bookshelf

Look Ahead, Look Back

Name: Look Ahead, Look Back
Author: Annette Laing
ISBN: 978-0-9848101-0-9

From the The Snipesville Chronicles series , Vol. 3

by Annette Laing ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 7, 2012

An often entertaining addition to an enjoyable series, despite some awkward dialogue.

bookshelf

Three plucky kids from Snipesville, Georgia, travel back to 1752 in this third installment of Laing’s (A Different Day, A Different Destiny, 2012, etc.) time-travel series for readers ages 10 and up.

Siblings Hannah and Alex Dias and their friend Brandon Clark previously traveled back to World War II–era Britain and the Victorian period but were unable to control when and where they went. They received occasional guidance from kooky professor Kate Harrower, who tried to help them solve a mystery each time; this time, however, Harrower is nowhere to be seen. When the kids find a portrait from 1752 of what looks like Hannah’s face, they have the familiar feeling that they’ll be sent traveling yet again. Sure enough, they eventually find themselves back in the same British town of Balesworth where their previous adventures took place, but this time, it’s 1752. Hannah becomes a cook and maid in the home of one Mrs. Jenkins, Brandon becomes an apprentice to a stuffy clergyman named Mr. Osborn, and Alex spends time with local slaves. Together, the trio must figure out how the portrait came to be and how to survive the cruelty of the society around them. The stakes get even higher when they end up in 1752-era Snipesville and realize how dangerous life on a Southern plantation can be. Laing’s third volume retains all the charm and originality of the earlier two, as she uses her three-dimensional characters and engaging storytelling to teach young readers a bit of history. Some of the dialogue, though, especially Hannah’s, remains a little flat; there are too many lines, such as “You and Brandon are such total wusses,” that feel like an adult’s conception of petulant teen speech rather than the real thing. The larger reasons (and rules) behind time travel continue to be a mystery to both characters and readers, which is a bit frustrating after three books. It seems, however, that Laing is leaving these questions open to encourage more sequels—and hopefully she’ll deliver.

An often entertaining addition to an enjoyable series, despite some awkward dialogue.

Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-9848101-0-9

Page Count: 233

Publisher: Confusion Press

Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER
by Annette Laing

- BOOK REVIEW
A Different Day, A Different Destiny
by Annette Laing

bookshelf

THE SEVENTH MOST IMPORTANT THING

by Shelley Pearsall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2015

Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

bookshelf

Traumatized by his father’s recent death, a boy throws a brick at an old man who collects junk in his neighborhood and winds up on probation working for him.

Pearsall bases the book on a famed real work of folk art, the Throne of the Third Heaven, by James Hampton, a janitor who built his work in a garage in Washington, D.C., from bits of light bulbs, foil, mirrors, wood, bottles, coffee cans, and cardboard—the titular seven most important things. In late 1963, 13-year-old Arthur finds himself looking for junk for Mr. Hampton, who needs help with his artistic masterpiece, begun during World War II. The book focuses on redemption rather than art, as Hampton forgives the fictional Arthur for his crime, getting the boy to participate in his work at first reluctantly, later with love. Arthur struggles with his anger over his father’s death and his mother’s new boyfriend. Readers watch as Arthur transfers much of his love for his father to Mr. Hampton and accepts responsibility for saving the art when it becomes endangered. Written in a homespun style that reflects the simple components of the artwork, the story guides readers along with Arthur to an understanding of the most important things in life.

Luminescent, just like the artwork it celebrates. (Historical fiction. 10-14)