INTRODUCTION
I’ve been busy proposing, preparing, and giving conference presentations, so I have had less time to work on Out of the Flame. But that doesn’t stop me from reading time travel books. Several friends recommended Right Back at You. and I am glad they did.
REVIEW
This fast-paced novel’s premise is very different than the other three time travel books I’ve reviewed. (The Devil’s Arithmetic, Time Traveling with a Hamster, and The Retake). Award winning author Carolyn Mackler has created a real winner.
“What if you wrote a letter to the post and the past wrote back?”
With a log line like that, what middle grade kid won’t be curious to read it?
The book opens in 2023 with 12-year-old Mason writing a letter to Albert Einstein since his therapist instructed him to write a letter to someone. Mason chooses Einstein since he is reading a biography about him. The letter sets the tone for this epistolary novel in which the two main characters, Mason and Talia, share their disasters and dreams in their letters.
Novels written through letters are not new. Half-Truths even has a few. What is new is that Talia lives in 1987 — 36 years earlier. Their letters mysteriously appear in the other person’s closet.
Although Mason scoffs at the idea that somehow his letters travel through time and space, he eventually accepts the fact that he is corresponding with a girl who lived before he was even born. Since he read about Einstein’s theory about wormholes, he begins to believe that is the way the two of them are connected.
The book brilliantly creates a believable, relatable world. Both Mason and Talia are dealing with family and friendship issues. Despite their different lives and time periods, the two help each other navigate painful tween conflicts. Middle grade readers will identify with the universal troubles of fitting in, sibling friction, and fighting bullies. Mackler layers some interesting relationship twists into the story. No spoiler here — you have to read it to find out.
I highly recommend the novel as a unique take on time travel. It is also a terrific friendship book that both boys and girls will enjoy,
By the way–what is your favorite time travel book? I need another recommendation!
**************
Make sure to check out Greg Pattridge’s MMGM blog for more middle grade books.
