The Danger Quotient

Casey is 18 in a post-apocalyptic future underground city where he and other genius "superkids" are trying desperately to rebuild the earth's ozone layer (destroyed in World War Three). Here people die in their thirties or younger with symptoms of old age. Casey, a maverick, instead uses a time machine created by his dead "big sister" to search for clues as to how people in the past managed to live so long, and in the process, he--a boy raised with no family--discovers how to care.There's also a mystery that completely stunned me, and an ending that's not too happy-happy, yet completely satisfying. I loved this book because the authors have such a flair for phrases! Instead of "I felt tired/sick/discouraged" they would write "felt like yesterday's vegetable salad", phases that really tickled me. I think it reads more like a gumshoe mystery than a time travel novel, but both types of fans would love this book. Excellent characterization, with characters you can emotionally connect to.

I FIRST BECAME ACQUAINTED WITH THIS AUTHOR IN HIGHSCHOOL AND I HAVE BEEN HOOKED EVER SINCE. THE JOHNSON'S HAVE WRITTEN ANOTHER GREAT END OF CIVILIZATION STORY. THIS ONE IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN WHO GOES BACK IN TIME TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE HIS FUTURE. THERE ARE ENOUGH PLOT TWISTS INVOLVING SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF THE SAME FAMILY TO KEEP YOU UP ALL NIGHT READING. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE A GIRL OR A BOY. YOU WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK.