The Longest Night of Charlie Noon

May 15, 2020
Lost in the woods beyond their English village, three schoolmates spend a terrifying night during which the boundaries of time dissolve. Eleven-year-old Charlie and her friend Dizzy set off for an afternoon, searching for "Old Crony," who left the secret messages Dizzy found in the woods--or so their classmate Johnny Baines has claimed. Instead, frightened by Johnny's masquerade as a bloodied monster, they run blindly into the trees. Shortly, all three are lost in what is suddenly a trackless, endless forest amid a fearsome storm. Using science theories about time, a quotation from T.S. Eliot, secret messages, and elements of quest-patterned fantasy, Edge creates a historical thriller set in 1933 in a realistically detailed natural setting. The author of The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day (2019) and other time-bending titles populates this tale with a tomboy (11-year-old Charlie loathes her real name, Charlotte), nature-loving Dizzy, and mean boy Johnny Baines, "the toughest kid in school." Dizzy has light brown skin and a "lolloping walk" thanks to an early bout with polio; the other two are likely white. Charlie's first-person present-tense narrative is suspenseful, ending with welcome relief. "We can change the world," Charlie says, as they emerge the next morning. A final chapter summarizes their later lives: how they were, indeed, changed by the events of that night and their contributions in World War II. A gripping, thought-provoking adventure to read and discuss. (Historical thriller. 10-14)

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Starred review from August 1, 2020

Gr 3-7-Once upon a time, three children got lost in the woods. Except this story isn't a fairy tale, and time is the problem. Charlie and Dizzy are on an adventure to find the spy who leaves messages in the woods. Johnny is there to bully Charlie and Dizzy. They quickly discover that the ciphers are not the only mysteries. Straight paths lead in circles, the sun sets hours before it should, and the stars appear in the wrong places. The adventure turns into a nightmare where time follows its own rules. The author explains on the first page that "once upon a time" does not exist. The reader may think he's just being clever, but it is in that framework that the rest of the story twists and turns. The mystery gets more intense as the children venture deeper into the forest. Violent storms, disappearing bridges, and visions of the future add to their confusion. There is no anticipating what will come next. Once the action starts, it accelerates until the very end. VERDICT Readers will find it difficult to put down this imaginative book. Highly recommended.-Julie Overpeck, Gardner Park Elem. Sch., Gastonia, NC

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August 1, 2020
Grades 4-7 Edge has a penchant for integrating advanced scientific concepts into his books, and here he works Einstein's theory of special relativity into the fabric of a creepy, surreal tale of three kids lost in the woods. Moving to the country has been challenging for Charlie Noon, whose only friend now is spacey Dizzy Heron. One afternoon, Dizzy persuades Charlie to help investigate a coded message he found in the woods, but their trek is unexpectedly interrupted by Johnny Baines, the class bully. Among the trees, things grow strange, as familiar paths suddenly lead in new directions and night falls preternaturally fast. Fears of a child-eating monster dog their steps, as more cryptic messages warn the threesome of an approaching storm. Readers may be confused as Edge plays with time as a construct, further explained in an author's note, but this doesn't alienate; rather, it puts them on equal footing with the story's bewildered characters. As they muddle through, themes of friendship and individual choice prevail, and code cracking provides an extra hook for inquisitive minds.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)