Twenty is just a cog in the wheel of the utopian society in Hourglass by Barbara Mazzi. Or at least for the privileged. Twenty is trying for one of the coveted positions on the team of engineers. If you make it to the top the reward is everything. But until then, they help keep the Hour Glass running so the privileged few can reap the reward of immortality. But when a real piece of the machine goes missing, more than the Hour Glass will fall to pieces. Life, or lack thereof, will never be the same again.
There is a love story, the idea of what you do when time is unlimited, and the real meaning of making the heart tick. I read this via an online reader copy that was too short. I needed more. It ends on an open ending that also is a “The End. For Now.” moment. The characters are not as fleshed out as they could be (my copy had less than 120 pages, therefore, it would be hard to really get to know them), but they work to push the message along.
I want to see the final result for the illustrations as what was shown was interesting and brought out the steampunk elements, but were in black and white (with a few hints of color to make a point) and not really “formed.” Details are minimal and used to give an overall feeling to the scene, but does not focus on the smaller things, unless that is what is really needed (but that is minimal). I enjoyed what I read, but it was not WOW the best book ever. I would say at least for ages 10 and up, but could be best for 12 to 14. There is a death scene towards the end, but while I felt it was handled well, it could be a bit for a more sensitive reader.