What do you think?
Rate this book
Element 119
Mandy Maguire and her best friend, Asia, are Midwestern girls preparing to start their freshman year at Harvard. Mandy is expecting a summer of working at the library and maybe a few parties but, instead, unexpectedly finds herself drawn to a mysterious young man whose secret will change Mandy’s life forever. As she gets hurled into a race against time, will she be able to save those closest to her without losing her life or her heart in the process?
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
3 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Jaimie Just
2 books11 followersJaimie lives near Oklahoma City. She has been married for twenty-four years and has a seventeen-year-old son, a thirteen-year-old daughter, 2 dogs and a cat. After 15 years in the healthcare field, she now works alongside her husband running their woodworking business.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 2, 2015
I received this book from the author for review. I appreciate her solicitation for my honest opinion.
To begin, I must applaud the author for the many good elements in the story. This is really a mystery set against a backdrop of time travel. It has a great premise; there is an exploration of time travel, a romance, bad guys, intrigue. All of the pieces are there.
Unfortunately, elements alone do not make a good story. It must be well told. This book suffers from a classic problem in self-publishing: the desperate need for a good editor. The book could have been great had a decent editor been there to make simple corrections and advise the author in both a general and specific sense. Without that direction this book is somewhat of a disaster in terms of punctuation, grammar, and general use of language. Here is an example:
"With only his hazel eyes and lack of scholastic aptitude having come from his mother, even the fact that he and his father looked so similar didn‟t bond them."
This sentence simply doesn't make sense. A good editor would have encouraged the author to simply rephrase it. There were numerous instances of pronouns being used (i.e., "his" or "him") without the indication of just who the subject was. Context alone did not make this clear. And the punctuation, well, don't even get me started.
Many of the sentences in the book were lengthy and full of unnecessary description, making the story tedious to read. So much information seemed to be crammed into one paragraph that it gave the sense of info-dumping. This also blocked the general flow of the story.
I did not care for Mandy, the main protagonist. She is initially set up to be a smart, capable girl headed for Harvard. But her dialogue and general personality are immature. Her background sets the stage for her to be sympathetic. But she quickly behaves in such a contradictory way which removes all sense of consistency within her character. One moment she is confident, the next she is angry and petty, the next she is unsure and wavering. Her reactionary emotional responses were childish and unrealistic. Mostly she is just impulsive and annoying.
Sean, the love interest, is slightly more sympathetic. He would have been a much stronger character had he not instantly fallen in love with Mandy. The romance literally came out of nowhere. He doesn't want anything to do with Mandy, then he immediately wants her help. This is just ludicrous given that she is a library assistant and communications major who is musically talented. This makes her helpful when it comes to time travel? Not only that, but Immediately after soliciting her help, he apparently can't live without her and doesn't want to leave her behind.
Some things were just cliche. Peter, Mandy's boss at the library, just happens to be a physics major with a reasonable idea of how time travel is completely plausible. The bad guy is a Russian with his own goon squad. There is no mystery as to his character - he is simply a bad guy doing an unknown thing. In a lab. Which may or may not have to do with time travel. At one point said Russian bad guy kidnaps Mandy, Sean and Mandy's roommate Asia. They are locked away in windowless closets and literally given bread and water. Apparently the reasoning behind this plot device is to place Asia in a life-or-death situation given that she has Celiac's disease and is gluten-intolerant. This fact apparently goes by the wayside later in the book when, after being rescued and shot, she's just fine and it becomes a non-issue with her well being.
Really?
The actual explanations of time travel and the grandfather paradox just gave me a headache. I have to admit that not much of it made plausible sense to me, a time travel addict. The addition of premonitions brought on by radiation poisoning was way over the top.
The ending to the book was a bit ridiculous. Unanswered questions all over the place. Once again, Mandy and Sean behave totally out of character. The book sets things up for a sequel, but the ending is so abrupt that I didn't even care. Whatever reasons the characters had for their behavior were so random that it just didn't matter. Again, there was no consistency to the main characters. Their behavior was all over the place; it didn't make any difference what they did next. Whatever it might be, it wouldn't make any sense anyway.
The plot in general was relatively convoluted. This would have played in the story's favor had it been better handled. As it was, things happened randomly and so quickly that the flow was constantly interrupted with pointless happenings. There were slow periods when time in the story would randomly pass without anything of note happening, i.e., planning rescues and waiting for phone calls. Then the action would start, which was good because the action scenes themselves were pretty good. But then the dialogue would begin and all would be lost with characters attempting to be witty or clever and failing miserably. Who were these characters, anyway? They changed so much that it was impossible to tell.
