Marking Time

From Goodreads:
"Seventeen-year-old tagger Saira Elian can handle anything... a mother who mysteriously disappears, a stranger who stalks her around London, and even the noble English Grandmother who kicked Saira and her mother out of the family. But when an old graffiti tag in a tube station transports Saira to the 19th Century and she comes face-to-face with Jack the Ripper, she realizes she needs help after all.

Saira meets Archer, a charming student who helps her blend in as much as a tall, modern American teen can in Victorian England. He reveals the existence of the Immortals: Time, Nature, Fate, War and Death, and explains to Saira that it is possible to move between centuries – if you are a Descendant of Time.

Saira finds unexpected friendships at a boarding school for Immortal Descendants and a complicated love with a young man from the past. But time is running out for her mother, and Saira must embrace her new identity as she hides from Archer a devastating secret about his future that may cost him his life."

***

Marking Time is a lot of what I hope for out of a book. Saira is a whip-smart character who can take care of herself. Her adeptness at parkour or free-running is demonstrative of her ability to make smart, quick decisions that look intuitive but that are actually based on detailed observation and relevant facts--very Sherlockian. (Hmmm, Sherlock as a free-runner...that could be interesting.) The mystery is excellent, the plot is tight and brilliant and twisty and layered. The different times that Saira finds herself in are portrayed well--enough detail to give the reader a sense that Saira is in a different place, but not so much detail that the eyes begin to glaze over. The history is very well incorporated into the story. Saira's interactions with Archer remind me a lot of River Song and the Eleventh Doctor, for all you Doctor Who fans out there, which means that the story/romance in the sequels has potential for depth and growth and lots of intensity. 

Gentle Reader Alert: I forgot to take note (that's how consuming this book was), but if anything, there was a mild amount of swearing. I think.