TIME BENDERS AND THE TWO PROMISES

Time travelers revisit the past to help a friend and fix a mistake in this YA SF sequel.

Teenager Joe Fitzgerald, after finding documents for a prospective time-traveling machine, constructed a prototype with his older brother, Ken, and adult scientist pal, Mr. Brewster. Joe, Ken, and their sisters, Deb and Kim, traveled through time to undo their parents’ plane crash deaths. But now back in the present day (the 1970s), they realize they’ve changed the circumstances but haven’t saved their mother and father. Joe tries again on his own but fails; in fact, his actions have seemingly resulted in their parents’ separating prior to their deaths. Kim is upset and Ken and Deb are understandably irate with Joe. Ken decrees that his brother’s time-traveling days are over. But Deb has a change of heart after hearing Mr. Brewster’s story of losing his unborn child and, later, his wife, Abby. Deb agrees to Joe’s simple time-traveling plan to give the Brewsters more days together, and Ken, away at Harvard, won’t even need to know about it. Deb, Joe, Kim, and Deb’s boyfriend, Ryan, complete their journey with relative success. So Deb has an idea to go back and intercept Joe on his solo trip; it won’t save their parents but hopefully it will prevent their separation. But this time, there’s potential danger. On his last trip, Joe experienced severe nausea and dizziness, a condition that he and Mr. Brewster now believe is from two versions of the teen sharing the same time and space. If the universe is trying to “erase” the second version of Joe, Deb and Ryan will have little time to finish their mission.

Yanni’s second installment is as uncomplicated as the series opener, Time Benders: The Machine (2018). Characters simply accept certain aspects of time travel so that they don’t require much in the way of explanation. For example, the players know that traveling to the past necessitates as few changes and interactions as possible. Nevertheless, the story is still predominantly dialogue, including a debate over Joe’s solo excursion; discussion on his adverse side effects; and plans for future time travel—without Ken’s knowledge, of course. This occasionally leads to repetition, particularly about Joe’s failed trip, which the Fitzgeralds frequently deliberate or recount to others. Regardless, the well-established characters evolve, as Ken graduates from a Connecticut boarding school and attends Harvard; Deb must decide on a college; and Joe grows closer to schoolmate Becky. At the same time, the author keeps the series fresh by shifting character focus in the sequel: Deb and Joe essentially take over as leads, with more of a spotlight on Ryan, while Ken and Kim step into supporting roles. Meanwhile, the author’s incorporation of historical events is smart and typically accurate, such as Joe utilizing the computer language COBOL and designing a “personal computer” before it becomes a household item. But there are several pop-culture anachronisms that the author’s concluding notes clarify as movies, etc., that have been “adapted for use in the story.” Though the narrative manages to find a resolution by the end, a cliffhanger sets the stage for the third volume with the possibility of yet another character taking the limelight.

Appealing siblings fortify a time-bending tale that offers plenty of drama.