I truly hope that this author can solicit the use of a good editor. This has all the makings of a great story if it were just better told. It is clear evidence that a good idea and some aptitude for writing just doesn't make for good storytelling. I sincerely wish my review could have been more favorable. Sadly, if I am honest, it is decidedly less so.
To begin, I must applaud the author for the many good elements in the story. This is really a mystery set against a backdrop of time travel. It has a great premise; there is an exploration of time travel, a romance, bad guys, intrigue. All of the pieces are there.
Unfortunately, elements alone do not make a good story. It must be well told. This book suffers from a classic problem in self-publishing: the desperate need for a good editor. The book could have been great had a decent editor been there to make simple corrections and advise the author in both a general and specific sense. Without that direction this book is somewhat of a disaster in terms of punctuation, grammar, and general use of language. Here is an example:
"With only his hazel eyes and lack of scholastic aptitude having come from his mother, even the fact that he and his father looked so similar didn‟t bond them."
This sentence simply doesn't make sense. A good editor would have encouraged the author to simply rephrase it. There were numerous instances of pronouns being used (i.e., "his" or "him") without the indication of just who the subject was. Context alone did not make this clear. And the punctuation, well, don't even get me started.
Many of the sentences in the book were lengthy and full of unnecessary description, making the story tedious to read. So much information seemed to be crammed into one paragraph that it gave the sense of info-dumping. This also blocked the general flow of the story.
I did not care for Mandy, the main protagonist. She is initially set up to be a smart, capable girl headed for Harvard. But her dialogue and general personality are immature. Her background sets the stage for her to be sympathetic. But she quickly behaves in such a contradictory way which removes all sense of consistency within her character. One moment she is confident, the next she is angry and petty, the next she is unsure and wavering. Her reactionary emotional responses were childish and unrealistic. Mostly she is just impulsive and annoying.
Sean, the love interest, is slightly more sympathetic. He would have been a much stronger character had he not instantly fallen in love with Mandy. The romance literally came out of nowhere. He doesn't want anything to do with Mandy, then he immediately wants her help. This is just ludicrous given that she is a library assistant and communications major who is musically talented. This makes her helpful when it comes to time travel? Not only that, but Immediately after soliciting her help, he apparently can't live without her and doesn't want to leave her behind.
Some things were just cliche. Peter, Mandy's boss at the library, just happens to be a physics major with a reasonable idea of how time travel is completely plausible. The bad guy is a Russian with his own goon squad. There is no mystery as to his character - he is simply a bad guy doing an unknown thing. In a lab. Which may or may not have to do with time travel. At one point said Russian bad guy kidnaps Mandy, Sean and Mandy's roommate Asia. They are locked away in windowless closets and literally given bread and water. Apparently the reasoning behind this plot device is to place Asia in a life-or-death situation given that she has Celiac's disease and is gluten-intolerant. This fact apparently goes by the wayside later in the book when, after being rescued and shot, she's just fine and it becomes a non-issue with her well being.
Really?
The actual explanations of time travel and the grandfather paradox just gave me a headache. I have to admit that not much of it made plausible sense to me, a time travel addict. The addition of premonitions brought on by radiation poisoning was way over the top.
The ending to the book was a bit ridiculous. Unanswered questions all over the place. Once again, Mandy and Sean behave totally out of character. The book sets things up for a sequel, but the ending is so abrupt that I didn't even care. Whatever reasons the characters had for their behavior were so random that it just didn't matter. Again, there was no consistency to the main characters. Their behavior was all over the place; it didn't make any difference what they did next. Whatever it might be, it wouldn't make any sense anyway.
The plot in general was relatively convoluted. This would have played in the story's favor had it been better handled. As it was, things happened randomly and so quickly that the flow was constantly interrupted with pointless happenings. There were slow periods when time in the story would randomly pass without anything of note happening, i.e., planning rescues and waiting for phone calls. Then the action would start, which was good because the action scenes themselves were pretty good. But then the dialogue would begin and all would be lost with characters attempting to be witty or clever and failing miserably. Who were these characters, anyway? They changed so much that it was impossible to tell.
I truly hope that this author can solicit the use of a good editor. This has all the makings of a great story if it were just better told. It is clear evidence that a good idea and some aptitude for writing just doesn't make for good storytelling. I sincerely wish my review could have been more favorable. Sadly, if I am honest, it is decidedly less so.
