Stolen Time

November 1, 2018
Dorothy, a Seattle con artist, time travels from 1913 to a drastically different Seattle of 2077.Sixteen-year-old Dorothy, who is assumed white, has no intention of marrying a wealthy man so that her mother can fleece him. She makes her escape, stowing away on a strange aircraft that's crash-landed nearby. Dorothy soon finds herself in the mostly underwater New Seattle of 2077, which was devastated by a 9.3-magnitude earthquake two and a half years earlier. Along with handsome, blond Ash, a former World War II fighter pilot, she meets Chandra, a medical student from ancient India; Willis, a white circus strongman from 1917; and Zora, an African-American mechanic and the daughter of time machine inventor professor Zacharias Walker. Walker has disappeared, and the group must travel back in time to find him. The danger is greater than ever, and the fate of the world may be at stake. The very capable Dorothy, despite being taught never to trust, finds herself becoming fond of this motley crew...especially Ash. Unfortunately, the head of The Black Cirkus, a local gang, wants to use time travel for his own reasons and has plans for Dorothy. Rollins (Breaking, 2017, etc.) explores the potentially confusing mechanics and possible consequences of time travel with aplomb, and intricate action sequences in the eerie New Seattle and a military base in 1980 are thrilling.Pure fun with an explosive twist. (Science fiction. 13-17)

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February 1, 2019

Gr 8 Up-Dorothy and Ash's love story spans centuries, but is set in motion when Dorothy, living in the year 1913, stows away aboard Ash's time machine and winds up in the year 2077. Plenty of cross-space-time adventure-and flirting-ensues. Rollins's sci-fi romance features a diverse cast of characters, which suits the plot's emphasis on access to all of space and time. Chapter headings clearly indicate whose point of view readers are meant to inhabit, and although perspectives and settings change nearly every chapter, these clear markers alleviate potential confusion. Most of the third-person narration alternates between Dorothy and Ash, with the exception of intermittent epistolary chapters written from the perspective of the mysteriously missing Professor, for whom Ash has been searching space-time for years. Paradoxes feature as heavy plot devices, and occasionally the exposition reads as clunky and ill-defined. Romance is the main focus of this trilogy, although both Dorothy and Ash spend so much time internally remarking on their own beauty, it's unclear whether they'll ever have the time to become an item. This light time-travel novel is fast-paced and sprinkled with just enough science-fiction tropes to satisfy most fans of the genre. VERDICT Recommended for purchase where teens are eager for more books similar to series by Kiera Cass and Alexandra Bracken.-Jessie Hedrick, Westmont Public Library, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2018
Grades 8-11 On her wedding day in 1913, Dorothy escapes the marriage her scheming mother wants for her, and daringly stows away on an aircraft flown by Ash, secretly a time-traveling ace pilot from WWII. Quick-witted Dorothy, trained in the art of theft and deception, has the shock of her life when they land in the year 2077, when massive tsunamis have flooded the West Coast. Ash belongs to a team of time travelers fighting to stop their technology from falling into the hands of the Black Cirkus, a violent gang led by the terrifying Quinn Fox. During his voyages into the past, Ash glimpses the future, where he will die from a knife wielded by the girl he loves. Swearing off romance, he nonetheless finds himself falling for Dorothy, who chooses love and the dangers of apocalyptic Seattle over a safe life as a doctor's wife. While not a particularly fresh take on the familiar time-travel romance conceit, a delightfully fearless heroine and a delicious twist at the end make this a compelling trilogy starter.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)