Topic: Time Travel

Shoeless Joe & Me

When Joe Stoshack (“Stosh”) hears about Shoeless Joe Jackson — and the gambling scandal that destroyed the star player’s career — he knows what he has to do. If he travels back in time with a 1919 baseball card in his hand, he just might be able to prevent the infamous Black Sox Scandal from ever taking place. And if he could do that, Shoeless Joe Jackson would finally take his rightful place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

But can Stosh prevent that tempting envelope full of money from making its way to Shoeless Joe’s hotel room before the big game? 

Shoeless Joe & Me describes historical baseball events in an interesting story that baseball fans will love. Readers will not only learn about Shoeless Joe and the Red Sox scandal of 1919, but they will also get a glimpse of Shoeless Joe’s everyday life. Shoeless Joe hated that people believed he was stupid because he couldn’t read or write; however, this didn’t stop Shoeless Joe from living his baseball dream. Even though Shoeless Joe’s dream came to an end when he was banned from baseball because of his part in the scandal, Shoeless Joe & Me presents evidence that proves that Shoeless Joe was not part of the gambling scheme. In addition, the back of the book encourages readers to write letters asking that Shoeless Joe be inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

The story is told from Stosh’s point of view. Many readers will relate to Stosh, who loves baseball and travels back in time to help a friend. While in the past, his behavior is not always likable. Stosh is impulsive and doesn’t think about his words or actions. Plus, he’s not always respectful of others. Despite this, Stosh’s motivation for traveling to 1919 is honorable – he’s hoping to save Shoeless Joe from being banned from baseball. 

One negative aspect of the book is that Stosh and some of the adults show unsportsmanlike behavior. Stosh yells at an umpire for making a bad call. In addition, when one of his teammates misses catching a ball, Stosh yells, “C’mon, Barton! What do you think you’ve got a glove for?” After a game, the losing team’s “players and parents were all over Mr. Kane [the umpire], screaming at him, cursing him out, threatening him, and telling him that he was blind as a bat.” 

Scattered throughout the book are historical news clippings and pictures, such as an advertisement that Shoeless Joe posed for. Not all of the pictures are historical, but the back of the book explains which photographs aren’t the actual people described in the book. In addition, the back of the book includes other facts and myths regarding Shoeless Joe. 

Baseball fans and history fans alike will enjoy Shoeless Joe & Me because the story gives a new perspective of the Red Sox scandal. Many people know about the Red Sox scandal but Shoeless Joe & Me focuses on one player’s version of the events which allows readers to understand how the gamblers impacted everyone—players, coaches, and fans. For more engaging baseball stories that will be a hit with readers, check out The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz, Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse by David A. Kelly, and Out Of Left Field by Ellen Klages. 

Sexual Content  

  • When Stosh is stuck in a closet, he unscrews the backing and enters another hotel room. “A woman, about twenty-five, was standing in front of me. She was totally naked.” When she screamed, a man appeared and “waved the bat around menacingly.” The man yells, “Just say the word, Katie, and Ah’ll split his head like a melon!” Stosh ends up befriending the man and woman. 

Violence  

  • When a group of gamblers discover Stosh spying on them, two men grab him. After they interrogate Stosh, the thugs take him to a hotel and lock him in a closet. 
  • A teammate, Chick Gandil, tries to convince Shoeless Joe to purposely lose the World Series. “Joe took a swing at Chick with Black Betsy [Joe’s bat]. Gandil bailed out like it was a high, inside fastball. The bat missed his head by less than an inch.” Chick throws money on the bed and leaves. 
  • When Eddie Cicotte pitches badly, he is taken out of the game. “The Cincinnati fans hooted and threw fruit at him.”  
  • After losing the first World Series game, Gleason (another player) and Gandil were laughing. “Even though Gandil was about six inches taller and fifty pounds heavier, Gleason suddenly leaped toward the first baseman and wrapped his hands around his throat.” The two are broken apart, but then “Ray Schalk, the catcher, attacked Eddie Cicotte and had to be pulled off him.”  
  • While leaving the World Series, two men grab Stosh. “Another guy grabbed my arms and twisted them behind my back. It hurt, and I was scared.” The men drag Stosh to a billiard parlor where he meets two thugs, Abe and Billy, and their boss, gambler Rothstein. 
  • Stosh is pushed onto a chair by the thugs. Abe and Billy “wrapped the rope around me again and again until I was just about covered to my chest, arms, and legs. Then they pulled tight and knotted it in several places.” Stosh is interrogated. “Billy pulled a revolver out of his belt and started sliding bullets into it.” Stosh jumps back to his current time period before he can be shot. The scene is described over five pages.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • When explaining the Red Sox scandal, Stosh’s mom says, “But gambling is like cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. It can be addictive. Some people – like your father — start doing it and they can’t stop.”  
  • Several times, adults smoke cigars and cigarettes.  
  • When Stosh goes back in time, he appears in a basement. When he peeks through a hole in the wall, he sees three men counting cash. Stosh thinks, “I didn’t think these guys were drug dealers. I wasn’t even sure if there were drugs in 1919. They must be crooks. . .” 
  • When Stosh goes to the World Series, “near the ticket booths, six men wearing army uniforms were standing in a group, drinking whiskey. . . Everyone, it seemed, was holding a bottle in their hand. A lot of them looked like they were already drunk.”  
  • Wilber, a thirteen-year-old boy, smokes cigarettes.  
  • After getting sick, Stosh takes Tamiflu. While in the past, he gave Tamiflu to a boy, which saved the boy’s life. 

Language  

  • When Stosh dresses in 1919 clothes, he protests because “I’ll look like a doofus.” 
  • Heck is used several times. 

Supernatural 

  • Stosh holds a baseball card and thinks about going into the past. “It wasn’t long until I began to feel the tingling sensation in my finger. . . I closed my eyes and thought about Cincinnati in early October 1919. . . The tingling moved from my fingertips to my hands and then up my arms. . . And then, like a movie screen fading into white, I felt my body slipping away.” 

Thanksgiving on Thursday

With each step, orange leaves crunch, and the smell of roasted turkey seeps into the living room. Paper-hand turkeys cover the fridge and the taste of pumpkin pie warms the heart. There are so many amazing traditions that come with Thanksgiving. Now, where did these traditions come from? Jack and Annie travel to Plymouth in 1621 to experience the first Thanksgiving and find out.  

When Jack and Annie arrive, they are dressed in outfits that look just like the other settlers. Annie wears a long dress with an apron and Jack wears trousers with stockings. They silently try to make their way to the village, but Jack gets caught in a trap. With all the commotion, the settlers and Squanto, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, spot the siblings.  

Jack and Annie are interesting and likable characters. Jack’s fearsome nature compliments Annie’s brave and headstrong attitude. This is shown even more with the black and white illustrations. For example, when Jack grabs an eel, his facial expression shows his fear. The siblings both use words like “sure” and “oh brother!” which gives them more personality. 

When reading Thanksgiving on Thursday, children will learn about the Pilgrims’ journey on the Mayflower as well as how Squanto and other Native Americans helped the Pilgrims survive. The author incorporates facts about the first Thanksgiving into a fun adventure. For example, “Squanto showed the Pilgrims a way to catch eels. He showed them how to push the eels out of the wet sand with their bare feet, then grab them with their hands.”  

While much of the story is fictional, the book includes historical figures like Squanto and Priscilla. Priscilla is one of the most notable Pilgrims from the Mayflower and she becomes a guide for Jack and Annie’s adventure. Squanto was also helpful to the kids. He taught them that, although someone may look different or come from a different place, they should still be treated kindly. Squanto not only tells them this but shows by example. Although Squanto does not know who Jack and Annie are or where they truly came from, he still welcomes them to the feast.  

Proficient readers who are ready for chapter books will enjoy Thanksgiving on Thursday’s fast-paced plot. There is large text and black-and-white illustrations every two to seven pages, which makes the story accessible to young readers. The large, detailed illustrations also help to bring the characters to life. In addition, readers will see the characters in action, such as when Jack drops the turkey. Even though Thanksgiving on Thursday is part of a series, the books do not need to be read in order. However, readers will enjoy discovering the other quests that Jack and Annie go on.   

Follow Jack and Annie on an exciting adventure in 1621 while they experience the first Thanksgiving. After reading Thanksgiving on Thursday, readers will be ready for pumpkin pie, but, most importantly, they will learn why Thanksgiving is monumental. Readers who want to learn more about Thanksgiving can read the following non-fiction books: The Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Pilgrims by Mary Pope Osborne and What Was the First Thanksgiving? by Joan Holub. 

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • There is mention of the family and friends who traveled on the Mayflower and died from disease and were “cold and hungry.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • Squanto smokes a pipe with the other men.  

Language  

  • When Jack makes a mistake, Priscilla laughs. He blushes and thinks, “Priscilla must think I’m an idiot.” 

Supernatural 

  • Jack and Annie have a magic tree house that allows them to travel to the past. 

Spiritual Content  

  • Pilgrims wanted to travel to America because “the people on board [the Mayflower] wanted freedom of religion. They wanted to worship God in their own way– not the way the king of England made them.” 
  • Children are important to the settlers because “children are a gift from God.” 
  • Priscilla explains the awful winter the people had faced due to the harsh weather. She says, “And now, God be praised, we had a good harvest, and we have peace with our neighbors.” 

Mummies in the Morning: The Graphic Novel

In the pyramid, a real-life mummy is waiting. . . .The magic tree house has whisked Jack and Annie to ancient Egypt. Inside a pyramid, Jack and Annie find a long-dead queen who needs their help solving a centuries-old riddle. If only they can find their way through the pyramid’s maze!

Fans of the Magic Tree House Series will enjoy seeing the same stories in a graphic novel format. The illustrations use bright colors that help bring the adventure to life. Even though the story includes a picture of a mummy and a ghost, the story isn’t frightening. Instead, the sibling’s journey is full of adventure as it teaches about the Ancient Egyptians’ world. 

The graphic novel is accessible to even the most reluctant reader because of the easy vocabulary and the simple sentences. Some of the pages tell the story without any text, while other pages have up to nine sentences. Readers who are unfamiliar with the Magic Tree House may have difficulty following the plot because so much of the original text has been cut out. While the short word count will appeal to many readers, they will miss out on some of the joy of reading the longer version.  

If you love to read, reading the original Mummies in the Morning is definitely the way to go because it’s much more in-depth. However, struggling readers will still find the graphic novel format entertaining.  

Readers who want to travel back in time to learn more about Egypt should also read Escape from Egypt by Wendy Mass and Secret of the Prince’s Tomb by Marianne Hering. You can also learn more interesting facts by reading the nonfiction companion Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Mummies and Pyramids.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • None 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language  

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • Annie opens to a page of a book and says, “I wish we could go to this place.” Magically, the tree house begins to spin. “It spun faster and faster.” When the tree house stops spinning, they are in Ancient Egypt.  
  • Jack and Annie meet the ghost of Hutepi, Queen of the Nile. Hutepi asks Jack and Annie to help her find “the magic spells I need to get through the Underworld.”  
  • Hutepi has not been able to travel to the afterlife because she cannot read due to her bad eyesight. When Jack tries to give her his eyeglasses, Hutepi says, “I fear I cannot wear your glasses, Jack. I am made of air.” 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Found

On one fateful day at Sky Trails Air, an airplane full of 36 infants and no adults appears out of thin air. Thirteen years after the plane incident, readers meet Jonah Skidmore and Chip Winston, neighbors, and new friends. The boys were adopted thirteen years ago, and both receive mysterious letters that read “You are one of the missing” and “Beware! They’re coming back to get you.” 

When trying to find out what the letters mean, the boys meet an FBI agent who refuses to share any information regarding a matter of “national security.” After a bit more digging, the boys discover they were victims of a vast smuggling operation and are now caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different outcomes for Jonah’s and Chip’s lives. The boys struggle to decide how to protect the lives of all 36 children and must choose to return to the future or stay in the current time which might ruin the fabric of time. 

