Tag Archives: Time Travel

The Little Shop of Found Things

Have you ever looked at an old house, an ancient tree, or a piece of antique jewelry, and wished it could share what it has seen through the years? As a young child, Xanthe found that when sometimes she touched an old piece, she would become aware of its history.

Xanthe and her severely arthritic mother, Flora, had recently purchased an old antique shop. One day while adding stock, Xanthe came across a silver chatelaine (a set of short chains attached to a woman’s belt, used for carrying keys or other items) that spoke to her very powerfully. It not only had a story attached but the vengeful spirit of Margaret Merton. Margaret would stop at nothing, even murder, to get Xanthe to do her bidding. 

So begins Xanthe’s mysterious adventure of time travel, injustice, and a romance that will span the centuries.

In 1605, a servant girl named Alice was accused of being a thief and had been hanged. Using the silver chatelaine, Margaret sends Xanthe back in time so she can rescue Alice. While in the past, Xanthe also meets a grave young architect, Samuel Appleby, to whom she is strongly attracted, who helps her in her mission. By saving Alice from the hangman’s noose, Xanthe knew she was already risking the future but what choice did she have? Margaret’s spirit was in control and Xanthe would be trapped in the past if she didn’t prevent Alice from dying. Xanthe needs to return to her own time, knowing Flora might die without her help.

Xanthe is a quirky outspoken young woman whose vintage clothing, Doc Martens, compassion for others, witty sense of humor make her quite a character. The kind of person you’d want to travel back in time with on this adventure. Flora, her mother is a loving, smart woman who does not let her ailments and arthritic pain stop her from working and becoming a part of their new situation in Marlborough. Samuel is a renaissance man, who surprisingly overcomes his caution to befriend Xanthe who’s fighting for justice in an unjust time.

The second installment of the series, The Secrets of the Chocolate
House, is due to hit the streets on October 22, 2019.

Available Formats: Book & Ebook

Review by Micah, St Matthews

Outlander series by Diana Galbadon

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I’m pretty sure that the majority of America knows about the TV show, Outlander. Most people have been introduced to Jamie and Claire through Starz hit show, including me, an avid reader who must read the book before watching adaptations. However, that wasn’t the case with Outlander. I was three episodes in before I discovered that this awesome TV show was a book, and not just one book but an eight-book series! So I stopped watching and picked up the first book from my library.

I was hooked from the very beginning. Claire visits Craigh na Dun, a stone circle near Inverness, with her husband Frank.  She ends up falling through the stones to 18th Century Scotland, arriving on the eve of what would become known as the Rising of 45, the last of the Jacobite rebellions. This set up gave my adult self what my childhood history nerd self could only dream about, traveling back in time to witness first hand a historical event. And it is set during one of my favorite periods of history, the Scottish Highlands before 1745.

The Clans system, still intact, plays a strong role in the storyline and how the characters interact with each other. Claire, a modern woman, is definitely not prepared for the past. Soon after arrival, she is rescued from Black Jack Randall (her husband Frank’s ancestor) by a ragtag group of Highlanders led by Jamie Frasier. Jamie Fraser is pretty much a man of the 18th Century. He’s used to the mild and submissive women of his time, not one as strong-willed and slightly foul-mouthed as Claire.

These two seem the least likely to fall in love. Love, at first sight, it is not; Claire can’t stand his old fashioned views and he calls her “Sassenach,” meaning “outlander” or “outsider” as an insult. Eventually, this turns to a term of endearment. The two become part of a hasty marriage to protect Claire from the English, but it’s not a happily ever after. Claire gets sent back through the stones and the couple ends up being separated by over two centuries.

While Outlander is the love story of Jamie and Claire it is also a family saga of survival. Both Claire and Jamie survive a war and terrible times but still manage to find each other again, as well as expand their family through blood, marriage, and adoption. Outlander was Jamie and Claire’s love story while Dragonfly in Amber is the story of war and how they became separated. The follow-up installment, Voyager, is the story of how they find each other again. Drums of Autumn, my favorite book in the series, is the story of their family, blood or otherwise.

