The Secret Runners Of New York by Matthew Reilly

          Do not be deceived, this book is marketed as being a YA novel and I can only imagine that this is because the main protagonists in the book are all still in High School with an average age of 16.  The story itself is very definitely for an older audience as well, there is no attempt made by the author to do anything but tell a great story and that, in itself, means that labels should be overlooked, after all they are something arbitrarily imposed.

In some ways this is a coming of age story and it deals with Skye's transition to a new school in a new city.  Not an easy thing but when your twin brother is naturally gregarious it only has to make you feel more insecure - that and girls are just naturally evil to anyone but their clique at that age.  Not only that but she had a rough ride at her last school and this has left her very wary of people and makes her second guess everyone else's motives, and often her own.

Skye is a wonderful narrator for the book and you instantly take a liking to her and her rather dry wit.  Through her eyes we see the power plays and machinations of the elite at the school - the "cool" group that her brother slides in to seamlessly.  When her brother comes home with tales of derring-do in an abandoned, possibly ancient, tunnel system beneath Central Park Skye is intrigued but when she gets to run it herself she is both mesmerised and panicked.

There is a little science lesson thrown in about how time travel could be theoretically possible (time not being linear but a spiral where past, present and future exist at the same time just on different panes).  It is explained clearly without being patronising to the reader that may be aware of these particular theories.  The mechanics of the portals used to access the tunnel are well thought through and executed, the book also ends with a tantalising whiff of maybe further adventure to come - if only the other gems can be found.

I absolutely loved this story and didn't so much read it as inhale it.  Genuinely struggled to put it down to do necessary things like eat or sleep.  The characters are all three dimensional and realistic, even true horrors like Misty.  The plotting itself is fast paced and absorbing and does leave you breathless with anticipation as you turn the page in places.

A wonderful novel that deserves a far wider audience than the narrow confines of both YA and Science Fiction.  It is a book about people and the lengths they will go to; it is also a good dissection of the wealthy in society, that elusive one percent and how that wealth can warp you if you let it.

THIS IS AN HONEST REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED FROM READERS FIRST