January 25, 2014
Let me start by saying that I read this book in one day. This may not mean a lot to most of you, but that's like a record for me. I haven't read that 'non-stop' since the Hunger Games Series.
I'm going to try very hard to leave out any spoilers, forgive me if I slip.
Element 119 is a wonderful book that completely absorbed my attention. It was really heard for me to pull away to make a cup of tea (which is the drink that I prefer while reading)because it seemed I was always in the middle of something important.
The characters are so real and believable (I miss them already!) There's Mandy (the lead) who just has a really good head on her shoulders. She cries when appropriate and acts when she need to. She's strong and fragile at the same time which is how a girl lead should be. There's genius Pete and his corny but BRILLIANT t-shirts that he always wears. Then there's Asia, what can I say about her? She's just wonderful! Of course I can't forget the dark and mysterious love interests who turns out to be a true gentlemen with great values and a good sense of humor. He's always straightforward and doesn't hesitate a moment to say what's on his mind, unlike his scientific father who is very evasive when it comes to facts and explanations. Asia and Mandy's relationship doesn't fail through the entire book which I find very refreshing. There weren't any dramatic break-ups between the friends (which I find common in a lot of YA books) They are always honest and always looking out for each other.
I have to admit that occasionally I found myself getting slightly lost while reading the explanation of the science part of it, even though the author did a pretty good job of keeping it intelligent but also dumbing it down enough for readers to follow. I was just so anxious to know what was going on inside the character's heads, and wondering what the people that WEREN'T in the room were doing, that I sometimes drifted into my thoughts during long scientific paragraphs.
I loved the different references that were made during the book including, Grease and Back to the future. Small things like that add to the character and make them seem more real. Along with the repetitive movements and habits of the characters (like Sean and his chin rubbing)
The idea of the book was brilliant, as well as the way it was executed. I was able to predict some of the things that occurred but there were plenty of surprises!
The part where Pete walks in and sees Mandy bruised and begins to poise himself in a defensive stance was SO cute. Kudos to Pete!
Also, at the beginning when that jerk Blake was messing with the girls I kept saying over and over in my mind... 'he is SO going to pay for that later'. And, here comes probably the most minor spoiler that exists... He DOES pay for it!
Going into the book I didn't realize it was a series so you can imagine me LOVING the story and finding 'to be continued...' on the final page of the book. My jaw nearly hit the floor. The next book couldn't come out faster.
Thank you Mrs. Just for writing this book. I've been abandoning books for a while now and I feel as though your book has awakened something inside of me. I nearly forgot how fun reading was!
I'm going to try very hard to leave out any spoilers, forgive me if I slip.
Element 119 is a wonderful book that completely absorbed my attention. It was really heard for me to pull away to make a cup of tea (which is the drink that I prefer while reading)because it seemed I was always in the middle of something important.
The characters are so real and believable (I miss them already!) There's Mandy (the lead) who just has a really good head on her shoulders. She cries when appropriate and acts when she need to. She's strong and fragile at the same time which is how a girl lead should be. There's genius Pete and his corny but BRILLIANT t-shirts that he always wears. Then there's Asia, what can I say about her? She's just wonderful! Of course I can't forget the dark and mysterious love interests who turns out to be a true gentlemen with great values and a good sense of humor. He's always straightforward and doesn't hesitate a moment to say what's on his mind, unlike his scientific father who is very evasive when it comes to facts and explanations. Asia and Mandy's relationship doesn't fail through the entire book which I find very refreshing. There weren't any dramatic break-ups between the friends (which I find common in a lot of YA books) They are always honest and always looking out for each other.
I have to admit that occasionally I found myself getting slightly lost while reading the explanation of the science part of it, even though the author did a pretty good job of keeping it intelligent but also dumbing it down enough for readers to follow. I was just so anxious to know what was going on inside the character's heads, and wondering what the people that WEREN'T in the room were doing, that I sometimes drifted into my thoughts during long scientific paragraphs.
I loved the different references that were made during the book including, Grease and Back to the future. Small things like that add to the character and make them seem more real. Along with the repetitive movements and habits of the characters (like Sean and his chin rubbing)
The idea of the book was brilliant, as well as the way it was executed. I was able to predict some of the things that occurred but there were plenty of surprises!
The part where Pete walks in and sees Mandy bruised and begins to poise himself in a defensive stance was SO cute. Kudos to Pete!
