SKIPSHOCK

Natasha Hodgson's fluid narration integrates two alternating perspectives. She depicts 17-year-old Margo's confusion and vulnerability as her train trip to a Dublin boarding school instead lands her in New Davia, a parallel world in which time moves at different speeds--a phenomenon called skipshock. Hodgson also traces the shifting motivations of Moon, a traveling salesman who fears imminent death because of skipshock. Can he trade Margo for money to escape his fate, or will he give up everything to return her to her real world? Hodgson maintains the tension as the two team up to fight a tyrannical ruler and a coming war. Excellent character development and world-building, along with a cliff-hanger ending, will leave listeners eager for the second part of this planned duology. S.W. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2025]