June 09, 2007

48 Hour Book Challenge: Time - Not On Her Side

Time is blurring, fragmenting, and coming unraveled, and people are being whirled through the universe, out of their proper time into another far into the past, far into space, or far into the future. The government calls these incidents "Time Tornadoes," and periodic sightings of woolly mammoths on the Thames coupled with disappearing school buses and sightings of ancient Egyptians have everyone in a panic. A Time Incident robs Silver of her whole family, and she is taken from being a daughter of the house to being the servant of her nasty aunt, Mrs. Rokabye, and her aunt's sinister black rabbit, Bigamist.

A strange round man named Abel Darkwater comes to the house where the two of them live, and insists that at Tanglewreck, the house where they live, the cure to the time distortions exists. After all, nothing has happened there. He needs only to ask Silver the location of the Timekeeper, a very special clock, and with it, he can make everything will go back to normal. As much as Silver may want to help him, or feel compelled to tell him everything on her mind, the truth is, she doesn't know where the Timekeeper might be.

Somebody else is seeking the Timekeeper, and she is beautiful and kind -- and far more treacherous than Mr. Darkwater could ever dream to be. Is there no one Silver can trust? And what is this Timekeeper thing?

All Silver knows is the House has told her this one thing: she needs to find the Timekeeper, and fast.

Fans of Garth Nix's Mister Monday series may enjoy this novel, which is written in short, action-packed chapters that take the character from Earth to Space and all throughout time. Though some of the hard science and time-talk might be confusing to a middle-grade reader, the characters are enough fun to keep most involved.

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