Also, at the beginning when that jerk Blake was messing with the girls I kept saying over and over in my mind... 'he is SO going to pay for that later'. And, here comes probably the most minor spoiler that exists... He DOES pay for it!
Going into the book I didn't realize it was a series so you can imagine me LOVING the story and finding 'to be continued...' on the final page of the book. My jaw nearly hit the floor. The next book couldn't come out faster.
Thank you Mrs. Just for writing this book. I've been abandoning books for a while now and I feel as though your book has awakened something inside of me. I nearly forgot how fun reading was!
July 21, 2016
I got this book from the author in return for an honest review.
Element 119 story about Mandy Maguire and her best friend, Asia, starting their freshman year at Harvard. Mandy is expecting a summer of working at the library and maybe a few parties but, instead, unexpectedly finds herself drawn to a mysterious young man whose secret will change Mandy’s life forever.
Ok, offer to review this book just based on the cover, and then I read the premise of the book and I was just regretting cause I don’t like time travel books for some reason I haven't found something that kept me interested.
Well that change in this because I finish it and liked it! This is the debut novel for the author and I have to give it props for doing it.
I find the characters well portrait but I felt that you still have many more things to pull from them and somethings they do things that doesn't go with the initial based outline of the characters.
The best character for me was Pete! The writing and the ambient setting can be much improve, some of the time travel description and all the science felt force to work.
I'm looking forward to see how the plot setting of the history and cliffhangers will work on the next book, cause in this book many things didn't make sense.
I know that what I write doesn't make sense on saying that I liked it, but I really did enjoy this book maybe cause I'm not a time travel fan I can forgive a lot of things. And the main thing is that this series has potential to be great!
Thanks for letting me read this book!
Element 119 story about Mandy Maguire and her best friend, Asia, starting their freshman year at Harvard. Mandy is expecting a summer of working at the library and maybe a few parties but, instead, unexpectedly finds herself drawn to a mysterious young man whose secret will change Mandy’s life forever.
Ok, offer to review this book just based on the cover, and then I read the premise of the book and I was just regretting cause I don’t like time travel books for some reason I haven't found something that kept me interested.
Well that change in this because I finish it and liked it! This is the debut novel for the author and I have to give it props for doing it.
I find the characters well portrait but I felt that you still have many more things to pull from them and somethings they do things that doesn't go with the initial based outline of the characters.
The best character for me was Pete! The writing and the ambient setting can be much improve, some of the time travel description and all the science felt force to work.
I'm looking forward to see how the plot setting of the history and cliffhangers will work on the next book, cause in this book many things didn't make sense.
I know that what I write doesn't make sense on saying that I liked it, but I really did enjoy this book maybe cause I'm not a time travel fan I can forgive a lot of things. And the main thing is that this series has potential to be great!
Thanks for letting me read this book!
February 13, 2014
I got this book from the author in return for an honest review.
Element 119, the first in the Element 119 series is Jaimie Just's début novel and she has done a wonderful job. It is well written, with a fast paced plot that has so many twists and turns that it reminded me of the first time that I watched Inception(Though, I admit the plot of the book isn't as complex as Inception). To top it all the book has a cliffhanger ending that leaves you itching to grab the next book in the series. Readers of Sci-Fi, YA will love this book.
The book doesn't have many shortcomings however there is one particular place where the reaction of the characters to certain events didn't seem convincing.
In conclusion Element 119 is a really good book that doesn't have single boring moment but, will require your full concentration while you read it.
Element 119, the first in the Element 119 series is Jaimie Just's début novel and she has done a wonderful job. It is well written, with a fast paced plot that has so many twists and turns that it reminded me of the first time that I watched Inception(Though, I admit the plot of the book isn't as complex as Inception). To top it all the book has a cliffhanger ending that leaves you itching to grab the next book in the series. Readers of Sci-Fi, YA will love this book.
The book doesn't have many shortcomings however there is one particular place where the reaction of the characters to certain events didn't seem convincing.
In conclusion Element 119 is a really good book that doesn't have single boring moment but, will require your full concentration while you read it.
August 25, 2023
This was definitely one of the more interesting young adult stories that I have read in some time and I did enjoy it although it was the type of book you had to pay attention to otherwise you would get lost. And lost in this book definitely leads to confusion.
The story was a bit slow to begin with and was like a rollercoaster to me with the various ups and downs. Fortunately there were enough plot twists and action to keep the story going even as you were trying to guess what would happen next. And I was disappointed with how the story ended but I am hoping to get a chance to read what happens to Sean and Mandy in the upcoming book.
