The Fifty-Seven Lives of Alex Wayfare

By M.G. Buehrlen

For as long as 17-year-old Alex Wayfare can remember, she has had visions of the past. Visions that make her feel like she's really on a ship bound for America, living in Jamestown during the Starving Time, or riding the original Ferris wheel at the World's Fair.

But these brushes with history pull her from her daily life without warning, sometimes leaving her with strange lasting effects and wounds she can't explain. Trying to excuse away the aftereffects has booked her more time in the principal's office than in any of her classes and a permanent place at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Alex is desperate to find out what her visions mean and get rid of them.

It isn't until she meets Porter, a stranger who knows more than should be possible about her, that she learns the truth: Her visions aren't really visions. Alex is a Descender - capable of traveling back in time by accessing Limbo, the space between Life and Afterlife. Alex is one soul with fifty-six past lives, fifty-six histories.

Fifty-six lifetimes to explore: the prospect is irresistible to Alex, especially when the same mysterious boy with soulful blue eyes keeps showing up in each of them. But the more she descends, the more it becomes apparent that someone doesn't want Alex to travel again. Ever.

And will stop at nothing to make this life her last.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781908844941

Reviews for The Fifty-Seven Lives of Alex Wayfare

[kerilynned · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read this book before but felt I needed to reread it before I started the second one to refresh my memory. It wasn't as good as I remember but still an enjoyable read. It's an interesting story with time travel and I'm interested to see how the story continues.

[kalky_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

THE 57 LIVES OF ALEX WAYFARE is M.G. Buehrlen's debut YA novel about a time traveling teen. Alex Wayfare is not your typical teen girl: she prefers the company of her family, she enjoys tinkering with machines of all types, and she has what she thinks are just eerily accurate visions of the past. Not knowing when those visions will happen have caused Alex to avoid close friendships, and since one of her younger sisters is dealing with a serious illness, Alex doesn't want to bother her parents with them even though she has a good relationship with them.As the novel progresses, Alex learns that there's more to her visions than some weird déjà vu, and what follows is a well written and fast paced adventure with a strong female lead. Buehrlen writes the action sequences well, and her prose is often quite pretty--not what I was expecting in this genre, but it was welcome! The plot is carefully constructed, which is necessary in a book that features the twists and turns associated with time travel, and I found Alex's character to be really well done. Also, blessedly, the love story thread is not over the top. A big THANK YOU to the author for that!I'm anxiously awaiting book two now since ALEX WAYFARE left me hanging. Hopefully THE UNTIMELY DEATHS OF ALEX WAYFARE answers all of the questions that won't leave my brain after finishing the first in the series. I'm bummed that I have to wait a year for it!