Jumping around in time while searching for his father, Sam Faulkner visits various points in history, from the time of the vikings to ancient Egypt and more. In each time he has to find a specific size coin with a hole in it...or he'll be stuck in the time he ends up in! A fun read for the detail provided about the daily life of various peoples throughout history. Also has a nice dash of humor in there to please young readers.
Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com
This isn't the first time Sam's dad has disappeared. According to Sam's grandparents, Allan Faulkner was always an odd kid, but he pretty much settled down when he married Sam's mom. In the three years since Sam's mom died, Allan seems to have reverted back to his own little world. One that sometimes involves him disappearing for days at a time. Never for ten days in a row though, and he's NEVER forgotten Sam's birthday. Sam's pretty sure there's more going on then an unexpected business trip.
Having escaped a judo tournament due to cancellation, and a beating from his much larger archenemy by feminine intervention, Sam is off to do some investigating. While Sam has lived with his grandparents, and cousin Lily, since the beginning of the year, Allan is still living in the house/bookstore he runs. That seems like the best place for Sam to start looking for clues.
Sam finds his way to the basement of the old house. There he finds a hidden room, a strange book, an old coin of some kind, and a strange-shaped stone that seems to be making noise. Sam feels almost drawn to the stone, and when he touches it... Let's just say the adventures truly begin.
Sam's dad seems to have found a way to travel through time! And now time has sucked Sam in, too. Sam is beginning to suspect that his dad is caught somewhere in the past. With the help of this crazy stone and some other coins, Sam just might be able to rescue him. That is, if he can figure out how to get out of the random places he keeps getting sent to, and find a way to wherever his dad went. Plus, he'll have to find a way to keep his grandparents from worrying about his disappearances, and keep Lily's nosy mom and her boyfriend out of his way. Oh yeah, and he still has make it through the judo tournament and possibly through the bully who wants to smash his face in.
I love time travel books, and this story does not disappoint. For a book that's not too thick, and reads very quickly, there's a whole lot packed in to it! And it's so much more than just a time travel story. These characters seem like real people, with normal problems. It's a recognizable family that's trying to hold itself together, in spite of very strange occurrences.
Sam has such great adventures, both in the past and in the present. I wish I could do all of it, except I'm not sure I could think as fast as he does at times!
The book ended much sooner than I wanted it to. I wanted to keep reading more and more about Sam, and his family, and his travels. Maybe I can find a time traveling stone to the future, so I can read all of the books that I hope come next! Even if I have to wait, I look forward to as many of these as I can get.
This isn't the first time Sam's dad has disappeared. According to Sam's grandparents, Allan Faulkner was always an odd kid, but he pretty much settled down when he married Sam's mom. In the three years since Sam's mom died, Allan seems to have reverted back to his own little world. One that sometimes involves him disappearing for days at a time. Never for ten days in a row though, and he's NEVER forgotten Sam's birthday. Sam's pretty sure there's more going on then an unexpected business trip.
Having escaped a judo tournament due to cancellation, and a beating from his much larger archenemy by feminine intervention, Sam is off to do some investigating. While Sam has lived with his grandparents, and cousin Lily, since the beginning of the year, Allan is still living in the house/bookstore he runs. That seems like the best place for Sam to start looking for clues.
Sam finds his way to the basement of the old house. There he finds a hidden room, a strange book, an old coin of some kind, and a strange-shaped stone that seems to be making noise. Sam feels almost drawn to the stone, and when he touches it... Let's just say the adventures truly begin.
Sam's dad seems to have found a way to travel through time! And now time has sucked Sam in, too. Sam is beginning to suspect that his dad is caught somewhere in the past. With the help of this crazy stone and some other coins, Sam just might be able to rescue him. That is, if he can figure out how to get out of the random places he keeps getting sent to, and find a way to wherever his dad went. Plus, he'll have to find a way to keep his grandparents from worrying about his disappearances, and keep Lily's nosy mom and her boyfriend out of his way. Oh yeah, and he still has make it through the judo tournament and possibly through the bully who wants to smash his face in.
I love time travel books, and this story does not disappoint. For a book that's not too thick, and reads very quickly, there's a whole lot packed in to it! And it's so much more than just a time travel story. These characters seem like real people, with normal problems. It's a recognizable family that's trying to hold itself together, in spite of very strange occurrences.
Sam has such great adventures, both in the past and in the present. I wish I could do all of it, except I'm not sure I could think as fast as he does at times!
The book ended much sooner than I wanted it to. I wanted to keep reading more and more about Sam, and his family, and his travels. Maybe I can find a time traveling stone to the future, so I can read all of the books that I hope come next! Even if I have to wait, I look forward to as many of these as I can get.
