Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Release Date: June 11, 2011 (Sorry, guys...)
Amazon Says:

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there; swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back. 

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past. 

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened? 

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

I say:
Guys, I have a confession. I pretty much want to be Myra McEntire.
She helped to found Do The Write Thing For Nashville. She has one of my favorite blogs. She put up an amazing post when Speak was banned. She even did an interview with me, late last year. When my awesome librarian asked for requests from ALA, I asked for Hourglass. (It wasn't out yet. However, Sarah is magic and got it somehow anyway. Moment of Sarah love entered here.)
So I wanted to like this book, and I was scared to read this book, because I didn't want to be disappointed.
Yeah.
Well.
I brought it to school. By second hour, my teacher had to pretty much take the book away. (It was math. Who needs math when you have fantastic books?)
And Hourglass is literally fantastic. It's full of sparkles (seriously, the cover is going to sparkle) and has magic and science and yumminess  boys and I am going to marry it.
It's paranormal without being truly paranormal. It's the first 'magic' book I've read in a while that felt new.
It's got a boy that I really, really liked. Actually, it had two boys that I really, really liked -- but I also really liked that Emerson, the MC, was pretty dang solid in which one she wanted. It made me like her that much more.
Plus, Hourglass surprised me. The novel isn't predictable; in fact, several times I sat there blinking and going 'Wait, whaaaaat?' (Which, seriously, dude -- it's an attractive face to pull in the middle of a crowded classroom.)
I love her family. It was a real unit, a family that had problems and issues and still managed to be one that you'd be happy to join. I cracked up through the entire book. I liked how the reader gets to watch Emerson grow. That said, I enjoyed how flawed Emerson is; she was easy to relate to. She has a great best friend. And the connotations that are set up for Book Two? Yeah, I'm excited.
I liked how I was reminded of A Wrinkle In Time but at the same time, felt like I was reading something totally new.
Basically, I just loved it. I handed it over to my mother, and plan on going to rant at my librarian about how much I liked it, and probably am going to send Maggie a long rambly email later about it. It didn't just live up to my expectations; it exceeded them in the best way.
Anyway. This is turning into a love letter, and I am resolutely against love letters. Unless they are written to me from very pretty boys, and even then, they'd better be more articulate than I usually am.
 More later, folks!