Jonah is the primary protagonist, who is nonchalant about most things in his life — adoption, planning, confrontation, and more. However, when others are in trouble, Jonah is the first to step up and fight. Chip is Jonah’s newest neighbor and friend, and the boys bond over their mysterious situation. Chip is more emotional than Jonah, and he is more prepared to jump into situations headfirst. Jonah’s younger sister, Katherine, is intrigued by the mystery and is enthusiastic to help —  sometimes to a fault. Jonah reflects that “she made this whole mess sound as if it was just a challenging math problem . . . this was just an intriguing puzzle to her.” Chip and Katherine are more eager to find clues than Jonah, who ends up being the voice of reason at times. Despite their differences in approach to the challenge, the three characters work together to solve the mystery.

Found is a phenomenal book for young teens as they begin to question their identity and relationships with others. The book’s primary theme is identity, as Jonah and Chip try to answer the question: “Who am I?” While not every adolescent isn’t adopted or struggling with a multi-generational infant-smuggling operation from the future, readers can appreciate how the characters work to understand their past and how to shape their future. However, there are plot holes in the story regarding how the timeline works and there is little background on what the reader knows about Chip and Jonah’s past. The questions readers are left with leave them to continue reading the series to find answers.

The action-packed book has suspenseful turns that readers won’t expect. For readers who love science fiction and mystery, Found is a perfect story. The science isn’t entirely explained, but if readers are able to look past that and focus on the story, the book will be hard to put down. The main characters are brave and try to do the right thing, which could inspire readers to do the same. This is the first book in an eight-part series, so the book ends on a cliffhanger to keep readers engaged and interested in the next book: Sent. 

Sexual Content 

  • Chip admits that he has a crush on Jonah’s sister, Katherine. When Jonah’s mom finds out Katherine is hanging out at Chip’s house, alone, she thinks, “There couldn’t be anything romantic going on between those two, could there? She’s only in sixth grade, but this is an older boy . . . ”

Violence 

  • After Chip learned he was adopted, his father refused to talk about the topic. This upsets Jonah, who fantasizes about “stalking over to Chip’s house, swinging his best punch, and hitting Chip’s dad right in the mouth. He wanted to hit him a couple of times.”
  • Someone tries to abduct Jonah, Chip, and Katherine when they meet with an eyewitness from the plane incident, Angela DuPre. Someone else jumps onto the abductor, which allows the children to get away. The person who tackles the abductor “had one hand pressed into the other man’s hair, holding his head down. With his other hand, the tackler was frantically waving Jonah away.” The teens are able to safely escape with no injuries.
  • Two of the bad guys get tased while trying to abduct the teens in order to return them to the correct time. Angela DuPre “pointed her gun at [one] and a stream of light shot across the room, jolting him. He let out a scream and fell to the ground, twitching.” The men are stunned momentarily but are not seriously injured.
  • The final fight scene between the attackers and the children gets violent. Jonah has a direct confrontation with one of the bad guys named Gary. “With one hand, Jonah grabbed for Gary’s hair, with the other, he poked his fingers into Gary’s eyes . . . Jonah let go of Gary’s hair just as Gary was shoving him away, flinging him toward the stone wall. Jonah slammed against the wall hard. He thought he could feel every bone of his spine hitting rock, one bone after the other.” Jonah is not seriously hurt, and able to run immediately after. This scene only lasts one page.

Drugs and Alcohol 

  • None

Language 

  • None

Supernatural

  • The teens believe there is a ghost sharing information with them. 
  • Angela DuPre has a conspiracy that Chip and Jonah were part of an attempt to travel back in time. Angela explains, “the theories are that if anything could go faster than light, all sorts of weird things would happen. Time and space would have a different relationship.”

Spiritual Content 

  • None

Secret of the Prince’s Tomb

The hot sun and sand of ancient Egypt await Patrick and Beth in their next Imagination Station adventure. The cousins are caught between a terrible ruler and a nation bound for slavery. To help their new friend Tabitha, the cousins must seek out a great secret—one that will give hope to her family and future generations. Their search takes them to an ancient burial vault and . . . a mummy! But the vault is a confusing maze, filled with traps and mysterious symbols. Will the cousins ever get out again to share a life-changing hope? 

Secret of the Prince’s Tomb introduces readers to the time period after Joseph saved the Hebrews from famine. Patrick and Beth “met the Hebrews when everything was about to go all wrong. They were about to spend a long time in slavery. But God still wanted them to keep their hope in him.” Despite the harsh treatment that Hebrews faced, the cousins remind the Hebrews that “even though things are hard now, God is looking out for his people.” 

When Patrick and Beth go back in time, they witness the Egyptian’s harsh treatment of the Hebrew slaves. While the treatment is cruel, the descriptions are not graphic. However, some readers will still be upset by the Egyptian’s treatment of the Hebrew people. Unlike many stories, Secret of the Prince’s Tomb does not have a hopeful conclusion. Instead, the Hebrews will remain in slavery for a long time. Despite this, there is hope because God is still caring for his people.  

The story uses easy vocabulary; however, some readers may have difficulty understanding the complicated plot and how all the pieces fit together. While readers may not understand some of the story’s connections, they will still be entertained by the suspenseful story. Most of the suspense is built by Patrick and Beth running from trouble. However, each time they go into a new situation, they learn more about the time period. They also go inside a pyramid, which adds interest to the story. To help readers understand the time period, black and white illustrations appear every five to fifteen pages. 

Readers interested in history, especially biblical history, will find Secret of the Prince’s Tomb an entertaining book that reinforces biblical principles. While Patrick and Beth are not well-developed characters, the story connects the cousins’ everyday problems to the difficulties of the Hebrew people. Through their experiences, the cousins learn that “God wants me to have hope in Him, not in what happens to me.” Readers interested in learning more about Egypt can jump into the past by reading Escape from Egypt by Wendy Mass.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • The Hebrew people are being discriminated against and forced into slavery. A Hebrew errand boy was “lashed” with a “long, thin rope.” Afterward, the boy “could barely stand.” 
  • While working in the heat, one slave “doubled over and fell to his knees.” When the man is too weak to work, an Egyptian guard “hit the man in the back with the staff.” 
  • Patrick and Beth try to help their friend Tabitha escape slavery. After being caught, Patrick and Beth are arrested. An Egyptian “grabbed a rope from inside the cart. He tied the cousins’ wrists together.” Then, the Egyptian tied them to a cart and took them to a prison cell. The pharaoh’s son, Lateef, later releases them. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • None 

Language    

  • None 

Supernatural 

  • The Imagination Station takes Patrick and Beth back in time. While going back in time, “The clothes you’re wearing will change. They will look right for the time. And you’ll have a few other things you’ll need.”   
  • The Egyptians believed that “whoever opens a tomb will be cursed.”  

Spiritual Content  

  • Patrick and Beth are Christians who “believed in only one God.” 
  • The Egyptians believe in “hundreds of gods,” including the god of the sun and the goddess of the Nile. The pharaoh’s son, Lateef, and others believe that the gods are angry with them, which is the reason they have not had enough rain. Lateef explains, “If the people bring enough sacrifices, the gods will be happy. Then, if the gods choose, they will raise the waters. . . They might send rain.” 
  • Lateef believes that there are “many things” that make the gods unhappy and that “only one thing pleases them: sacrifices.” 
  • Tabitha’s family are Christians. When Patrick and Beth were taken to prison, Tabitha worried about them. When she sees that they are saved, Tabitha says, “God be praised. My family has been praying for you.”  
  • Patrick and Beth sneak into a tomb. When an Egyptian guard chases them, Patrick and Beth blow out their lamp. Then, Beth “said a small prayer asking God to help Patrick’s memory” so they could get out of the pyramid.  
  • While looking at Joseph’s tomb, Beth and Patrick discuss the biblical story. Beth says that Joseph’s “m

Mystery of the Map

Oliver, Mya, and Jorge take a ride in a hot-air balloon, only to crash-land on an unknown island filled with extinct animals and a horde of angry Vikings. Welcome to Poptropica, an uncharted group of islands whose existence is hidden from the rest of the world. As the three friends embark on a perilous search for a way home, they quickly discover the shocking reason they were brought there—something that threatens the very existence of Poptropica and their ability to ever make it off the island! 

Many kids already love Poptropica, a website that shares stories via gaming literacy. Kids familiar with the website will instantly connect to Poptropica: Mystery of the Map. Written by Jack Chabert, author of Eerie Elementary (published under a pen name), Mystery of the Map uses action and humor to entertain readers. The graphic novel features three diverse kids—Oliver, Mya, and Jorge. The three are somewhat stereotypical—Oliver is a nerd, Jorge is clueless, and Mya is frustrated by the boys’ antics. Despite this, readers will love this crazy adventure where the kids get the best of the Vikings.  

Some of the humor is comically childish. For example, after falling from the sky, Jorge gets caught in a tree and a bird pulls off his belt. Jorge’s pants fall, revealing bright pink, space underwear. Then, when the kids sneak into the Viking’s fort, one Viking picks his nose and eats the booger. In addition, two of the Vikings are sitting and their butt cracks show. Oliver says, “Seriously? These guys built ships that crossed the Atlantic, but they couldn’t invent belts?” 

Each page has brightly colored illustrations that use fun elements such as onomatopoeia—”Krash! Smash! Krak!”—as well as comical characters with oversized eyes. The illustrations clearly show the characters’ varying emotions such as annoyance, fear, and confusion. Some of the pages let the illustrations tell the story without text. Other pages contain up to nine sentences with easy-to-understand vocabulary. Most of the sentences are super short, which makes the book accessible to reluctant readers. 

While on the island, the kids meet Eric the Red. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t give much information on the well-known Viking and misses the chance to add historical facts. If readers are interested in more adventurous Viking stories, they can sail into history by reading Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker. 

While there is little educational value in Mystery of the Map, the graphic novel will entertain readers with the funny, fast-action romp through an island filled with Vikings. Most of the violence comes from the kids running from danger, which is portrayed in humorous ways. The simple plot has a mysterious villain, Octavian, who the kids outwit. If you’re looking for a book series that kids will devour, the Poptropica Series should be on your must-read list. The conclusion ends with the kids sailing away from the island, leaving readers eager to start the next book in the series, The Lost Expedition.  

Sexual Content  

  • None 

Violence  

  • While on a balloon ride, Captain Octavian pushes Mya. To defend her, her brother Oliver pokes Octavian in the stomach. During the tussle, Jorge and Oliver fall out of the hot air balloon. Octavian then pushes Mya out. The three kids fall from the sky but are uninjured. 
  • Octavian tries to steal a Viking ship. When a Viking calls out, Octavian throws a stone at the Viking’s head, which knocks the man out. 
  • A large saber tooth cat chases the kids. When the cat jumps, Jorge ducks and the cat hits a tree and knocks itself out. 
  • When the Vikings try to put the kids into a cage, they run. There is a short fight that shows a Viking throwing a barrel at the kids. Then the Viking gets out his weapon. Before he can use it, Oliver knocks a container off a shelf. The container hits the Viking on the head and the kids are able to escape. 
  • A group of Vikings shoots arrows at the kids.  
  • A Viking chases the kids. The short chase ends when the saber tooth cat attacks the Viking and they both fall into a river. 
  • The kids find a man wearing only his underwear, tied to a tree. They free the man. 

Drugs and Alcohol  

  • The Vikings drink mead. 

Language    

  • Octavian calls a boy a brat. 
  • Because Oliver can identify a rare bird, Jorge calls him a nerd. 
  • Jorge asks if Mya is a neat freak.  
  • When Jorge hears a Viking talking to himself, Jorge says, “He’s nuts.” 

Supernatural 

  • The kids find a magical map. Oliver explains, “I can pinch and zoom and stuff! I can see all sorts of details about the island. It’s some kind of new technology.” The map answers their questions and shows them where to go. For example, when Oliver says, “Map, please find shelter,” the map shows them where to go. 

Spiritual Content  

  • None 

Babe & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure

On October 1, 1932, during Game Three of the Chicago Cubs–New York Yankees World Series, Babe Ruth belted a long home run to straightaway centerfield. According to legend, just before he hit, Babe pointed to the bleachers and boldly predicted he would slam the next pitch there.

