Review: The Eighth Guardian by Meredith McCardle

What the book is about...

Amanda Obermann. Code name Iris.
It’s Testing Day. The day that comes without warning, the day when all juniors and seniors at The Peel Academy undergo a series of intense physical and psychological tests to see if they’re ready to graduate and become government operatives. Amanda and her boyfriend Abe are top students, and they’ve just endured thirty-six hours of testing. But they’re juniors and don’t expect to graduate. That’ll happen next year, when they plan to join the CIA—together.
But when the graduates are announced, the results are shocking. Amanda has been chosen—the first junior in decades. And she receives the opportunity of a lifetime: to join a secret government organization called the Annum Guard and travel through time to change the course of history. But in order to become the Eighth Guardian in this exclusive group, Amanda must say good-bye to everything—her name, her family, and even Abe—forever.
Who is really behind the Annum Guard? And can she trust them with her life?

My initial expectations...

I love history. Probably more than YA, to be absolutely honest. So when I came across a book on Goodreads about teenagers and time-travel, I couldn't pass it up. The pretty rainbow cover was definitely an awesome bonus. Besides that though, I'd never really read any books on time-travel or secret government stuff (at least, not that I remember). Because of this, I didn't really know what to expect. 

What I liked about this book...

Now that I actually think about it, there isn't anything in particular that I enjoy about this book. If anything, I can sort of relate to Amanda and the trouble she has with her mom and her mom's mental illness. But that's basically it. 

What I didn't like about this book...

The writing was quite simplistic. Not descriptive enough to fulfill my expectations. Therefore, I never truly felt that they had gone back in time. The author/narrator failed to make me feel as if I had switched from one era to the next, which was quite disappointing.
The characters were flat and underdeveloped. The plot was full of cliches. At the end of the day, everything seemed to come down to one boy or another, which continuously distracted from the plot.
Finally, though it may seem insignificant to most, I was really frustrated by McCardle's choice of code names. Iris and Indigo are nice and unique, but Yellow and Orange? I would honestly kill anyone who insisted on calling me that day after day. 

My overall views...

Though I had a lot of problems with this book, it was tolerable. I read through it in less than a day and so it didn't waste too much of my time. I wish I had read something similar prior so I could compare the two.

I give this book 2.5/3 stars on Goodreads!

Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes. However, I think this book may be more suitable for younger readers. Maybe around 12 to 14 years old.

Would I read it again? No. Just not my cup of tea.

Favourite quotes...

I have no favourite quotes from this book. There was nothing significantly inspiring or captivating in the thoughts and dialogue of any of the characters.

What did you guys think? How does this compare to other books you may have read with time-travel in them? Were you as annoyed with the code names as I was? If you could pick your own code name, what would it be? If you could time-travel to any date and place, when and where would it be? What would you do there?