Perfect by Rachel Joyce

I really enjoyed this book. It is set in the early 1970s and follows James and Byron, two young boys who embark on a project to rescue Byron's mother from potential repercussions following a car accident. The boys believe that the accident was caused in part by the addition of 2 seconds to the year to rebalance time to match the rotation of the earth, and this contributes to one of the themes of the book - the process of time and how humans define it. As the plot gets darker the writing gets better, particularly the development of the main character which is excellently done. Definitely worth reading.