Did he call the shot or didn’t he? Witnesses never agreed. Like other baseball fans, twelve-year-old Joe Stoshack wants to know the truth. But unlike other fans, Joe has the astonishing ability to travel through time using baseball cards—and now he’s determined to settle one of baseball’s greatest puzzles.

 Babe & Me explores the father-son relationship through both Babe Ruth’s eyes and Joe’s eyes. Even though Joe’s father has spent little time with him, Babe Ruth points out the good aspects of Joe’s dad. Despite this, Joe struggles with feelings of resentment because his father seems more concerned with coming up with get-rich-quick schemes than spending time with him. His father, who is often angry, blames his troubles on luck. He says, “You can try as hard as you want. Be as good as you can be. But a lot of what happens in the world is plain dumb luck.” Towards the end of the book, Joe’s dad finally realizes that his relationship with Joe is more important than money.

Throughout the story, both Babe Ruth’s public persona and his private, more serious side are shown. Babe Ruth is loud, reckless, and a big spender when around people. However, when he is alone with Joe and his father, Babe Ruth has a tortured soul because of his upbringing as well as his belief that he was not a good father. Historical pictures and partial news articles are scattered throughout the story. Plus, the author explains what events actually happened and which events he made up. In addition, there are four pages of quotes from baseball players that show that even now, people do not agree on whether or not Babe Ruth called his shot.

Joe is a likable main character, who has conflicting emotions about his father. Because Joe and his father were able to spend time with Babe Ruth, they witnessed Babe Ruth’s generosity, his reckless behavior, and his emotional turmoil. However, Joe’s father is not necessarily a likable man and his change of attitude is not believable. Despite this, the fast-paced time travel adventure will appeal to sport-loving readers even though the story has little baseball action. Readers who want to learn more about Babe Ruth should also read Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse by David A. Kelly. Middle-grade baseball fans can also jump back into time by reading The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz.

Sexual Content

  • Babe Ruth sees a woman crossing the road and says, “Got a load of the sweet patootie! She is one red-hot mama!”

Violence

  • While at a park, men stood on wooden crates making speeches. As one man spoke, “some people booed, and somebody threw a rock at the guy . . .” When two policemen show up, “somebody threw a rock at one of them, and it bounced off his helmet. The cop pulled out a nightstick and hit a guy with it. . . The people in the crowd began to hiss and boo and throw things at the cops. The second cop pulled out his pistol and fired it up in the air.” The scene is described over two pages.
  • Babe Ruth was signing his autograph when one boy dropped his paper. Joe picks it up and refuses to give it back to the boy. The boy’s father “reached into his jacket and pulled out a knife.” After the fathers’ argument, Joe gives the paperback to the boy.
  • As a boy, Babe Ruth stole money from his father. “Dad caught me and beat me with a pool cue.”
  • Babe Ruth’s father “got kicked in the head in a fight outside his saloon and died when he was forty-six.”
  • Babe Ruth tells a story about a baseball player who “didn’t see a pitch coming at him. It busted his skull. He crumpled like a rag doll right in the batter’s box.” The man died.
  • One of the reasons that Joe’s father is often angry is because of his family history. His grandparents and their children were rounded up by the Nazis. Joe’s father says, “Only my father escaped, by hiding under the house. The Nazis sent the rest of the family to Treblinka, a concentration camp. They were all killed. In the gas chambers.”
  • Joe’s father catches Babe Ruth’s home run ball. His father “and a few other guys dove for it, but I got there first. They tried to beat it out of me. That’s how I got the black eye, actually.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • Babe Ruth is seen smoking a cigar.
  • Even though it’s prohibition, Babe Ruth orders a pitcher of beer. During his meal, “he washed everything down with another pitcher of beer.”
  • Babe Ruth says that he “was drinking beer before I could read.”

Language

  • Several times cuss words are replaced with @#$%.
  • Someone calls Joe’s father an idiot.
  • Babe says heck once.
  • While at a game, some of the other teams called out insults. Someone calls Babe Ruth an “ugly tub of guts.” He is also called, fatso, a washed-up balloon headed meatball, old potbelly, lummox, and other names.
  • Some boys are playing baseball. A boy calls a player a dope.

Supernatural

  • For Joe, baseball cards function as a time machine. When he touches an old card, “that tingling sensation was the signal that my body was about to leave the present and travel back through time to the year on the card.”
  • In order for Joe and his dad to return from the past, Joe needs “to bring a new card. . . If I didn’t have one with me, we could have been stuck in 1932 forever.”

Spiritual Content

  • While men were giving speeches on the solution to the Great Depression, someone says, “God is the answer.”

Time Between Us

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet. She lives in 1995 Chicago, and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett’s unique ability to travel through time and space sends him into Anna’s life, and he brings with him a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, they face the reality that time might knock Bennett back where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

Anna is an extremely relatable and likable character, who hopes to travel out of the small town she has always lived in. Then she meets Bennett, who at first confuses and frustrates her. Bennett makes it clear that he is not interested in getting to know Anna, but fate has other plans. Bennett’s ability to time travel complicates matters because his future self appears to Anna before his present self has met her. Despite this, Anna and Bennett fall in love and engage in a sweet romance that will leave readers smiling.

Time Between Us is a story about family, friends, and falling in love. But it also explores the timeless question: what would you do if you could go back in time and change events? When two of Anna’s friends, Justin and Emma, are in a terrible car accident, Anna wants Bennett to go back in time and change the day’s event. This dilemma threatens to tear Anna and Bennett apart as they debate whether changing history is the right thing to do.

Teen readers who want a heartwarming romance will enjoy Time Between Us because of the likable characters, the relatable conflict, and the added interest of time travel. Readers will also fall in love with Anna’s friends and family who are warm, supportive, and protective. The story has the perfect blend of high school scenes, family life, and suspenseful time-jumping action. This easy-to-read romance will have readers wishing they could step into Anna’s life. Readers will be excited to read the companion book, Time After Time, which focuses on Bennett’s point of view.

Sexual Content

  • Anna’s mom tells her a story about “one of the nurses who got caught kissing an EMT out by the ambulance bay.”
  • Anna’s best friend, Emma, teases her about a boy. Emma says, “You wanna shag Shaggy!”
  • Bennett and Anna are talking about their plans for the future when Bennett “reaches forward and slowly traces the line of my [Anna’s] jaw to my chin. I close my eyes as his thumb slides towards my mouth and brushes my lower lip. . .I wait for the touch of his lips. But the kiss never comes.”
  • While at the beach with Bennett, Anna thinks about “him pulling me into a kiss and rolling around in the sand like we’ve just been dropped into a photoshoot for some cheesy designer cologne. . . I can’t bring myself to touch him.”
  • Bennett and Anna kiss several times. When Bennett decides to stay in Anna’s time period, he “scoots in closer and brings his hand to my face, and I fall back into the bookcase as he kisses me with this intensity—like he wants to be here. . .”
  • While on a date, Bennett “kisses the back of my neck. . . he kisses my neck again and I lose my train of thought entirely.” Later in the date, Bennett “pulls me tighter and kisses me, warm and sweet and long and slow and never ending, and I know this is what I want.”
  • One night, Bennett uses his ability to appear in Anna’s room. “Without even thinking about it, I grab his arm and pull him down on my bed, and he lands sprawled out next to me, looking a little surprised. I roll over onto his chest and smile down at him. . . His hand finds the back of my neck, and he kisses me, harder than usual.” The scene is described over a page.
  • Bennett uses his ability to take Anna to Italy. He “takes my face in his hands. Buried deep in his kiss is a new kind of promise for our future. . . We spend the rest of the day in the Cinque Terre. And then we spend the night there.”
  • Before Anna leaves for a trip to Mexico, Justin (Anna’s best friend’s boyfriend) kisses her. Anna isn’t “quite sure how to stop it. I feel trapped between his mouth and the wooden CD bin. I turn my head so fast that when our lips brush, it’s an awkward, almost accidental movement.” Anna calls Justin an idiot, and he apologizes.
  • After being unable to time travel, Bennett appears in Mexico. When Anna sees him, “I feel tears slide down my cheeks. . . within seconds he’s right next to me, and all I can feel is his fingers on the back of my neck. His kisses land everywhere on my wet cheeks and my forehead, on my eyelids and my neck, and finally on my mouth, and we pull each other close, neither one allowing even the smallest gap between us.”

Violence

  • A robber comes into the bookstore while Anna is working. He demands money. Anna’s “attention is on the shiny metal knife he pulls from his baggy jeans. He points it straight at me. . . I keep my gaze on the floor and try not to think about the cold steel of the blade on my neck or his heavy breath in my ear.” Bennett uses his abilities to relocate himself and Anna. The scene is described over three pages.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Profanity is used rarely. Profanity includes ass, crap, hell, and pissed.
  • “Dear God,” “Oh My God,” and “Good God” are occasionally used as exclamations.

Supernatural

  • Bennett can travel through time. “Bennett can disappear. And reappear. He can make other people disappear and reappear.”
  • Bennett can also “do over minor details in the past to affect the outcome, but you can’t erase an entire event. You can travel to any place in the world and into other times, but only within certain dates.”
  • Bennett loses his sister Brooke in the past. They traveled back to 1994, but Bennett “couldn’t stay because I didn’t exist in March 1994. . . Brooke did. She was born in ’93.”

Spiritual Content

  • After Bennett uses his abilities to take Anna to a different place, she becomes sick. She prays, “Please, God. Please don’t let me throw up in front of him. Please. Just this one thing.”

 

Time Traveling with a Hamster

On his twelfth birthday, Al Chaudhury receives two gifts: a hamster, and a letter from his dad who died four years ago. The letter points Al to a time machine, an unimpressive-looking zinc-tube-and-laptop contraption in the secret bunker of their old house. It also describes a mind-blowing mission: if Al can travel back to 1984 and stop a go-kart accident involving his dad as a twelve-year-old boy, then maybe he can alter the course of history—and prevent his dad’s death.

As Al soon discovers, whizzing back thirty years requires not only imagination and courage, but also garage break-ins, midnight rides on his grandpa’s mauve scooter, and even setting his school on fire. And through it all, he’s got to keep his hamster safe.

One of the best parts of the book is the relationship between Al and Grandpa Byron, who doesn’t think anyone should try to change time. Grandpa Byron says, “Life, Al, is such a wonderful gift that we should open our minds to every possible moment and cherish the memory of those moments. Because people change. Places change. Everything changes, but our memories do not. Accept life the way it is, Al. That’s the way to be happy.”

Despite Grandpa Byron’s advice, Al goes back in time several times and unintentionally makes his timeline change for the worst. When Al first meets his father, Pye, he is considering setting a cat on fire to prove he is friends with a group of bullies. Instead of being a sympathetic character, Pye is whiny and weak. While the story focuses on the father-son relationship, Al’s relationship with his father is underdeveloped. Instead, Al’s relationship with his grandfather is the central relationship. This relationship adds interest to the story because Grandpa Byron shares his Indian culture and his immigrant story.

Grandpa Byron tells Al, “Don’t dream of a different life, Al. Love the one you’ve got.” Despite this, the conclusion shows Al changing time and saving his father’s life. The conclusion is anticlimactic because after all the craziness of Al’s earlier time-traveling adventures, he ends up saving his father’s life by sending a note back into time. The ending also conflicts with the central theme.

The cover art and the title suggest that Time Traveling with a Hamster will be a fun romp through time. However, the story’s themes — grief, blended families, and bullying — are more suited to older readers. Plus, the advanced vocabulary, the explanation of the theory of relativity, and the workings of time travel may be difficult to understand for some readers. While the story is full of adventure, the complicated plotline is, at times, difficult to follow. However, strong readers who want to explore the serious consequences of time travel will enjoy Time Traveling with a Hamster.

Sexual Content

  • Al asks his stepsister if she is a virgin. She says, “as it happens, yes, if that’s any of your business, of course I am. Jesus.”
  • After Al’s father dies, his mother starts seeing a man named Steve. “The first time he stayed over at our house, I couldn’t sleep in case I would hear them, you know, doing it. But I don’t think they did.”

