by Alexandra Monir
Summary:
It had always been Michele and her mother. They had a great life in Los Angeles. But when her mother dies in a car crash, Michele finds herself across the country living with grandparents she's never met. Grandparents who happen to be Windsor's, one of the oldest (and richest) families in New York City. As Michele struggles to adjust to her new life, she finds herself exploring the house her mother grew up in. What she finds is a diary, a diary that takes her back to 1910. Where she discovers that everything she thought she knew isn't quite true.
Review:
For a book about time travel, Timeless is well written and pretty believable. I enjoyed how the author didn't try to explain any 'science' behind the diary's ability to take Michele back in time to whichever time period she was thinking about. I also thought that her interactions with her ancestors were quite fun, plus the idea that she was the impetus for most of their choices is interesting. This book is the first in it's series, something good to know going in because a lot is left unresolved. All in all it's a good read for teens who like romance.
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Age Level: 8th grade
Showing posts with label Time Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Time Travel. Show all posts
Friday, November 16, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
Summary:
It all began when Miranda's mom was selected to be a contestant on the hit game show "$20,000 Pyramid." Or was it when her best friend Sal got punched in the face walking home from school. Or was it when the crazy guy on the corner showed up. Or when the spare apartment key she and her mom keep in the fire hose box is stolen. Or when the first mysterious note arrives asking her to write everything down, because the letter writer is going to need the whole story in the future. When space and time seem to collide, Miranda learns that sometimes the things we think are unbelievable are the things that shape our lives.
Review:
One of the best parts of Stead's novel is how it deftly deals with questions of time and space as it convinces the reader that things in the future can change the past. And that things that might have changed the past from the future, like someone time travelling, won't change the past because the things that have changed the past have already occurred (she says it much better than I do here). Miranda is a well written character, as are her friends and family. Definitely a great read for tweens of both genders.
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Level: 5th Grade
Summary:
It all began when Miranda's mom was selected to be a contestant on the hit game show "$20,000 Pyramid." Or was it when her best friend Sal got punched in the face walking home from school. Or was it when the crazy guy on the corner showed up. Or when the spare apartment key she and her mom keep in the fire hose box is stolen. Or when the first mysterious note arrives asking her to write everything down, because the letter writer is going to need the whole story in the future. When space and time seem to collide, Miranda learns that sometimes the things we think are unbelievable are the things that shape our lives.
Review:
One of the best parts of Stead's novel is how it deftly deals with questions of time and space as it convinces the reader that things in the future can change the past. And that things that might have changed the past from the future, like someone time travelling, won't change the past because the things that have changed the past have already occurred (she says it much better than I do here). Miranda is a well written character, as are her friends and family. Definitely a great read for tweens of both genders.
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Level: 5th Grade
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Revolution
by Jennifer Donnelly
Summary:
Andi has nowhere to go. Trapped by the grief after the death of her younger brother, guilty that she might have been able to stop it, abandoned by a father who moved out and a mother whose grief has rendered her completely dependent on Andi, she has nowhere left to turn. There is only one thing that comforts her, her music, but even that has not been enough. When she finds herself stuck in Paris for two weeks with her father, she turns even more to her music. When she finds a 18th century guitar in the house they are staying in, she finds comfort in it's strings. But it is the diary she finds hidden inside it, written by a 17 year old girl during the French Revolution, which helps her find the peace she needs.
Review:
Revolution weaves French history with modern life in an interesting fashion. The book deftly showcases life during the revolution, a time of horror for those who lived it, and relates it to the struggles that Andi is having in her life, as well as putting things in perspective for her. The book is pretty accurate in it's history, though it does take liberties to incorporate Alexandrine's acts. The book is also interesting in how it relates the struggles both girls have, both struggling with loss and feeling abandoned and alone. In the end it is Alexandrine who gives Andi the strength to move forward with life.
