A WELL-TIMED ENCHANTMENT

Like Alice down the rabbit hole, Deanna plunges down a well and into medieval France. Fed up with feeling like an outsider during her summer in France, 15-year-old Deanna takes a hike. A wish over an old well seems harmless enough--until she accidentally drops her Mickey Mouse watch: Moments later, a hand from the well grabs Deanna, pulling her deep into it; a stray cat plunges in after her. At the bottom, in another time and place, Deanna learns that her watch has fallen into a ""temporal loop"" and that its presence in medieval France could alter history. She must find the watch within 24 hours, with the help of Oliver, the cat-turned-human-by-elves. Vande Velde attempts Lewis Carroll-like nonsense and twists of logic, combined with touches that seem lifted from Oz (instead of a yellow-brick road, here's one of red polka-dot linoleum). Such similarities nag despite more original turns in plotting (e.g., Deanna falls in love with Oliver and is thus reluctant to complete the ""quest,"" since he will return to cat form). Perhaps of peripheral interest to some fantasy followers, but less than engrossing.