Violence

  • Al thinks back to a time in the past. “Back in primary school Hector Houghman stabbed Conrad Wiley in the thigh with a compass, and he wasn’t punished at all because his mum came to school and said he had ADHD and that it was the school’s fault. . .”
  • Al’s grandpa lived during a civil war. “When he was a kid, pretty much everyone in a family he knew, including a boy he played with, was murdered one night just because they were Muslim, or Hindus, or something.”
  • A boy shoots a cat, and his friends were planning on setting the cat on fire, but Al stops them.
  • A mean boy, Mecca, takes Al’s hamster. When Al tries to grab his hamster, the boy “shoves me away, then turns to grab me, one hand gripping my jacket and the other grabbing a handful of my hair. . .He practically picks me up and marches two or three steps up the grass bank before throwing me hard on the ground.”
  • When Al tries to steal something, the shopkeeper “slaps me across my cheek with the full force of the large man he is. My head is jerked to one side with the strength of the blow.”
  • Al sets a school on fire. “I’ve barely had time to stand up again and already the flames are surrounding me, getting hotter by the second. . .”
  • Al changes time so his stepsister Carly no longer knows who he is. When Carly finds Al in her room, she freaks out. Carly’s friend, Jolyon, tries to grab Al. Al distracts Jolyon and then “I draw back my foot and deliver a swift, hard kick right between Jolyon’s legs. The sound he makes is horrible. . .I feel sorry for him as he keels over sideways, clutching his groin and retching.” Al gets away.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • Al’s dad would sometimes tuck him into bed and “sometimes chat with [him], especially if he’d been drinking wine.”
  • On New Year’s Eve, Steve got “a bit drunk.”

Language

  • Oh my Lordy is used as an exclamation once.
  • Oh my God, God Almighty, and God are all used as an exclamation several times.
  • Al reads a letter his mother wrote. The letter says, “Life’s a bitch.”
  • Damnit and crap are used once.
  • Twice, Al is told to “piss off.”
  • Al comes downstairs in the morning, looking terrible. His grandpa sees him and says, “Oh my flippin’ Lordy. What happened to you?”
  • Heck is used several times.
  • Hell is used three times. A mean boy finds Al’s hamster. The boy asks, “How the hell can it be yours? Don’t be such a moron—it’s a rat with a deformed tail.”
  • A man calls Al a “gaandu” which means ass.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Disaster on the Titanic

Ranger, the time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training, finds himself in 1912 on the Titanic!

Everyone says the Titanic is unsinkable, and Patrick Murphy believes this most of all. He grew up near the shipyard where the magnificent ship was built and started working there when he turned thirteen. Then he was chosen to be part of the crew during the Titanic’s maiden voyage! Ranger meets Patrick before the ship sets sail, and once on board they befriend Maryam and Hamad. But one night, the ship hits an iceberg and starts to take on water. It’s a race against time, and Ranger and his friends must help get as many passengers as possible—including themselves—off the ship before it’s too late.

Even though Ranger helps people in dangerous situations, he has a playful disposition and likes to chase squirrels. While on the Titanic, Ranger wasn’t sure how to help the passengers of the Titanic, but he nuzzled some of the most frightened passengers. Ranger thought, “When you couldn’t fix a problem, you could at least let a person know you were there.”

Even though the sinking of the Titanic is told in kid-friendly language, the story doesn’t skip over the horrible events. For example, some men snuck onto the lifeboats instead of allowing a woman or child to take the spot. In addition, after the Titanic sunk, many of the people in lifeboats were leery about helping passengers who were in the water. They didn’t try to help others even though their boat had room for more passengers. One group refused to help because “there are hundreds of people in the water. What if they swamp the boat?”

Disaster on the Titanic is an entertaining and educational story that has a unique perspective because it focuses on a golden retriever. Ranger’s perspective adds some humor, but it also helps reduce some of the fear of the situation because he interprets fear from his scent. For example, when Ranger follows Patrick below deck, Ranger thinks, “With every flight of stairs they descended, the air smelled more dangerous. Like metal and seawater and ice.”

Readers interested in the Titanic will enjoy Disaster on the Titanic, which has full-page, black-and-white illustrations approximately every six pages. Even though Ranger’s story is fictional, facts are woven into the story. The end of the book has more information about the Titanic as well as a list of further resources. Readers who want to read more about the Titanic should also read I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 by Lauren Tarshis. For readers who love jumping back into time, the Time Jumpers Series by Wendy Mass would also be worth the read.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Patrick’s father was working on the Titanic when “a section of the staging collapsed in the shipyard. Patrick’s father was killed in a fall.”
  • After the Titanic hit an iceberg, stewards were trying to get women and children out of the third-class floor and onto the lifeboats. “A mob of passengers crowded behind a gate that led up to the boat deck . . . They were arguing and surging forward. . . An officer shot a gun into the air.”
  • Some men tried to push their way onto the lifeboats. Patrick saw, “crew members firing pistols in the air, threatening men who tried to force their way onto boats.”
  • A teenage boy tries to board a lifeboat. When the steward sees him, he pointed a gun at the boy and said, “I’ll give you ten seconds to get back onto that ship!” The boy gets off the lifeboat and “collapsed on the deck” and begins crying.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Ranger travels through time with the help of a first aid kit. When the first aid kit hums, Ranger puts the strap over his head. “The box grew warm at his throat. It grew brighter and brighter… He felt as if he were being squeezed through a hole in the sky. . .” When Ranger opens his eyes, he is in the past.

Spiritual Content

  • Patrick tells his mother that he will be working on the Titanic’s maiden voyage. His mother replies, “I’ll pray for your safety.”
  • Patrick wanted to keep a young boy and his sister together, so he helps the boy dress as a girl. When he was getting on the boat, “Patrick prayed that she wouldn’t call Hamad’s name.”
  • As the ship sank, some people “huddled in right little circles and prayed.”

George Washington’s Socks

When five kids take a walk along Lake Levart late one night, a mysterious wooden rowboat beckons them aboard. As if in a trance, they all step inside. But what they don’t realize is that this enchanted boat is headed back in time—to the time of George Washington. And their neighborhood lake has been transformed into the icy Delaware River on the eve of the battle at Trenton. Matthew, Quentin, Hooter, Tony, and Katie experience the American Revolution firsthand and learn the sobering realities of war. But how will they ever find their way home?

The first six chapters of George Washington’s Socks are slow, but readers who stick with the book will be glad they did. Matt and his friends time jump and end up in the middle of George Washington’s rebels crossing the Delaware. The rebels are preparing to attack the enemy, in a surprising way. Matt is soon separated from his sister and his friends and marching to battle. Along the way, Matt befriends Isaac, who didn’t join the Army because he believed in the cause, but rather because he needed to help support his younger siblings. While marching with Isaac and the other soldiers, Matt gets firsthand experience with the difficult situations that the rebels faced. Once Matt jumps into the past, he’s in for an action-packed adventure.

George Washington’s Socks gives readers a close look at war; while none of the descriptions are bloody, Matt sees several people whom he considered friends die. During the war, the rebels faced danger, death, and harsh conditions and yet they carried on. Seeing these experiences changes the way Matt views the rebels and the enemy. For example, Matt sees some of George Washington’s rebels being disrespectful to a Hessian soldier that they killed. “Matt suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He hated to see them acting so badly, for these were his rebels. They were the special brave men that he had always dreamed about and suddenly they seemed neither special nor brave.” Because of his experiences, Matt realizes that the line between good guys and bad guys isn’t always clear. Instead, “there’s no such thing as just good guys fighting bad guys. It seems like there’s good and bad on both sides.”

George Washington’s Socks will appeal to history lovers and readers who want a great time travel adventure. Even though the story focuses on colonial America and the Revolutionary War, the story highlights the kindness of others and has pockets of humor. In addition, Matt is a compassionate and relatable protagonist who learns that history books do not tell the whole story. Readers who enjoy historical fiction and want to learn more about the Revolutionary War should read Daniel at the Siege of Boston 1776 by Laurie Calkhoven.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Adam Hibbs was supposed to take the kids to safety, but “Adam Hibbs lay bleeding, with his head resting in Hooter Melrose’s lap. It seemed the young corporal had been standing in a boat looking up the shore when he stumbled and fell onto his bayonet. . . Adam Hibbs was not expected to live the night.”
  • Two Indians find Matt alone in the woods. “One raised a tomahawk while the other held a bow with a long arrow pointed directly at Matt’s heart.”
  • When Katie wanders off, Hessian soldiers find her. When Matt and his friends discover the group, “Matt took a deep breath and reached for a musket. Tony and Hooter did the same. At the sound of their footsteps, the Hessians swung around and drew their swords. . . The soldiers waved their swords and shouted until Matt and the boys put their hands over their heads.”
  • A Hessian soldier, Gustav, was helping the kids when there was “the sound of musket fire.” The kids “looked on in horror as Gustav cried out in pain, for a musket ball had ripped through his back. He took a step, then fell forward, toppling to the ground with his face in the snow.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • One of the soldiers has “sour rum breath.”
  • A young soldier is eating snow when he says, “I wish we had a small beer to wash it down with.”
  • A soldier’s father “has a likeness for rum. . . He spends most of his day in the tavern.”

Language

  • One of Matt’s friends asks if Matt’s grandfather is “a little bit batty.”
  • Several times the soldiers refer to the enemy mercenaries as “Hessian pigs.” They are also said to be “blood-thirsty.”
  • While traveling to attack the enemy, Colonel Knox says, “We’re hours behind because of this damn storm.”
  • When Matt decides to stay close to his dying friend, a soldier calls Matt a “little fool.”
  • After killing Hessian solider, a man refers to the dead man as “scum.”

Supernatural

  • Matt’s grandfather tells a story about a friend, Adam Hibbs, who disappeared. Adam “was out on the lake in a rowboat, a rowboat my grandpa had never seen before. . . Grandpa ran to the tent to get a lantern. But when he got back to the lake it was too late. Adam Hibbs was gone, disappeared, boat and all, and no one to this day knows what happened to him.”
  • When Matt and his friends see a mysterious rowboat, “he was the first to come under the boat’s spell. It was the same desire to board the boat that he’d felt when he first saw it. . . Smiling, as if in a trance, Matt reached for an oar.”
  • After their adventure, Katie tells the rowboat to take them home. A soldier is surprised when it looks like the kids “disappeared into thin air. . . They were in a boat on the beach and suddenly they started to spin around and then they vanished!” The general thinks the soldier imagined it because of his “harsh whisky breath.”
  • While the kids were gone, no one missed them because, “a person traveling through time can experience days, weeks, and even years, and then return home to find that he’s only been gone a few hours.”

Spiritual Content

  • A soldier thinks Matt and the kids are enemy spies. The soldier says, “God forgive the cold Tory heart that would send children out to face the dangers of this night.”
  • General Washington says, “God willing, we’ll all live to remember this night.” Later he says, “God granting, the day will be dark.”
  • When Matt’s friend dies, a man says, “He’s no longer here, but in God’s glorious kingdom.”

 

Christmas in Camelot

Jack and Annie are on their most exciting mission yet! It begins with a simple invitation to spend Christmas Eve in Camelot, a magical place that exists only in myth and fantasy. What Jack and Annie don’t know yet is that the invitation will send them on a quest to save Camelot itself—not just from destruction, but from being forgotten forever. Can they succeed, even though Camelot’s greatest knights have failed?

When Jack and Annie arrive at Arthur’s castle, they find the kingdom has been robbed of all joy. The Christmas Knight appears with a warning—someone must go on a quest to retrieve the Water of Memory and Imagination. Only Jack and Annie are willing to go on the quest. The Christmas Knight tells the kids a riddle, which will help them succeed. However, their journey is filled with danger and magic.

Readers will relate to Jack and Annie, who want to fight to save Camelot. Despite the characters’ young age, they work together to complete the quest. With a little imagination, a little magic, and a lot of bravery, the two kids are able to save Camelot. While the setting is in Camelot, King Arthur and his knights only appear at the very beginning and end of the story. However, readers will enjoy trying to solve the riddle and seeing how Jack and Annie persevere until the end.

