Linked by Lisa Alden

Title: Linked
Author: Lisa Alden
Publish Date: July 19, 2011
Publisher: Morning Gate Press
Pages: 165
Buy the Book: Amazon 
Rating: ★★★

Fourteen-year-old Andra Quincy’s summer in Marina, the fog pit of Monterey County, isn’t exactly off to a great start. It’s her birthday, and her best friend has ditched her for a boy. Her parents are cruising the Caribbean while she’s at home rubbing her goose-bumpy arms and dreaming of sunshine and adventure, and being baby-sat by her flaky uncle, Ryan. But when Andra puts on her only birthday gift, a silver charm bracelet from Ryan, it plunges her into a magical alternate reality for each seven-o’clock hour.

Andra discovers that a local six-year-old, Morgan Baxter, thought to have been kidnapped, has actually disappeared into the Seven, a place that few have entered and most never escape. Determined to rescue Morgan from the Seven even though the kid is trying to kill her, Andra enlists the help of a dorky classmate she's only known as Golf Ball Head, who turns out to be much more than she imagined, and Joel Westin, a trigger-happy boy from 1874, who both terrifies and charms her. Andra must figure out who to trust and how to get Morgan and herself out of the Seven before it’s too late and they become a part of it forever.

Linked by Lisa Alden contains an essentially great story. It has action, perhaps a bit of romance, and a whole lot of complications that make the story much more interesting. The downfall was that although the story is fun and interesting, it was also confusing especially throughout the beginning. Of course, this could've been the goal of the author but it was hard for me to follow along and get into it at first. There was a lot of beating around the bush on important topics or hinting towards answers that would've been really simple.

Andra is the typical maturing teen with all of the moods, rashness, and self-consciousness that could be expected. She matures throughout the book and shows both selfishness and selflessness. 

The world of Seven is intriguing to say the least, a place that exists within a place hidden from view and waiting for new people to enter. This is a place with magic. The concept of these bracelets being the key to enter and exit this world is pretty awesome. It's a unique and different way for the main character to enter and exit a place, one that makes it difficult for other people to come and go. One thing about this that was kind of a downer was the fact that they had one hour in the morning and at night to spend in this world. I mean, let's be honest. How are you supposed to do anything effective when you have only an hour?

It's a decent read.