Hazards of Time Travel: A Novel

I really thought I'd enjoy this book, a dystopian time travel story! But I quickly discovered this wasn't what I was expecting at all. First off, the author paints the picture of an oppressive government in this story who is afraid of any free thought, or individuallity so much so that they arrest anyone who dares think outside their rigid belief system. They then would turn around and send these criminals back in time to a place where they had the freedoms to think and act how they wished, and could see others doing the same and give them a college education at the same time? Only to supposedly reintegrate these educated people who have seen and had a taste of actual freedom? Not really a realistic response from a government such as the one portrayed. The author does try to make a point that the late 1950's and early 1960's where an odd time historically, and her main characters battle against the evils and prejudices of the time, and you get the feeling that the author wants us to believe this is some sort of harsh punishment for these exiled individuals......... Also the book seems to only be a platform for the author to express her religious, political, and philosophical beliefs, and this mind numbingly evident in virtually every chapter in this book, very little effort was put into anything else honestly, not even the bizarre love story that consumed 80% of this book. Our protagonist is portrayed as an intelligent independent teenager, but for some unknown reason falls for a much older teacher, despite herself, and common sense, and basically makes herself a slave to his wishes, living to please him despite any real reciprocal affection being returned. The constant overly intellectual psycho babble in this book really did drag it down, and was very tiresome. The only redeeming plot point was the twist revealed at the end of the book, but by that point it was too little too late. It's a stretch to give this book 2 stars, 1 1/2 is more fitting.