Proficient readers who are ready for chapter books will enjoy Christmas in Camelot’s fast-paced plot. The large text and black and white illustrations every 2 to 7 pages make the story accessible to young readers. The large, detailed illustrations bring the characters and monsters to life. The author’s note includes the Celtic Myths that Christmas in Camelot was based on. The back of the book also includes fun Christmas craft activities that readers can enjoy.

Anyone who wants to add a little magic and mystery to the holidays will enjoy Christmas in Camelot. Even though the story is part of the Magic Tree House Series, the book can be read as a stand-alone. For more time travel and historical fiction, add the Imagination Station series by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker to your reading list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Jack and Annie must fight the Keepers, four monsters that look similar to dragons. “The four Keepers hissed louder than before. Great balls of blue fire exploded from their mouths and nostrils! Jack and Annie slashed the air with their fiery weapons, jabbing at the Keepers. They fought fire with fire, blue flame with purple flame.” The monsters retreat back into their caves.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • King Arthur and his knights “were gnawing meat off bones and slurping wine from heavy goblets.”

Language

  • Darn is said once.

Supernatural

  • Jack and Annie have a magic tree house that allows them to travel to the past. The two kids find an invitation in the tree house. When Jack holds the invitation and makes a wish, the magic works.
  • A “Dark Wizard” cast a spell over Camelot that “robbed Camelot of all its joy.”
  • In order to break the Dark Wizard’s spell, Jack and Annie must travel to the Otherworld, “an ancient, enchanted land beyond the edge of earth.” The two kids must bring back a cup of the Water of Memory and Imagination.
  • When King Arthur tries to stop Jack and Annie from going on a quest, the Christmas Knight “raised his gloved hand in the air. In an instant, the room fell deathly quiet.” Everyone was frozen in place.
  • The Christmas Knight gives Jack and Annie a cloak that makes them invisible.
  • Jack and Annie fight the monsters. The kids drink the Water of Memory and Imagination and the water gives Jack bravery.
  • Jack drops the cup of Water of Memory and Imagination. Then, “a golden cloud was rising from the cracks between all the stones of the floor. . . It soared across the dark room like a bright light, then swooped back out into the night.” The water unfreezes King Arthur and his knights. The water also brings laughter and celebration back to Camelot.
  • A white stag helps the kids on their journey. When they return to Camelot, the stag turns into “an old man with a long white beard.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Blizzard of the Blue Moon

In order to save a hidden unicorn, Jack and Annie time travel to New York City during the Great Depression. The siblings must find where the unicorn is hidden. In order to save the unicorn, they have to find it before the blue moon.

As they look for the unicorn, Jack and Annie get lost in a snow storm. They ride in the subway, find help in Belvedere Castle, and go to an art museum. During their adventure, two people follow them. Jack and Annie think the people are their friends, but they aren’t. Instead, the mysterious people are trying to capture the unicorn.

While the kids are lost in New York, most of the suspense is created by the people following them. In the end, Jack and Annie discover a dark wizard has sent these two people to capture the unicorn. Most of Blizzard of the Blue Moon lacks action, and there are several unrealistic events. However, finding the unicorn adds magic and whimsy to the story and produces a happy conclusion.

Proficient readers who are ready for chapter books will enjoy Blizzard of the Blue Moon’s mystery. While the siblings do not spend much time at each stop, readers will get a glimpse of some historical places. An author’s note includes the information about the Great Depression and the places Jack and Annie visit.

The large text and black and white illustrations every 2 to 7 pages make the story accessible to young readers. The large, detailed illustrations bring the characters to life. As the eighth book in the Merlin Missions Series, fans of the Magic Tree House Series will enjoy this new adventure. However, this part of the series should be read in order because several characters return from the previous books.

Jack and Annie are likable characters who both want to help others. While the story has mystery, none of the events are scary. However, some parents might not like how Jack and Annie use a “rhyme” book to cast spells. With magic, mystery, and two siblings who fight for good, the Magic Tree House series has wide appeal. With 50+ books, the Magic Tree House Series will keep younger readers entertained for years. Readers who want to spend more time jumping into the past should add the Time Jumpers Series by Wendy Mass to their reading list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A boy pushes Jack, who falls into the snow.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Annie says “Oh, darn” one time.
  • A girl tells the unicorn, “You are coming with us, stupid, like it or not.”

Supernatural

  • Jack and Annie use a book of rhymes. When one of them say a rhyme, it helps them. For example, when Annie is lost in a storm, Jack uses a rhyme. He says, “Treasure forever must never be lost! Um-motta cal, um-motta bost!” After he says the rhyme, Annie appears.
  • A unicorn was “rescued by magic weavers in the Netherlands. To keep him safe, they used their art to hide him in their tapestries.”
  • On the night of the blue moon, the unicorn will come out of the tapestry when someone says his name. A girl says, “Come, come, my lovely Dianthus, stand up now. Come out of that old rug. . .” After she says the unicorn’s name, he appears next to the girl.
  • A girl tries to catch the unicorn by putting “the black rope around the unicorn’s neck.”
  • To keep the unicorn safe, Jack reads the rhyme book. “Known from high, out of the sky, Ee-no-fain-ee-ro-lie.” Fog covers the ground and keeps the unicorn safely hidden.
  • After Jack and Annie walk through Central Park, statues begin to move. For example, “When they passed the statue of the winged angel, Jack thought he saw her move her great wings.”
  • In order to keep the unicorn safe, Jack turns the girl and her friend into ducks. Merlin tells them that the spell will wear off in a few days.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dogs in the Dead of Night

Beware of avalanches! To save one of their best friends, Jack and Annie must travel back in time to the Swiss Alps and find a rare flower. But how can they look for the flower under ice and snow? When they stumble upon a monastery where monks and Saint Bernards live, Annie offers to train a troublesome young dog named Barry. Then Barry runs away, and Jack and Annie have a new task—find Barry! Will Barry lead them to the mysterious flower, or into one of the most thrilling adventures of their lives?

Jack and Annie’s newest adventure takes them to a frozen land. Much of the suspense comes from Jack’s belief that they will never find the flower they are looking for. While Jack worries, Annie promises to train the Saint Bernard, Barry. Unbeknownst to them, Barry will help them accomplish their mission.

Barry’s playful behavior adds a little humor to the story, but mostly he gives readers a picture of the important role Saint Bernards had during the nineteenth century. Jack, Annie, and Barry end up saving Napoleon’s life; however, most readers will not understand the significance because the story doesn’t have historical information on Napoleon. Despite this, readers will enjoy the story’s adventure and love getting a peek at how it feels to be a dog. Readers who want more information on how dogs help humans should read The Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Dog Heroes.

Black and white illustrations break up the text and show Jack and Annie’s adventures. Illustrations appear every 3 to 7 pages. In addition, the book ends with a recipe to make puppy chow. Dogs in the Dead of Night is part of a series; however, the book begins with a summary of the events in previous books. While this allows the reader to understand the plot, for maximum enjoyment the books should be read in order.

The Magic Tree House Series will entertain readers because each book is full of mystery and adventure as Jack and Annie jump through time. Dogs in the Dead of Night has short chapters, black and white illustrations, and an exciting plot that readers of all ages will enjoy. For more information about the dogs in the book, read Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Dog Heroes. Readers who want more time jumping adventures should also read the Time Jumpers Series by Wendy Mass.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Jack and Annie are caught up in an avalanche. A chunk of snow “knocked Jack off his feet and sent him tumbling headfirst down the slope. Jack kept falling downhill until a wall of frozen snow stopped him.” Jack is stuck in the snow. “The soft snow around his body had turned hard and solid. Jack felt as if he were trapped in cold concrete, buried up to his neck.” A Saint Bernard saves him.
  • Barry saves a man who was buried by an avalanche. Barry “had uncovered a face. . . with bloody scratches and blueish lips.” Barry begins licking the man while Jack and Annie, who were changed into Saint Bernards, begin to dig the man out of the snow.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Darn is used once.
  • After Jack and Annie return to their human forms, Jack imagines Barry’s words, “How the heck did you change from dogs back into people?”

Supernatural

  • The magic tree house transports the kids into the past. Jack “pointed at the picture of the Great Saint Bernard Pass in their Alps book. ‘I wish to go there!’ he said.” The tree spins and when it stops, Jack and Annie are in the Swiss Alps.
  • Someone accidentally puts a spell on “Merlin’s beloved penguin, and turned her into a stone statue.”
  • Jack and Annie are given a potion. The directions say, “One sip with a wish will turn you into anything you want for one hour. Use only once.”
  • Jack and Annie use the potion to turn themselves into Saint Bernards. After taking the potion, “Jack was hurled face-first into the snow. The world went black, and Jack felt his body shaking uncontrollably.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

A Good Night for Ghosts

When Merlin the magician sends Jack and Annie to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1951, they are on a mission to inspire a young Louis Armstrong to bring jazz to the world. Unfortunately, Louis is too busy working to support his family to spend any time playing music. What’s more, Jack and Annie discover that New Orleans is not only the birthplace of jazz—it’s also haunted. It will take a host of ghosts and a daring plan from Jack and Annie to make this mission a success.

A Good Night for Ghosts uses the setting of New Orleans to show how “musical talent is really a great gift to share with the world.” Jack and Annie meet Louis Armstrong, who goes by the nickname Dippy. As they spend time with Dippy, they discover he is hardworking, cheerful, and never complains. In an interview, Armstrong said, “I didn’t wish for anything that I couldn’t get and I got pretty near everything I wanted because I worked for it.” Armstrong’s can-do attitude is portrayed throughout the book.

When the ghosts of Pirate Jean Lafitte and his crew appear, they have a jolly good time dancing to music and then disappear into the night. Instead of being scary, the pirates’ appearance allows Dippy to show how music can express one’s emotions. The happy ghosts are shown dancing and singing along with the jazz song that Dippy plays.

At the end of the story, Jack and Annie see how the streetcars were segregated. “African Americans were sitting in the back, while only white people were in the front.” When Jack notices the segregation he wonders, “Why would anyone not want to sit next to someone just because they are a different color?” However, the topic is not discussed in any more detail. The back of the book includes facts about New Orleans and Louis Armstrong, as well as a recipe for making spooky slat-dough ghosts.

A Good Night for Ghosts is best suited for proficient readers who are seven or older. Black and white illustrations that show Jack and Annie’s adventures appear every 3 to 7 pages. Throughout the story, readers will learn historical facts about Louis Armstrong and New Orleans. A Good Night for Ghosts blends historical details, magic, and a visit from ghost pirates into an entertaining story that will keep readers flipping the pages until the very end. Readers interested in more ghostly facts should also read Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #20: Ghost.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Dippy was twelve years old, he “got too rowdy one time. . . It was New Year’s Eve. I was singing with the fellas, and I got carried away and fired off a gun. . . just into the air.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Darn is used once.
  • Dippy calls Jack and Annie potato heads. “It means you don’t have any more brains than a pair of potatoes.”
  • Heck is used twice.
  • When Dippy’s friends leave a blacksmith shop that is rumored to be haunted, Dippy calls them scaredy-cats. Later he calls them fools.
  • Pirate Jean Lafitte calls Jack, Annie, and some of their friends “scurvy dogs.”

Supernatural

  • Jack and Annie are given a magic flute. They are told, “The trumpet’s magic will make you a brilliant performer. But the magic can only happen once.” When one person plays the trumpet, “The other has to make up a song. . . and whatever we sing will come true.”
  • Pirate Jean Lafitte and his crew appear. “The pirate looked like a real person, except you could see right through him.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Adventures of John Blake: Mysteries of the Ghost Ship

Trapped in the mists of time by a terrible research experiment gone wrong, John Blake and his mysterious ship are doomed to sail between the centuries, searching for a way home. In the modern day, John rescues a shipwrecked young girl his own age, Serena, and promises to help her.

But returning Serena to her own time means traveling to the one place where the ship is in most danger of destruction. Plus the all-powerful Dahlberg Corporation has an ambitious leader with plans far greater and more terrible than anyone has realized. The Dahlberb Corporation is hot on their trail, because only John, Serena, and the crew know Dahlberg’s true intentions. And only they have the power to stop him from bending the world to his will.

