“Every Anxious Wave” by Mo Daviau
Published: February 2, 2016 by St. Martin’s Press
Genres: Romance novel, Contemporary romance, Time Travel Fiction
“Every Anxious Wave” by Mo Daviau is a fun ride. Karl Bender, former guitarist for a 90’s rock band, discovers a wormhole in his closet that transports him back in time to a concert he attended in his younger years. After making this discovery, he recruits his friend Wayne to help him harness the wormhole and set up a business to sell tickets to people so they can see concerts past and return to the present.
Karl has rules for time travel, one being that you cannot interact with people or change the past. Wayne decides he wants to go back to 1980 to stop the assassination of John Lennon. Karl argues, but can’t change Wayne’s mind and eventually agrees to do it, but instead of typing 1980 into the computer he accidentally typed 980 and sent Wayne back to a time before civilization! Wayne is able to communicate with Karl via text to point out his mistake.
Karl enlists the help of astrophysicist, Lena Geduldig, who happens to be a fan of Karl’s former band, to get Wayne back. Karl and Lena really hit it off and end up falling in love while gallivanting through time. That is, until her mission changes from rescuing Wayne to changing her own past. Which sends Karl on an adventure through time to find her.
“Every Anxious Wave” brings up some interesting questions. IF you could travel through time would you want to? Would changing your past be far too tempting to avoid? Would you want to go forward in time? Would seeing your own future alter your decisions in the present?
I really enjoyed the book. It was recommended to me by another music head so I don’t know if it would be as fun for someone who wouldn’t enjoy the concept of going back in time to see iconic concerts of yesteryear. There are so many music references mostly to 90s punk and alternative bands so it’s super nostalgic for those of us who grew up during that time. The book is tragic and hilarious. While I feel like more time could have been spent on some aspects of the story, I feel that the love story between Lena and Karl is well developed. The hopefulness of the “post A” future is a nice touch.
It’s worth checking out for a fun summer read. There is some sexual content though, so I don’t recommend it for anyone younger than high school age. I give it 3 3/4 out of 5.
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