The series has something for everyone – history, time-travel, romance, and adventure – which is what made the series so enjoyable for me. When I read historical fiction I don’t mind romance but I don’t want it to take over the story. I want the history of the time to play a role as well as a nice balance. Gabaldon does that well you can tell that she does her research on the period  before sitting down to write. Each book is filled with rich historical detail that translates well to the screen.

If you’ve read the books and enjoyed them I would recommend watching the show. Keep in mind the show is an adaption of the books, so scenes may differ. If you’ve only seen the show and are experiencing Outlander withdrawal (a.k.a. Droughtlander), I would highly recommend reading the books. The library has copies of the first eight books as well as the DVDs of the first three series.

Reviewed by Carissa, Main Library

Waking in Time by Angie Stanton

If you have ever been curious about time travel, check out this tale that travels back to the past and into the future.  If you like a bit of a mystery, dig into this story. And, if you like romantic tales read Waking in Time by Angie Stanton.

Angie Stanton started with an old photo of a young woman named Ruby and some sketchy information. Anyone who had known Ruby’s story had long ago passed away. So, armed with only a few facts and the photo, Ms. Stanton decided to create a story for Ruby and solve the mystery of why Ruby spent a short stint in a convent when she wasn’t Catholic. Within each time period explored, there is a sense of what it was like to be a young woman of the period, complete with certain social restrictions and fashion styles.

Abbi (the protagonist based on Ruby) isn’t stopped from standing up to the prejudices of a woman’s place, falling in love, and digging for answers in some odd places.  Following her grandmother’s last request to attend her alma mater, University of Wisconsin Madison, was the easy part. The other part of the dying plea was just plain weird. Abbi had promised to “find the baby.” But what baby?

Thinking her grandmother’s mind had been wandering at the end, Abbi put it out of her mind. That is, until the morning after her first night at college when she woke up in the year 1983, more than 30 years in the past. In her travels in time, Abbi meets two men at earlier times in their lives. One is a professor of physics (Smitty) and the other is a young man from the 1920’s who had traveled forward in time (Will). Each is a part of the frustrating puzzle since, both Smitty and Will have information from the past they can’t or won’t share with her. Abbi also meets others along the way and learns more about herself and her family.

But, if they ever hoped to end this strange time travel nightmare Abbi and Will had to solve the mystery of why this was happening. Did she really want to return to her own time if it meant losing Will, who Abbi had grown to care so very much about?

Format Available: Book

Review by Katy, Shawnee Branch

 

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

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Georgie McCool has a lot going for her. She has a job writing for a hit sitcom in Los Angeles, two young daughters, and a stay at home husband who handles the domestic details while Georgie focuses on her career. Landline begins as Georgie is getting the opportunity she’s waited for after years of writing comedy, the chance at having her own television show. So what’s the catch? To get a shot she’ll have to work through Christmas and sacrifice celebrating with her family. Her husband begrudgingly agrees she should go for it, but in Georgie’s mind there’s no debating it. And that’s where the cracks begin to show.

Have you ever accidently left your cell phone at home then it just makes your entire day feel off? Georgie’s cell is broken and being unable to get in touch with her husband causes her wonder not only if her marriage is failing, but maybe her perception of reality is going as well. The latter isn’t helped by the fact that she encounters a telephone that allows callers to time travel. With the help of an old-fashioned landline Georgie begins to explore the state of her marriage taking readers back to when it first began.

Thirty-somethings are the projected audience for Landline, but Rowell’s works Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, both published in 2013, target teens while striking the hearts of a broader swath. Rainbow Rowell romances the underdog in us all by giving her quirky, unpopular characters exactly what they need, each another. Bestseller Eleanor and Park perfectly romanticizes the nature of young love and the rights have been recently been acquired by Dreamworks for a film adaption. Fangirl is a coming-of-age story that starts with two twins going off to college one ready to cannonball into the pool and the other left standing on the diving board.

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To hear about other projects by the author visit her website:  http://rainbowrowell.com/

Formats Available: Book (Regular Print)

 Reviewed by Natalie, Main Children’s