Flowers from 1970 by Astr0nmika

Reviewed by Crystal

 Lonely George Davidson just moved into his new house. Even though he’s new to the neighborhood, he hears his house telephone ringing. Who’s calling him? He later discovers that the person calling him lives 50 years in the past.

In Flowers from 1970, George discovers a phone that can talk to a boy living in the year 1970. Clay was just calling his friend Nick to tell him about what’s happening on the news. Instead, he meets George. Both boys are curious about each other. George has just moved into the house that Clay was in, in his century. Since they live at the same place but different timelines, they play with time. Clay would plant a time capsule to see if George receives it, and he draws on the wall to see if George sees his drawings. When he is digging out the time capsule, he finds some flower seeds. He has trouble planting those seeds so he met his neighbor, Wilbur. Things only get weirder from then on.

One reason I liked this book so much is because the concept is unique. I have never read a story about time traveling with a telephone. The story explored time traveling in ways I have never imagined before. Clay would do something and would see if George would receive it. The telephone is the two boys’ only way of communicating. If they destroy it, they might never see each other again. When either boy has nothing better to do, they do experiments. “...as he took a brush and applied a thin coat of paint on his hand…suddenly, lime paint appeared on the wall. It was appearing slowly and a bit chipped, but there nonetheless.” I’ve never read a book where people test time like that before.

If you like or watch the Dream Smp, you will know that there are many characters. The Dream Smp is a roleplay Minecraft server where there are fictional characters. They make multiple appearances. Even if you don’t watch, it will still all make sense. There is even a chapter filled with all the easter eggs and references. For example, Wilbur, also one of the main characters, is also from the Smp: “He did not have time to think before the stranger appeared in front of him and pulled down his hoodie to reveal a young man in a beanie with golden rimmed glasses.” The interactions made the book very fascinating. The author made these new characters important to the storyline later on.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a real tear jerker and suspenseful. I don’t want to spoil anything but the ending is extremely emotional. The end plot twist was very unexpected. I would rate this book overall a 10/10. You can find this book on a website called Wattpad, so you can go read it right now!

Wattpad.com, 194 pages