Her characters are fleshed out so well they feel as if they are real. And not just the main characters, the side ones as well! They are flawed and imperfect, but grow and possess such hearts! I love the blend of history, science, fantasy and romance. Archer is a dream, Ringo is the best friend anyone could want, and Saira (love her name!) is the reluctant heroine thrown into a new world. You would be doing yourself a disservice by not reading this book, and series!

I'm writing this after my 4th reread in 5 years. I love this book! I love this series, I love these characters and the mythology, history and even present day details that go into making the Immortal Descendants world. Yes, some suspension of belief is needed, but it's fiction, that's always implied. April White is an extremely talented lady and I'm anxiously waiting for more of her stories written in this magical world, with these magical characters.

This book is a great read, despite a few clear faults.Like others, I felt the British location was not researched that well. There was a semi-gothic semi-public school vibe to much of the location, with a strong sense of the "founding families of the supernatural", as they come across. This would belong better in the late 1800s or early 1900s than the 2000s. Unfortunately, the author falls foul of the same mistake many American authors make - assuming Britain is still a place where ancient ancestries hold society under their control and everyone lives in huge mansions in the middle of nowhere, or nice little cottages where they serve in the big house... (Please get a British beta reader!) Similarly, as others have mentioned, I was completely lost when 'Venice' was referred to as, to me, this is a city in Europe. The mystery only made sense when someone in a review I read here revealed it is supposed to refer to an area of LA, USA. Oops! I wish the author was more specific in this because anyone coming to their work from outside of the USA is much less US-centric and it is easy to get very confused.If you can get past that, and see the modern-day location as something of an out of time or alternative history location, the story opens up into something magical. It is an intricate weaving of history with contemporary knowledge and the supernatural, a re-imagining of the past through the learning eyes of a young 'clocker', able to travel through time. It makes me think of what would happen if Doctor Who had less gadgets, more friends, and less of a penchant for getting things right, because Saira sure does make a lot of mistakes. It's through this we see her as a believable and relateable character, who grows throughout the book into someone in a good place to lead her particular time travelling family though the obstacles ahead of her.Despite figuring out two of the "big reveals" long before they happened, I was still keen to read this book in near one sitting. I loved the complicated world we are given an insight into through Saira and I think the rest of the series will be well worth reading. The author writes in the detail but action-driven style of the Famous Five books and, I, for one, would like to see more.

Saira is an average teenage girl. Her mother regularly leaves her to fend for herself, and her insistence that they keep moving home makes it very hard for Saira to feel connected to anyone.Her world becomes even more unsettled when Saira realises that she and her mother can travel through time, and her mother might well be stuck in 1888. Only Saira and her new friends can save her.Oh my goodness me. I cannot explain how wildly this story swung from a two star to a five star (to be very honest, at this point I have still not decided how to rate it, and I only hope I will have decided by the end of the review!). There were so many points that rubbed me completely the wrong way; there were parts that were so dull I wanted to put the book down as a DNF. But then it was contradicted by completely amazing parts that had me riveted.Normally, you find one half works better than the other; but Marking Time was constantly swinging between elation and s***e.Good stuff:Saira is a capable heroine, she is strong, smart and fast. She is a free-running graffiti artist, and feels original. Even when the love interest crops up, she maintains a steady view, never turning into the dozy, doe-eyed variety that's so common in YA.The whole plot was brilliant; a different take on the story behind Jack the Ripper. A free-running journey through both modern and 19th Century London.There were a couple of points that I found intriguing - namely the issue around native time; learning about the background of the Elian family.Not-so-good stuff:Saira. I wanted to smack her repeatedly in the first few chapters. I struggle with garish American characters, especially when they are transposed into a different class. A popular (and annoying) outcome is a show of a lack of respect for the world they're entering. It's almost like the author is trying too hard to make their character have conviction and a "point of view".Followed by her reaction to being in 1888 for the first time - I almost shut the book there and then.Then there were the "lessons". There were sections of the book, almost whole chapters sometimes, where you are treated to a lecture. On poultices, on herb lore, on genetics... they just weren't interesting; they were lobbed in there, almost like info-dumps, but not information that entirely pertained to the story. It felt like it was presenting the fact that April White assumes that her readers are all of a certain intellectual level, and need to feed their IQ.I'm an utter science geek, with a reasonably high IQ, and I found these boring. To be honest, I ended up skim-reading whenever the book got it's "teacher tone" on.The big surprises that weren't all that big. The book was great, if you switched off and followed it from from start to finish. I'm not sure whether anything in it was supposed to be a surprise - not the truth about Archer; or the truth about Saira's family and bloodlines. Before the big reveals, it was less about subtle hints, and more about big neon arrows pointing out vital information.And was I the only person that found it hard to believe that Archer was in love with Saira from the very first scene, when he repeatedly stated that any of his past was blurry where she was concerned. A useful device for why Archer can't help Saira with information when she travels back in time. But how do you know you're in love with someone that you can't remember? How do you know that you've kissed her before, and that she won't slap you for trying now?

I wasn't too sure about this book at first as its not the type of book that I normally go for but I found myself getting more interested by the characters and how different it was to everything I've read. I will say that it took me a while to really understand what was going on as one minute our heroine is getting away as she knows it'll be time to leave soon when her mother disappears to Saira suddenly running from an unknown assailant and then getting shipped off to her great aunt's in London so it does take a little while to get the whole picture of where Saira is going and how she gets there but I did Enjoy this book and would definitely look to see how Saira will deal with the prochecy in the next book. I would just say to persevere with this book especially if you get lost in the first chapter like me as it unfolds into a very tidy story.

This is the story about a time travelling girl Saira, who is Descendant of Time and thus has power for time travel. She has been plunged into a mysterious and ruthless world without any preparation or knowledge about it. She just has skills which she has been developing since she was 12 and her courage to get her through, she finds allies in places; present and past.The book was not easy to put down! There are many characters and the first half has the Immortals and Descendants world building, character intros and the School and Descendants politics. The story is amazingly fun to read and fast paced in second half and is a delight! I loved it and am very happy to have started this series. <3I loved the character of Archer and Ringo and how they accept a strange girl from future. Ringo more than ever as he accepts everything about Saira on face value without any background information.The mystery around Jack the Ripper and how the author describes the Victorian London is a delight!