The Photo Traveler Tour! Review of The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez

Genre: Young Adult (Science Fiction w/ a touch of Romance)
Date Published: February 20, 2013
Publisher: Fahrenheit Publishing

The Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Gavin Hillstone is resigned to being miserable for the rest of his life. Left alone in the world after his parents died in a fire when he was four, he was placed in foster care, which for him meant ending up in an abusive home with an alcoholic adoptive father.

Gavin’s only escape is in taking and creating images. His camera is his refuge from the unending torture and isolation of daily life in his “family.”

Until he learns by accident that he isn’t alone in the world after all. His father’s parents are still alive and living in Washington DC.

When he takes the plunge and travels 3,000 miles to find his grandparents, he learns that they—and he—are part of something much bigger, and more dangerous, than he could ever have imagined. Something that has always put his family at risk and that will now threaten his own life, while forever changing it.

He learns that he is one of the last descendants of a small group of Photo Travelers—people who can travel through time and space through images. But his initial excitement turns to fear, when he soon discovers that he and his grandparents are being pursued by the fierce remnants of a radical European Photo Traveler cult, the Peace Hunters. What Gavin has, they want!

His adventure will take him to past eras, like The Great Depression and the Salem Witch Trials. Gavin will have to discover who he really is and must make choices that spell the difference between life and death for himself, for the relatives he now knows and loves, and for the girl he will come to love.

For Gavin Hillstone, life will never be the same.

My Review:

The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez has a very interesting premise. At first, I thought photo travelers could only travel through photographs which is cool enough, but they can also travel through paintings and drawings as long as the photo, painting, or drawing was a first hand account of something and not from the taker's imagination. To travel through time through photos would be such an amazing gift to have. Gavin has only just found out he has this ability, and of course now he has people after him for something that is in his family's possession. The story was pretty fast paced and there was a lot going on to keep my attention. There were a few things that I question about the story though. For one, when they travel through the photos they are supposed to pick photos where they are the least likely to be seen by people when they first arrive in the new place and time, but what about the person who is actually taking the picture? I would think the photographer would notice if someone just appeared in front of them as they took a photo, I know I would notice, but this issue was never addressed in the book. How would that be possible? There were a few holes too. For example, Gavin is told that if he travels to the same photo twice, it would be like he never traveled to that place/time to begin with. Even though he has this knowledge, he never uses it to fix mistakes he's made when he travels. Since this was an obvious fix and would have solved a lot of issues, it bothered me quite a bit that this was never put into action. Gavin was a likable and believable teenage character. He's had a rough life, and I found myself rooting for him in various situations. I love the idea of traveling through photos and I think with a few more tweaks to fill the holes within the story, it would be excellent.

The Photo Traveler by Arthur J Gonzalez was provided to me by the Xpresso Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

About the Author:
My name is Arthur J Gonzalez.  I’m 28 years old, born and raised in Miami, FL.  I graduated from the University of Florida.  I am currently   releasing my debut novel, The Photo Traveler.  The premise surrounds 17 – year old Gavin, who discovers he is part of a small group, called Photo Travelers, who can time travel through photos and images.

To learn more about Arthur J Gonzalez and his books, visit his website.You can also find him on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

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