A family with a time travelling gene eagerly anticipates Charlotte’s first time travel excursion.  Only a few people throughout the generations have inherited the gene and it was foretold that Charlotte would be the next so she has spent her youth in training.  Oh – but no!  Her cousin Gwen is the one that inherited the gene.  Gwen is totally unprepared for her forays into the past.  Fortunately, she is paired up with a dashing young man who does know his way around the past.  Told from Gwen’s point of view, she reminds me of a British E. Lockhart character (Ruby or Frankie).  The majority of the story focuses on Gwen and her sidekick in the present, Lesley.  It is the dialog, the sharp narrative, and the characters that make this story so special.  The mysterious focus of the time travellers and the guardians and the first mission happen late in the book.  There are several good mysteries interwoven to keep the reader guessing.  While I enjoyed the first part, getting to know Gwen, the story really got going in the end and was over all too soon.  This ticks me off a bit because all three books have already been published overseas and I’m ready to read the next two NOW!  This is the first book in the trilogy that was originally published in Germany in 2009 and translated into 17 languages.  Sapphire Blue will be published in the US in March 2012, and Emerald Green will follow.  The US edition is eloquently translated by Anthea Bell who also translated one of my favorite books, Tiger Moon.