One of the flaws of the book in my opinion was the character building. All the personalities and attitudes of the characters seemed to be towards the front of the book while later characters were a bit bland or even, such as with the main characters, plodding along near the end.
All in all it was a good book and if the system would allow it I would give it 3.6 stars....
**I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review**
The story was a bit slow to begin with and was like a rollercoaster to me with the various ups and downs. Fortunately there were enough plot twists and action to keep the story going even as you were trying to guess what would happen next. And I was disappointed with how the story ended but I am hoping to get a chance to read what happens to Sean and Mandy in the upcoming book.
One of the flaws of the book in my opinion was the character building. All the personalities and attitudes of the characters seemed to be towards the front of the book while later characters were a bit bland or even, such as with the main characters, plodding along near the end.
All in all it was a good book and if the system would allow it I would give it 3.6 stars....
**I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review**
March 6, 2014
I got this book from the author in return for an honest review.
Element 119 story about Mandy Maguire and her best friend, Asia, starting their freshman year at Harvard. Mandy is expecting a summer of working at the library and maybe a few parties but, instead, unexpectedly finds herself drawn to a mysterious young man whose secret will change Mandy’s life forever.
I am glad I had the opportunity to read and review this book. It started out a tad bit slow but it was like roller coaster, multiple twists and turns even a few loops. I read it in one day because I just couldn’t put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen next. Couple times I had to go back and reread some chapters because if you dont give it your full attention you may get lost. I know I did. Anyways it was a nice and enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys time travel, mystery, and some romance. The author leaves this book with a cliffhanger. So you must get the next one in the series to find out more about Sean and Mandy as well as the other characters.
Element 119 story about Mandy Maguire and her best friend, Asia, starting their freshman year at Harvard. Mandy is expecting a summer of working at the library and maybe a few parties but, instead, unexpectedly finds herself drawn to a mysterious young man whose secret will change Mandy’s life forever.
I am glad I had the opportunity to read and review this book. It started out a tad bit slow but it was like roller coaster, multiple twists and turns even a few loops. I read it in one day because I just couldn’t put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen next. Couple times I had to go back and reread some chapters because if you dont give it your full attention you may get lost. I know I did. Anyways it was a nice and enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys time travel, mystery, and some romance. The author leaves this book with a cliffhanger. So you must get the next one in the series to find out more about Sean and Mandy as well as the other characters.
February 16, 2014
Note: I received a pdf from the author in return for a honest review.
My main issue with this book was how the pdf formatting did not work well on my Kindle.
I enjoyed the time traveling aspects and how this book was scientific and relational at the same time.
I enjoyed how the main characters were getting caught up in the time traveling paradoxes.
This was fast read and I really look forward to the next book in the series.
So for me to resolve the only issue I had was to buy this book in Kindle format, which was quite affordable.
I'm looking forward to more from this upcoming author.
My main issue with this book was how the pdf formatting did not work well on my Kindle.
I enjoyed the time traveling aspects and how this book was scientific and relational at the same time.
I enjoyed how the main characters were getting caught up in the time traveling paradoxes.
This was fast read and I really look forward to the next book in the series.
So for me to resolve the only issue I had was to buy this book in Kindle format, which was quite affordable.
I'm looking forward to more from this upcoming author.
January 22, 2014
Just finished this book! I read it in 2 1/2 days!! I am super bummed I have to wait until the sequel comes out!! I enjoyed the scientific parts she really had to do some research and it all sounded legit! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fun, exciting, book with a little romance...because hey, who doesn't like a little romance to go with their book reading experience?!!!
March 12, 2014
Great read!
This book was recommended to me by a colleague. I really enjoyed the characters and always looked forward to find out what was going to happen next. Author did a great job developing the plot. I'm very impressed by this first book by Jaime Just. I'm ready for the next time-skipping adventure.....hint.
This book was recommended to me by a colleague. I really enjoyed the characters and always looked forward to find out what was going to happen next. Author did a great job developing the plot. I'm very impressed by this first book by Jaime Just. I'm ready for the next time-skipping adventure.....hint.
Read
March 19, 2014**I received a free copy of this book for an honest review**
I really enjoyed this book, but there were a few parts that were difficult to understand. Some sentences should have been re-worded, but other than that I had no major problems with the book. ....a very interesting story.....
I really enjoyed this book, but there were a few parts that were difficult to understand. Some sentences should have been re-worded, but other than that I had no major problems with the book. ....a very interesting story.....
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews