Saving Lucas Biggs

April 1, 2014

Gr 5-8-Margaret O'Malley's father is sentenced to death for crimes she knows he did not commit. She watches as he is taken from the courtroom, his voice calling out to her with a verse from a poem. It is a vow that could carry her to a world gone by, but is not to be used. His clever explanation of string-theory physics and her family's "quirk" of being able to relocate, although briefly, into history sends her on a quest to save him from bitter, vindictive Judge Biggs's sentence and from the people who are still trying to silence him. Margaret goes back to 1938 and witnesses the events that caused Lucas Biggs to become the person he is today. The authors weave a tale of justice and family bonds with threads of historical fiction accented with the fantastical physics of time travel. The heroine begins to realize that the very stuff that makes people who they are-that combination of all their life experiences-can sometimes shift the very fabric of history. At least that's what Margaret is hoping, because the only way to save her father is to first save corrupt Lucas Biggs from himself.-Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2014
The authors, a husband-and-wife writing team, seamlessly incorporate heavy social-justice issues--fracking for natural gas in 2014 and a coal-mining protest in 1938--into a riveting time-travel adventure story. Margaret, 13, is devastated when her geologist father (recently fired) is falsely accused, convicted and sentenced to death by the vindictive and corrupt judge Lucas Biggs for arson and murder in the first degree. A whistle-blower, John Thomas O'Malley discovered that due to fracking, poisonous chemicals had leaked into the local water supply: Is he a traitor or hero? Two stories set in the company town of Victory, Ariz., told in alternating voices--Margaret's in 2014 and 13-year-old Josh's in 1938--run parallel and then converge. Desperate to save her father and supported by her best friend, Charlie, and his grandpa Joshua, Margaret breaks the sacred family vow and activates the genetic O'Malley "quirk" to travel back in time to try to change events just enough to impact the present. In 1938, a related narrative of injustice is unfolding, one in which Luke Agrippa's pacifist father is leading a nonviolent uprising for decent working conditions after a mine collapse and a company-led massacre. Who is Lucas Biggs, can he be saved, and why does it matter? Strong storytelling, suspense, lyrical writing, high drama, weighty matters made accessible and a bit of humor add up to a terrific and heartwarming read. (Mystery/fantasy. 9-12)

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May 1, 2014
Grades 4-7 Margaret O'Malley's father has just been sentenced to death for a murder he didn't commit. In the same town 70 years earlier, a miners' strike led to another murder and another falsely accused man. The O'Malleys' forbidden ability to time travel might save everyone or no one, but Margaret is desperate enough to try. De los Santos and Teague craft a gentle, quiet sci-fi story where the focus is not on the science. Margaret's time-travel abilities aren't the pointlove, nonviolence, and social justice are. The husband-and-wife writing team keep the story moving along at a nice clip, so the peaceful message grows naturally out of the action and drama. The resolution might be a bit easy, but by that point most readers won't care. They will be too busy appreciating determined Margaret, her plucky friend Charlie, and his steadfast grandfather Joshuaa character in both 2014 and 1938. Give this one to readers who like stories about family, doing the right thing, and standing up to those who don't.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)