John Blake is an interesting character who is brave enough to try to stop Dahlberg from controlling the world. However, John and his crewmates are not well developed. The end of the book has a snippet of backstory for each of the crew. However, none of their backstories is discussed in the graphic novel, which makes the characters one-dimensional.

The large cast of characters causes a lot of confusion, and at first, it’s hard to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys. For instance, the introduction of Danielle is confusing. She has been researching the ghost ship Mary Alice, but her interest in the ghost ship isn’t explained until the very end. Plus, it’s unclear why Danielle’s knowledge of the ship is a threat to Dahlberg. Unfortunately, none of the secondary characters are developed enough to understand their motivations or care about their outcomes.

While the publisher recommends Mysteries of the Ghost Ship for readers as young as eight, the graphic novel is not a children’s book. The great lengths Dahlberg takes to rid anyone who he perceives as a threat leads to a lot of violence. Plus, the profanity and dialogue are geared more towards adults than children. Even though the two main characters, John and Serena, are in their teens, younger readers will have a difficult time connecting to them.

Mysteries of the Ghost Ship uses language that makes the book accessible to readers, but some pages are text-heavy and the complicated plot is confusing. The illustrations help propel the story forward, while the spooky nature of the Mary Alice’s illustrations adds a little mystery.

Even though the Mary Alice is a time-traveling ship, the book’s action is almost entirely in the present day. If you want an action-packed graphic novel that is a quick read, Mysteries of the Ghost Ship is a good choice. However, readers who want more developed characters who jump into a particular time period should add Tangled in Time by Kathryn Lasky and the Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier to their reading list.

 Sexual Content

  • A crewmember warns Serena about the Barbary Pirates who “take slaves, then make them row, then sell them. Sold to a harem, you know.”

Violence

  • Roger knocks out a man. Then Roger puts a chokehold on a man. Another person swings a knife at Roger. Roger steals a briefcase and then leaves. The fight is illustrated over two pages.
  • When Danielle tries to fly out of the country, men approach her and force her into a room. Roger breaks into the room and begins hitting and kicking the other men. Then, Roger points a gun at one of the men’s heads. Then men are tied to a table and their mouths are duck taped shut. The scenes are illustrated over three pages.
  • Roger recognized a man who is “an expert on enhanced interrogation techniques.” Roger considers the man’s techniques to be torture.
  • After falling off a boat, Serena finds her family and runs toward her mother. One of the villain’s lackeys points a gun at her. Serena and her friend Blake run. They go into a restaurant’s kitchen and when the men follow, Blake and Serena throw food in their faces.
  • As Serena and Blake flee, a man with a gun jumps onto the car. Blake rolls down the window and pokes the man in the eye, which causes him to fall off of the car.
  • Blake talks about meeting Kevin. When the two boys part, a man jumps out and stabs Kevin in the heart. Kevin dies.
  • When the ghost ship travels to the present, men in military clothing board the ship and start shooting. Blake is able to “spring” and “slam” the men, knocking them overboard. The fight is illustrated over six pages.
  • During a party, Blake and one of his crewmates sneak onto the villain’s yacht. A man points a gun at them. Roger punches the man in the face, knocking him out.
  • Roger, Blake, and some of Blake’s crewmen try to sneak into a party. Another man points a gun at the group. Blake confronts the villain and the two get into a fight. Once Blake is able to reveal the villain’s crime, he and his crew jump back into the Mary Alice. The fighting is illustrated over nine pages.
  • The villain shoots a missile at the Mary Alice, but the ghost ship disappears and the missile sinks the villain’s yacht. The yacht sinks and other boats come to rescue the passengers.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Profanity includes bloody, damn, and hell.
  • “Oh Mother of God” is used several times. For example, when seeing a strange ship, a man says, “Oh Mother of God, protect us.”
  • A father calls his son an idiot and a moron.
  • Oh God and Oh my God are rarely used as exclamations. For example, when a girl falls into the ocean, her mother says, “Oh God!” Later she says, “For God’s sake—the engine! Never mind the damn sails. . .”

Supernatural

  • The ghost ship Mary Alice travels to different times, but the crew cannot control where the ship goes. Blake says, “But I don’t know where we’ll end up. I think Mary Alice does though. . .maybe the wood remembers things we don’t. We seem to end up where we need to be more times than not.”

Spiritual Content

  • When the Mary Alice’s crew hears strange, but beautiful music, one of the crew says, “Jesus Christ. Protect me! Protect me!”

The Secret Explorers and the Jurassic Rescue

Traveling back millions of years in the past, The Secret Explorers must rescue a precious dinosaur egg. In their quest, Tamiko and Cheng attempt to fend off angry Allosauruses, but what will they do when the egg starts to hatch?

In The Jurassic Rescue, dinosaur expert Tamiko and geology expert Cheng team up to save a dinosaur egg. The two kids go on a fast-paced adventure where they must avoid becoming a dinosaur’s snack. The two must hide from a group of Allosauruses and at one point they even cover themselves in poop in order to hide their smell! Tamiko and Cheng use a combination of knowledge and teamwork to save an archaeopteryx.

Young readers will enjoy the story that is packed with plenty of dinosaur facts, suspense, and a happy ending that unites a newborn dinosaur with its mother. The story highlights the importance of one Archaeopteryx. Tamiko explains that the Archaeopteryx “can thrive, and have more babies. And those babies will have babies, and THOSE babies will have babies for a thousand generations—and that plays a part in the whole evolution of modern birds!”

The Jurassic Rescue has large black and white illustrations that break up the text and help readers understand the plot. Characters’ thoughts are easy to distinguish because they are in bold text. While younger readers may struggle with some of the difficult vocabulary and the length of the book, the book’s educational value makes it worth parents’ time to read The Jurassic Rescue aloud to their children. The book ends with 11 pages of a dinosaur timeline, glossary, and quiz.

Full of suspense and snapping dinosaurs, The Jurassic Rescue teaches about the Jurassic period in a fun and educational way. The Jurassic Rescue will entertain readers with the storyline and please parents with the educational value. Readers will be eager to read the next book in the series, The Secret Explorers and the Rainforest Rangers. Dinosaur-loving readers can also get more suspense-filled dinosaur action by reading the Dino Rider Series by Will Dare.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Tamiko and Cheng are transported to the Jurassic time period, a “creature bumped into the side of the Beagle, and it rocked again. . . The Plesiosaur lifted its head from the water. Tamiko caught a flash of teeth in a huge, yawning mouth.” The two kids drive away.
  • The two kids watch eight Allosauruses “prowling toward the Stegosaurus herd. . . An Allosaurus darted in and nipped at the mother Stegosaurus. With surprising speed, the Stegosaurus’s spiky tail thrashed down. One of the spikes caught the Allosaurus on the rump. It yelped with pain and quickly backed away.”
  • An Allosaurus “snapped its jaws at the Archaeopteryx. The Archaeopteryx shrieked and took off, gliding away through the trees.” The Archaeopteryx leaves its egg behind.
  • A Pterosaur tries to bite the kids. “The large predator swooped down from the branch and dive-bombed the cave mouth, snapping its long beak. Tamiko felt the brush of a leathery wingtip against her leg as she scrambled back into the cave.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The Secret Explorers can travel through time. Tamiko goes to a fossil shop and “opened the shop door. But instead of the usual glass cases full of crystals and fossils, Tamiko walked into a dazzling white light. A strong wind whipped her short black hair around her head. She felt as if she were flying—and then the light faded.” Tamiko is magically transported to the Exploration Station.
  • The Exploration Station picks two Secret explorers for each mission. When the kids’ badges “lit up” they knew they were chosen to go on the mission.
  • The Beagle can change into different types of transportation and magically takes its occupants to where they need to go.
  • When Tamiko starts the Beagle, “the steering wheel transformed beneath Tamiko’s hands into a sturdy set of handlebars, and the old seats became deep and comfortable.”
  • When the mission is over, all of the kids return to the exact location that they left. “There was a flash of light, and a jolt. Tamiko thrust out her hand to steady herself in the fierce blast of wind.” Tamiko is returned to the fossil shop.

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Strangers

What makes you you? The Greystone kids thought they knew. Chess has always been the protector over his younger siblings, Emma loves math, and Finn does what Finn does best—acting silly and being adored. They’ve been a happy family, just the three of them and their mom.

But everything changes when reports of three kidnapped children reach the Greystone kids, and they’re shocked by the startling similarities between themselves and these complete strangers. The other kids share their same first and middle names. They’re the same ages. They even have identical birthdays. Who, exactly, are these strangers?

Before Chess, Emma, and Finn can question their mom about it, she takes off on a sudden work trip and leaves them in the care of Mrs. Morales and her daughter, Natalie. But puzzling clues left behind lead to complex codes, hidden rooms, and a dangerous secret that will turn their world upside down.

The Greystone kids discover a portal to a parallel universe that is frighteningly different from their own world. While The Strangers has an interesting premise, the story leaves readers with too many questions as well as some frustrating, unrealistic details. For example, several times the kids travel to the parallel world while Mrs. Morales waits in the car. And when Mrs. Morales unknowingly goes to the parallel universe, she doesn’t realize that she is in a different world. Instead of fully developing the parallel universe, the characters spend little time there. Most of the action comes from figuring out what happened to their mother and how they can decode their mother’s message.

Each chapter of the story switches between Chess’s, Emma’s, and Fin’s points of view. Each character’s picture appears at the beginning of the chapter, which helps the reader keep track of the changing point of view. Each character brings an interesting perspective to the story and allows readers to see how the events affect each person differently. In addition, key ideas and events are often repeated in order to help readers keep track of all of the important developments.

The Strangers will appeal to both mystery and fantasy fans. However, the complicated plot, difficult vocabulary, and switching points of view make The Strangers appropriate for strong readers. Full of interesting plot twists, The Strangers ends with a cliffhanger that will leave readers wondering what happens next. The Greystone kids’ story continues in the second book in the series, The Deceivers.

Sexual Content

  • Natalie’s mother is a private detective who “spies on men who are—let’s just say they’re not very good husbands. Mom gives the wives proof, so they have the upper hand in the divorce.”

Violence

  • The Greystone kids find out that their father was “killed.” When they find out, Chess says, “Dad’s car wreck wasn’t an accident? And Mom never told me?”
  • The Greystone kids’ mother was put on trial in front of the entire town. “The guards began marching away, shoving a few more people for no reason, as if the guards were just overgrown playground bullies.” The kids run from the guards and are never caught.
  • When Joe introduces himself to the kids, “rage swelled within him [Chess] now. He slammed the palms of his hands as hard as he could against Joe’s chest.”
  • In order to escape the guards, the kids begin throwing smoke bombs. No one is injured.
  • As the kids run from the guards, they enter an abandoned house. “Then a horrid thud sounded behind them. Daylight streamed in through a crack in the wall that hadn’t been there a moment before. Chess looked back and saw the blade of an ax coming through the drywall.” The kids are able to escape.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • When the kids go to a parallel universe, the air smells strange. They discover that the air makes people feel a particular feeling.

Language

  • Natalie tells her mom, “Not everyone goes around telling anyone who will listen what a scumbag their husband used to be.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Burning Queen

In the second installment of Tangled in Time, newly orphaned Rose finds herself time-traveling between the present day and the court of the two most memorable English princesses in history. When Princess Mary ascends the throne in sixteenth-century England, Rose is forced to serve her. Mary’s coronation is coming and Rose is put to work making elaborate gowns. But the religiously devout queen’s next plan is to begin her attack on the Protestants—by burning them at the stake!

Rose’s dad, master spy, and goldsmith for the court, urges Rose to escape to her home century, present-day Indiana, where Rose befriends a young immigrant named Marisol. Rose must protect Marisol from both middle school mean girls and the threat of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Rose is determined to rescue her father and her best friend Franny from the dangers of Queen Mary’s reign. Is she willing to risk everything to save the people closest to her?

Readers who have not read the first Tangled in Time will not be able to understand the events in The Burning Queen. The story focuses on Rose and her friend Marisol, who is undocumented and an unaccompanied minor. Because of her immigration status, Marisol is frightened that ICE will take her to a detention center. Through Marisol’s situation, the pro-immigrant message is clear. This theme is reinforced when a doctor says, “many of us have been migrants at one time in our lives. It is not a crime.”

