The time travelers (the gideon trilogy, book 1)

Previously published as GIDEON THE CUTPURSE

1763

Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children. Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine — and Peter and Kate’s only chance of getting home. Soon Gideon, Peter, and Kate are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.

Children’s Literature

Even though time travel has been used over and over again, this book takes a fresh approach. One moment Kate and Peter stand next to her father s colleague s last invention, an antigravity machine, then they find themselves in 1763. In the blink of an eye, a weirdly dressed, strange man kidnaps their machine and gives a strange address as to where to find the machine. Now they are trapped in time with no apparent means of escape. As shock wears off the children encounter a kind soul by the name of Gideon who helps our heroes to a safe home where they orient themselves to the time period. Not resigned to staying in the past, Kate and Peter decide to venture back into London and find their machine, with the help of many friends, past and present, throughout their journey. Will the teenagers find a way back home where they belong, or will they have to learn a new way of life that does not include their families? The author, Linda Buckley-Archer, penned an original adventure that takes these young people into all kinds of mischief. The characters feel real and older then the cover portrays them. Even though I felt cheated at the end when the adults play such a big role in their rescue, I appreciated the plot-driven story and how Kate and Peter grow as they resolve many of their problems. This is the first book in The Gideon Trilogy series. Reviewer: Julia Beiker