Genre: Historical Fiction/Contemporary Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Summary:
Andi has nowhere to go. Trapped by the grief after the death of her younger brother, guilty that she might have been able to stop it, abandoned by a father who moved out and a mother whose grief has rendered her completely dependent on Andi, she has nowhere left to turn. There is only one thing that comforts her, her music, but even that has not been enough. When she finds herself stuck in Paris for two weeks with her father, she turns even more to her music. When she finds a 18th century guitar in the house they are staying in, she finds comfort in it's strings. But it is the diary she finds hidden inside it, written by a 17 year old girl during the French Revolution, which helps her find the peace she needs.
Review:
Revolution weaves French history with modern life in an interesting fashion. The book deftly showcases life during the revolution, a time of horror for those who lived it, and relates it to the struggles that Andi is having in her life, as well as putting things in perspective for her. The book is pretty accurate in it's history, though it does take liberties to incorporate Alexandrine's acts. The book is also interesting in how it relates the struggles both girls have, both struggling with loss and feeling abandoned and alone. In the end it is Alexandrine who gives Andi the strength to move forward with life.
Genre: Historical Fiction/Contemporary Fiction
Age Level: 8-9th Grade
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
by Ransom Riggs
Summary:
After the death of his grandfather, Jacob struggles to understand what he saw on that tragic day. In an attempt to understand not only that but also more about his grandfather, he and his father travel to the island where his grandfather grew up. On this tiny place outside of Wales his grandfather lived in an orphanage. But it was no ordinary orphanage. It was an orphanage for a special kind of child. As Jacob explores this place he learns that things are not as they appear, and are in no way what he expected.
Review:
Miss Peregrine's orphanage is full of the impossible. The children are capable of extreme feats. They live in a permanent world where every day is the exact same. Jacob is introduced to an entirely new life at this orphanage and has to choose between this new one and the old life he had. The book is well written, definitely not quite what you expect when you begin, but overall very good. The old pictures throughout the book are an interesting touch as well.
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Grade Level: 8th-9th
Summary:
After the death of his grandfather, Jacob struggles to understand what he saw on that tragic day. In an attempt to understand not only that but also more about his grandfather, he and his father travel to the island where his grandfather grew up. On this tiny place outside of Wales his grandfather lived in an orphanage. But it was no ordinary orphanage. It was an orphanage for a special kind of child. As Jacob explores this place he learns that things are not as they appear, and are in no way what he expected.
Review:
Miss Peregrine's orphanage is full of the impossible. The children are capable of extreme feats. They live in a permanent world where every day is the exact same. Jacob is introduced to an entirely new life at this orphanage and has to choose between this new one and the old life he had. The book is well written, definitely not quite what you expect when you begin, but overall very good. The old pictures throughout the book are an interesting touch as well.
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Grade Level: 8th-9th
Monday, April 25, 2011
Countdown to the Year 1000
Countdown to the Year 1000
Author: Kate McMullan
Publisher: Edina, Minn. : Spotlight, [2007], c1999.
Plot Description:
The year 1000 is fast approaching, but there is no cheering going on for the new millennium. Instead everyone is worried thanks to the prophecy declaring that the world would end when the clock strikes midnight on the last day of the year 999. But when Count Upsohigh declares that he has a plan to save everyone, a plan that requires everyone to give him their gold, it is up to Wiglaf and his friends at the Dragon Slayer Academy to figure out the truth.
Review:
Countdown to the Year 1000 is a fun fantasy book. It is one of a series which all takes place at the Dragon Slayers’ Academy, where young boys and girls learn to become dragon slayers and knights. McMullan creates a very involved world full of new characters with funny names which are all a joke if one looks at them carefully. A great series for tweens interested in fantasy fiction.
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Reading level: 5th Grade
Similar Books: Eragon
Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- fun series about the middle ages
Subjects/themes- Dragons, Adventure, Prophecies, Time Travel, Fiction
Series information- Part of the Dragon Slayers’ Academy series
Character names/descriptions-
Wiglaf- one of the newest members of the DSA
Zach- comes from the future to tell them that the world won’t end in 1000
Count Upsohigh- has a plan to take all the people’s gold
Annotation: How can you prove the world won’t end?
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