The story has many inconsistencies and questionable events. Even though the time travel is explained, the explanation is unbelievable. For example, when Rose returns to the past, she somehow knows everything that happened in her absence, and no one noticed that she was gone. Another questionable event is that Rose returns to the past in order to convince her father to travel to her time period; however, when she returns to the past, she hides from her father. In addition, Rose uses modern words and phrases and when people in the past question her, she “blamed every modern phrase she accidentally uttered on West Ditch, her supposed home village.”

Rose has a fashion blog that includes sixteenth-century fashion and modern fashion. Several of her blog posts are included; however, the pictures are of poor quality and do not reflect a modern teen’s blog. Rose uses words from her school vocabulary list, such as ecumenical and alacrity, but she never explains the words’ definitions.

The Burning Queen has many inconsistencies and holes in the plot that even younger readers will question. The complex, confusing plot, the questionable events, and the large cast of characters will make it difficult for readers to stay engaged. Readers may want to leave The Burning Queen on the shelf. For those interested in stories about time travel, the Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier would make a better choice.

Sexual Content

  • Some of the serving class are talking about Queen Mary being healthy enough to carry a child. Rose says, “I think she should bear a husband first. . . All I’m saying is it’s best to have a husband before having a child.”
  • While walking through the castle, Rose sees “two shadows entwined behind a pillar. One shadow was speaking. ‘Oh, I just want to kiss you, my darling. Kiss you and kiss you and don’t make me cry, milady, don’t make me lie, milady.’” Rose thinks it’s curious that the shadows’ words are similar to a modern song, “I just want to make out with you. I want to make time with you. I want to be true to you and only you. . .”
  • Rose has to climb underneath a dinner table to fix Queen Mary’s skirt. While under there, she recognizes a lady’s shoes. “Both her feet and those of the gentleman next to her were involved in an apparently lively conversation. What a hussy!”
  • On Rose’s blog, she wrote that a duchess “got around.”
  • Rose makes a comment that “Elizabeth would be the Virgin Queen.”

Violence

  • When Rose goes back in time, she discovers that Queen Mary “was burning Protestants. . . Burning, hangings, what would be next? Boiling in oil? Oh, the sixteenth-century mind was so creative in devising ways to kill people.”
  • As Rose learns about Queen Mary, she discovers that Lady Jane Grey was the queen for nine days, and in the end was imprisoned and beheaded.
  • Although Rose doesn’t see anyone burned, she comments about the smell and writes in her diary. “The queen seems not to smell it, and as far as I can tell she looks no bigger. If I was that baby, I wouldn’t want to be born. Imagine having your first breath of air filled with the stink of these murders. Yuck! Of course some seem not to mind the stink. . .”
  • Rose writes in her diary, “And I was told that often they tie bags of gunpowder between the victim’s knees to ensure that the person was not only burned but blown to bits.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Rose’s grandmother was “sipping a glass of sherry—just one glass on these cold winter nights.”

Language

  • A mean girl purposely trips Marisol, who drops her lunch tray. When food gets on another girl’s sweater, someone calls Marisol “stupido.”
  • Rose tells Marisol that the mean girls are “jerks.” Later someone else calls someone a jerk.
  • Heck and damn are both used twice. Darn is used four times and dang is used three times.
  • God is used as an exclamation three times. OMG is used as an exclamation eight times.
  • Someone uses “good Lord” as an exclamation.
  • Rose gets upset when a Frosty snowman kept singing a song. Rose thinks, “Go to hell, Frosty, and Melt!”
  • A lady calls a court jester a “loathsome dwarf.”
  • When Rose goes back in time, she uses the acronym TOD. When someone asks what it means, Rose says, “Turd of a dog.”
  • Jeez is used as an exclamation several times.
  • Rose gives her father a gift, and then thinks, “God, what have I done?”
  • Rose tells a girl, “Put a plug in your pug mouth.”
  • Someone calls Rose an idiot.
  • Someone uses “Oh God’s toes” as an exclamation.
    Supernatural
  • Rose’s father is from the 1500s and lived during Bloody Mary’s reign. Rose can go back in time to her father’s time period. In order to go back in time, Rose concentrates on a flower. “Marisol watched, mesmerized, as a vaporous mist began to form around Rose and she slowly dissolved, leaving just a shadow behind. Then a whisper came from the mist, ‘I’ll be back in just a minute or two.’”
  • The women in Rose’s family are able to travel back in time because “we have the gene.”
  • When Rose goes back to the past, she remembers events that she did not witness. “It was a memory she had not forgotten in the least, yet she had not directly experienced it. Her shadow had. Her ghostly counterpart that seemed to carry on without her.”

Spiritual Content

  • When Rose sees Princess Elizabeth wearing her locket, Rose prays, “Oh please, don’t let Princess Elizabeth figure out the secret to opening that locket!” Rose makes this prayer several times.
  • When Marisol falls down in the snow, Rose prays that her grandmother’s driver will answer the phone.
  • Queen Mary was a devout Catholic. Before her coronation, “there was talk of postponing the event. Holy oils that had been consecrated by the previous kings’ priests were used for coronations. But Mary was suspicious of the oil because those priests were Protestants and she was Catholic.”
  • During the sixteenth century, “the pope’s power cannot be questioned. Nor can Queen Mary’s.” When this information is introduced, Rose worries that her friend will be burned alive because she has a Bible. Rose “was absolutely dizzy with fear, with shock. She shut her eyes tight and tried to banish the image of Franny being tied to a stake. The kindling bursting into flames. Then another image came into her mind—the smugglers, the ones they called coyotes, circling Marisol. And the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers. . .”
  • On Christmas Eve, “Marisol was on her knees again, whispering her prayers in Spanish.”
  • Rose wants her Protestant friend to go to mass and pretend to be a devout Catholic. Her friend’s mother tells her, “Only God can see into your heart. He knows what your true faith is.” When Queen Mary is excited about having her baby, Rose thinks, “A baby whose mother had just given the order to set another human on fire for not believing as she did. No God in any religion on earth would want this. Of this Rose was certain.”
  • Queen Mary dictates in a letter, “I’m sure you will rejoice and be pleased with God’s infinite goodness in the happy delivery of our son/daughter.”
  • Rose writes in her diary. “I don’t think God is exactly Mary’s friend. If he is, I am profoundly disappointed in him. There have been ten more burnings!”

Dodging Dinosaurs

Get ready for Chase and Ava’s newest adventure! When they touch a dinosaur egg inside their magical suitcase, Chase and Ava jump back to prehistoric times. They’ll need to work to return the egg to its rightful nesting place before they become dinosaur dinner. How will they find the right nest to put the dinosaur egg in? Will they run into the bad guy, Randall, who keeps following them?

Siblings Chase and Ava jump back into the dinosaur age. As they search for the right nest to place the egg, the two befriend a baby dinosaur as well as run from giant stinging bugs. The story contains some interesting dinosaur facts and begins to answer the mystery of the suitcase. Even though the storyline is not completely believable, readers will enjoy the non-stop action, mystery, and dinosaur facts.

Dodging Dinosaurs is part of Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. Black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Dodging Dinosaurs introduces several characters that appeared in previous books, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

In Dodging Dinosaurs, the villain Randall jumps in to save the kids. Randall tells the kids, “As of right now, I officially quit stealing things from history. The Collector isn’t going to like it.” Even though Dodging Dinosaurs solves one mystery, readers will be eager to discover who the Collector is and why he wants historical artifacts. Dodging Dinosaurs focuses on a positive sibling relationship and will entertain readers who are ready for chapter books.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Chase and Ava are time jumpers. When they go back in time, they meet another man from their time period. Chase tells the man, “You’re definitely a time jumper. You could open the suitcase, which regular people can’t. You traveled when you touched one of the objects inside. And you remember both timelines—the one where the brontosaurus was in the museum, and the one where it wasn’t. We’re pretty sure only time jumpers can do those things.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Fast-Forward to the Future

Chase and Ava have already traveled to the past twice. When they touch a glowing cube in their magic suitcase, they don’t go to the past. They end up in the future! Even though they recognize where they are, almost everything is different. In the future, they find awesome flying cars and tons of robots. But it doesn’t take long for the villain Randall to find them. Chase and Ava are on the run. They know they need to put the cube back quickly, but can they complete their mission in time? Will Randall steal the cube?

Chase and Ava travel to the future and see a wonderful world where robots have taken the place of human laborers. As Chase and Ava explore, they pass a sign that can recognize people and records their good deeds. The robots record people’s likes and dislikes and help fulfill their desire. When Chase and Ava discover that they can spend someone else’s money, Chase says, “There must have been a mistake back there. We can’t just spend other people’s money.” The two decide that it is okay to spend the money because it actually belongs to the future Chase. The black and white pictures that appear on every page will help readers visualize the imaginative world.

Fast-Forward to the Future portrays an interesting world. The addition of a prototype robot that can talk adds interest. Although Randal makes a brief appearance, most of the plot revolves around exploring the future as well as wondering what will happen if Chase meets his future self. When Chase meets his future self, the younger Chase doesn’t get any answers to the mysteries of the suitcase or Randall.

Fast-Forward to the Future shows an imaginative future where robots and humans are friends. Readers will enjoy seeing a world where ice cream appears on demand, clothes grow to the perfect size, and the restaurant robots remember Chase’s favorite meal. Fast-Forward to the Future is part of the Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. The black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Fast-Forward to the Future has several characters that appear in book one, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Randall appears and tries to take a robot prototype, “Ava stomps on Randall’s foot! Randall howls and clutches his foot.” Chase and Ava are able to run away from him.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Chase and Ava touch an object out of an old suitcase, they begin to spin. This time, the siblings notice, “There’s something different about it this time. The images swirling around them are of strange places and objects.” This time, the two travel to the future.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Escape from Egypt

Chase and Ava find a scarab beetle that used to belong to King Tut. They know they must take the beetle back to where it belongs. When they jump back in time, they end up in Egypt! They are excited to see the pyramids and hope to meet the famous King Tut. The villain Randall is in Egypt too, and he wants the jeweled beetle for himself. How can Chase and Ava stay ahead of Randal? The two siblings must find a way to put the beetle back where it belongs.

The second installment on the Time Jumpers series is even better than the first, Stealing the Stone. As Chase and Ava try to unwrap the mystery behind the suitcase, go to visit the person who sold it to them. However, she leaves the two with more questions than answers. As Chase and Ava plan their next visit to the past, Chase uses an Egyptian History book to research the scarab beetle. With the book, Chase is able to figure out what he and Ava must do to return the object where it belongs.

When Chase and Ava go back to the 1920’s Egypt, they are able to see the pyramids and learn some historical facts about King Tut, and the famous archaeological dig that discovered King Tut’s tomb. Younger readers will enjoy learning historical facts as Chase and Ava travel to Egypt. The reappearance of villain Randall, who has two colored eyes, keeps the suspense high. Like the previous book in the series, Escape from Egypt highlights the importance of teamwork.

Escape from Egypt is a fast-paced story that gives readers a glimpse of an archaeological dig and shows the importance of the jeweled scarab beetle. Escape from Egypt is part of the Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. The black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Escape from Egypt has several characters that appear in book one, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When the villain tries to steal a scarab beetle Chase and Ava must stop him. When the villain, “lunges for them but trips over Ava’s shovel and gets a face full of sand! He tries to get up, but Chase lobs his clipboard at him. . . Randall slides right back down onto the sand.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Chase and Ava touch an object from the suitcase, they begin to spin and go back in time.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Stealing the Sword

Chase and Ava buy an old suitcase at a flea market. Even though the lady who sold it to them said that it was broken and would not open, Chase and Ava want it. Soon, they discover that they can open the suitcase and it is filled with strange objects. One of the objects looks like a dragon-headed doorknob. When the object jumps out of the suitcase, Chase grabs it. Suddenly Chase and Ava jump back in time and end up in King Arthur’s castle.

