Connected By Pedro De Alcantara

990 Words2 Pages

Have you had a time when you thought things couldn't get any worse than it is, and then something worse happens to you? In the novel BACKTRACKED by Pedro de Alcantara gives this scenario a step up when a teenage boy named Tommy Latrella is recovering from his brother death on 9/11, not doing well in school, and his family is in a low point in New York. When Tommy thinks that running away from his problems can fix them, but it only made them worse by time traveling back in time. After reading this novel it has excellent detail and a great plot, but some of the text seems to get confusing as well it has too many loose ends and receives a three out of a five.
The great detail gives the reader to be in the same world as the characters sharing the …show more content…

There are many characters that were introduced that play a significant role in the plot, but they seem too rushed and we only have a basic understanding of these characters. "I went to meet the Shadow at the appointed time and place: the Van Cortlandt Park station at 242nd street, the last stop on line one." (Alcantara 24). The character Shadow seems to play an important part in the plot when you read the novel, but then the author never seems to develop the character fully and only saw that same character one time. Another character that is not fully developed an seems to play a very important role in the plot is Giuseppe Pantano. Shadow and Pantano are not flat characters in this novel because they have multiple personality traits that seem important and a connection to the main character and seems to be cut off. Another part of this feeling of unfinished is "the portal," the main part of the plot that is never explained. The portal is what the main character thinks what is making him go through time. The character makes multiple references to the portal, " I ran out of the cafe and rushed to Times Square. The search of the portal couldn't wait no longer." (Alcantara 89). Then when the main character goes to find answers about the portal it seems the character is drawn away by the author. Then after reading the novel the main character still hasn't found out why he time traveled. With many more loose ends and the feeling of unfinished with no sequel is the reason the book receives a three

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