I liked parts of this novel, and others fell a little flat. I’m not sure this was the best book to introduce me to Martin’s writings.

The book starts off in the future, with Freya being carted off for evacuation. And then we’re suddenly in 1985. The thing I really loved about Martin’s writing was how she fit her writing style to what was happening in the book. When we first come upon Freya in 1985, the writing was stunted, had shorter sentences. It made everything feel just a little off, exactly how Freya was feeling. When Freya begins to understand, the writing becomes more free flowing and comfortable. This was able to get the feelings across, even if the words themselves had a bit of trouble doing the same.

There isn’t a lot of character development, but it didn’t bother me as much as it usually does. Neither main character goes through anything majorly transforming, but I feel like Yesterday is more about getting away from the people after them and less about gaining major personal insight. I think that’s why I was okay with the characters’ small growth.

The future described in the novel is something that could actually happen, in a way, and I liked that. Martin didn’t create a hugely exaggerated future in order to make her characters fit. She created an extremely realistic picture of the future and didn’t have to go through great and drastic lengths to make it work. It was easy to believe and I liked that.

Overall, Yesterday is a fine novel that isn’t exceptional, but isn’t horrible. It’s a good read if you’re in the mood for an action story with some love sprinkled in. It’s not a deep, character rich novel, but it is a good read.