Chase and Ava overhear two knights plotting King Arthur’s death. They have to find a way to help King Arthur. As they sneak around the castle, they meet the king’s wizard Merlin. Merlin tells them the dragon-headed object is really a piece of Excalibur. Chase and Ava have to figure out how to fix the king’s sword and get it back to him. But a man with two different colored eyes wants the dragon-head object for himself. How can they help King Arthur? Will they ever make it back home?

Siblings Chase and Ava not only enjoy spending time together, but they also work together to help King Arthur. Although the two easily find the clues they need to solve the mystery, younger readers will appreciate the non-scary suspense and the glimpse of King Arthur’s time period. Even though Chase and Ava go back in time, the story focuses on the two sibling’s dilemma and has few historical facts. Even though the story contains few historical facts, Stealing the Sword combines non-stop action, mystery, and a little bit of history to create a story that independent readers will enjoy.

Stealing the Sword is part of Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. The black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. The villain Randall, who has two colored eyes, pops in and out of the story which keeps the suspense high. Stealing the Sword introduces several characters that reappear in later books, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order. Stealing the Sword focuses on a positive sibling relationship and will entertain readers who are ready for chapter books.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Someone plots King Arthur’s death and hires Big Bob to kill him during a tournament. King Arthur and Big Bob fight, and when Big Bob swings his sword, “Arthur raises his shield to protect himself.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Chase opens a suitcase and touches one of the objects, “the ground begins to rumble and shake. . . Ava clings to her brother as they begin to spin. . . Faster and faster they spin! Images blur in front of their eyes—mountains, oceans, cities, faces!” When they stop spinning, they discover they went back in time. When they return home, they discover that “even though they were at the castle all day, it’s still late afternoon here.”
  • Because the suitcase will only open for Chase and Ava, Chase compares to it King Author’s sword. Chase “loves the story of how King Arthur got his sword. Excalibur’s blade was stuck in a rock and no one could pull it out until King Arthur came.”
  • A man chases Chase and Ava, trying to steal an object. Merlin throws his hands into the sky, “a loud thunderclap fills the air, followed by a plume of smoke.” When the crowd begins to run, Chase and Ava are able to escape.
  • Merlin tries to fix Excalibur, but cannot. When Chase and Ava work together, they are able to fix the sword. “Chase brings the end of the blade down onto the hilt. . . They hold their breath as the hilt and the blade knit together, strands of steel twisting and bending into one. For an instant the whole sword glows red, then hardens. Excalibur is whole again.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Heartwood Box

Araceli’s parents wanted her to have a normal, American senior year, so they sent her to stay with her Great-Aunt Ottillie. Araceli is supposed to be focusing on school and getting ready for college, but she thinks that her aunt’s old Victorian home may be haunted. Araceli can feel someone watching her, and it doesn’t help that her great-aunt still leaves food out for her husband that has been missing for twenty years.

Araceli’s great-aunt isn’t the only creepy thing in town. Local businesses are plastered with missing posters. The townspeople are watchful and suspicious of each other. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city walls that no one talks about. When Araceli begins getting letters from the past, she thinks someone is playing a nasty joke on her.

When Araceli’s friend disappears, she is determined to find out what is going on. In order to solve the mystery, she must investigate the other disappearances as well as the secretive lab. But someone is willing to go to great lengths to keep their secrets hidden. Can Araceli uncover the conspiracy or will someone make her disappear?

The Heartwood Box is an immensely enjoyable, complicated story that will have readers guessing until the very end. Told from Araceli’s point of view, the creepy town comes alive. Although Araceli isn’t the most relatable character, her story is compelling. The supporting characters are not well-developed but they help move the plot along at a fast pace. For those who love character-driven stories, The Heartwood Box might disappoint.

This story is a mix of science-fiction, mystery, and historical romance. The multiple plots may leave readers confused unless they pay close attention. Not only is Araceli falling in love with a World War I soldier, but she is also trying to fit in at a new school and solve the mystery of the town’s disappearing people. The end of the story ties all of the threads together in a satisfying, if somewhat implausible, conclusion.

Aguirre also throws in the theme of colorism. Several times in the story, Araceli talks about colorism and gives examples of how dark skin people are treated differently than whites. At one point she thinks, “I wish America cared the same about Black and Brown girls, but there’s a lot to do yet.” Even though Araceli is bi-racial, this theme is not well fleshed out.

Readers looking for a unique time travel mystery will enjoy The Heartwood Box, which has several surprising twists at the end. Some of the vocabulary is difficult, but the majority of the story is written in easy to understand language. Although the ending is rushed, the book will captivate readers who enjoyed the Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier or Passenger by Alexandra Bracken.

Sexual Content

  • When Araceli has a friend over to the house, her aunt says, “You can watch TV in the parlor if you want. I do trust both of you, but it would be disrespectful for you to go upstairs.” Araceli thinks to herself, “Oh my God, if I wanted to hook up with Logan, I’d go across the street. He already said his parents aren’t home.”
  • In a dream, Araceli is able to see soldiers who are on a ship. She hears, “a slick skin-on-skin sound that I identify as a soldier jerking off, trying to be stealthy about it.”
  • While talking to a boy, Araceli thinks, “He’s thirsty for me. I’ve seen the look enough to recognize it, but I pretend not to know. . .”
  • When Araceli is sitting in a car with a boy, her aunt “saves me by flipping the porch light on and peeking out the front door, likely to make sure we’re not getting hot and heavy in her Plymouth.”
  • While in a dream, Araceli meets a soldier and, “I can touch him in this dream, so I do. There’s no reason to hold back. When he drops his weapon and opens his arms, I slide into them like I belong there. . . I stretch up on tiptoe and cup his face in my hands; I feel the heat of his skin, the scruff on his chin and jaw. Then I press my mouth to his, light and soft. He drags me closer and kisses me like our lives depend on it, all heat and desperation. . . We kiss and cling until I can barely breathe.”
  • When Araceli’s aunt and uncle see her sitting in a car with an older man, her uncle asks, “Is there something you need to tell us? We won’t judge you. Grown men who entice young girls should be ashamed.” Araceli tells them that the man was a family friend.

Violence

  • The town sheriff physically abuses his son. The abuse is not described, but Araceli sees the bruises. When the boy gets to school, she “can see his lip is busted, and his face is swollen on one side. At a minimum, someone slapped the shit out of him, and it looks more like he took a few hits to the face.”
  • In a letter, a soldier writes about his experiences. “France has become hell on earth, no way around it. Great tunnels in the dirt, piled high with bodies and you can’t tell a Jerry from a Brit from a Sammy. . . Death makes every soldier the same. Nobody is coming for those men, not to give them services or say a few words or even to bury them. The birds pluck out their eyes. . .” The soldier also writes, “I killed my first Jerry and threw up afterwards. . . My friend John took one in the gut, bad way to go. Took him hours to go west, and we were all freezing next to his body in a trench during that first long hour of hate.”
  • Araceli thinks back to the past. “The kids are protesting, shouting, waving signs. A shot rings out. The student leader goes down, bleeding from his head, and it’s all mayhem, all running and screaming.”
  • Someone tells the county sheriff to kill someone. The sheriff says, “You’re trying to give me a kill order? I can’t believe you think you bought me for fifty thousand.”
  • Araceli and her friends are trying to destroy mechanisms that create the ghost light. A man sees them and Araceli “rush[es] toward him, and everything else is instinct. With the hammer, I knock whatever he has out of his hand, and then I swing again, as hard as I can, right upside his head. His body goes flying, tumbling down the hill and into the water with an ominous splash.” The man dies.
  • Araceli and her friends are chased by guards who shoot at them. Araceli’s “heart thunders in my ears as more bullets spray the area. I get stung on a ricochet and a sharp pain slices across my calf. Shit, it hurts. . .” One of her friends is shot. “His voice comes out liquid with blood and breathy from his struggle for air. . . Jackson gives me a sad smile, his teeth stained with blood. . . He goes limp in my arms. . . Jackson’s blood is all over the soil and the stones, staining my hands and the suit he made to protect us.” The scene takes place over seven pages.
  • After Araceli’s friend dies, she jumps on an ATV and tries to escape. The guards, “snap shots at me as they can, but it’s not as easy from the back of an ATV, firing at a moving vehicle.” She crashes, and a man “twists my arms behind me and binds my wrists with what feels like a zip tie, then drags me out of sight. . .I taste blood from where my lips split against my teeth.” The man gags her and then puts her in a cell. The scene takes place over 4 pages.
  • Over a radio, Araceli hears “the sound of a Taser discharging and the impact of a fist hitting flesh.”
  • As Araceli and Dr. Perry try to get to the lab’s control room, Dr. Perry “slams into three guards coming around the corner. His weapon flies out of his hand. . .” Araceli shoots a guard in the belly and “the guard screams and topples over. . .” Dr. Perry shoots a guard. Later Dr. Perry shoots two more guards “neatly, two chest shots, two clean kills.” Eventually, someone shoots Dr. Perry. “Slugs slam into the blocks, shaking the cement. . . He’s down, bleeding from several wounds. . . He manages to shoot three of the four, and I fire on the last one while he’s reloading. . .” Dr. Perry dies. The scene takes place over four pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • As Araceli goes through town, she thinks about her past homes. “I can’t remember ever living in a freestanding house. There will be no rooftop garden parties here, no barbeques that draw out the neighbors so that we grill whatever’s on hand, and I take beer from the cooler without anyone asking how old I am.”
  • While in the past, Araceli goes to a Halloween party and gets drunk.
  • Araceli goes into a pizza place where some adults are drinking beer.
  • A girl’s mother is put on depression medication after her son disappears.
  • In a letter, a soldier says that while passing through England, they stopped at a town and some men got “puking drunk.”
  • When a boy is teaching Araceli to drive, he tells her, “You’re going really slow. If you’re not careful, you’ll get pulled over. Only people who are slightly high drive this much below the limit.”
  • Araceli is given a document that has information about the Heartwood box. A researcher had an “unfortunate addiction to hallucinogenic drugs.”
  • Araceli sends a note to the past, but wonders if the person receiving it, “was stoned when he got my note, laughed and rolled a joint with it.”
  • A boy’s grandfather only talked about a girl he once loved when he “had a little to drink.”

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Profanity includes ass, asshole, bitching, crap, damn, dammit, fricking hell, holy shit, piss, pissed, shit.
  • Araceli meets a boy and thinks that he is “kind of a dick.”
  • When Logan’s father gets home, he yells at his wife and asks, “Where the hell is he? I told him to come straight home from school and look after the fucking yard.”
  • OMG is used twice. Oh my god is used six times. Oh god and Oh Lord are both used once.
  • When her aunt gives her snacks after school, Araceli thinks, “I swear to God, I’m starting to like pretending I’m five. . .”
  • Araceli describes her mood as, “grumpy as hell.”
  • Araceli thinks, “I’ve experienced some shit in my life, but I can’t say I ever lived in a haunted house. Until now.” Later she thinks, “This house is so damn haunted.”
  • A boy is wearing a shirt that says, “Get in line B*tches.”

Supernatural

  • While in her aunt’s house and at school, Araceli feels a chill. She also feels as if someone is watching her.
  • Araceli has vivid dreams where she goes into the past and can interact with a World War I soldier. When she is dreaming, no other people can see or hear her besides the soldier. However, after one dream a picture of World War I changes. When she dreams, she can find the soldier because “there was a tug. . . I feel that same pull now, delicate and tenuous. . .”
  • Araceli goes into the attic, and “before I get to the pull cord, it’s tugged by an invisible hand until the distinctive click, and the light flares on.”
  • Araceli finds a treasure box that allows her to communicate with a World War I soldier. They write letters back and forth. Araceli also puts small objects like mint and antibiotic ointment into the box.
  • The town has “ghost lights” that make people slip into another time.
  • When people disappear, their loved ones leave out food for them, which also disappears.

Spiritual Content

  • When Araceli wakes up after being asleep for days, her aunt says, “Thank God.”
  • Araceli thinks about her parents who “aren’t religious. My mom’s agnostic and my dad is a lapsed Catholic, so I was baptized and that’s about it. . . We go to mass once a year at Christmas, and it’s a somber occasion in most of the countries I’ve lived in.”
  • Araceli goes to church with a friend, but the service is not described. While there, a woman says, “Everyone is welcome in God’s house.”
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