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This book invokes an interesting time travel theme to unite to teens who are experiencing difficulties 100 years apart. The writing is witty and easy to get through, though, for an adult, the plot is a bit predictable. My 11-year old daughter enjoyed it very much and wasn't at all put off by the familiarity of the time travel scenario.
I like that Alec connects with 2 girls from the past in a way that shows him to be sensitive and caring, as well as being able to understand the importance of not revealing the future to them. Josephine and Cassandra are relatable characters with charm and wit to match Alec's.
I think 7th-8th grade students would enjoy this book more than high schoolers and there are good themes to draw on for teaching.

I read this with the assumption that it was a book for pre-teens. Later I read that the author intended it for adults... It is not for adults. I think grouping this with adult fiction will be a disservice to the good qualities in the story. It is for 12-year-olds.

First, the good. The story was sweet and magical while also being pacey and plot driven. I loved Josie and Cass and even Emily. They were beautifully drawn characters. The mother was awful! But she was meant to be so as a character she was very successful. The boys were a little less endearing and a little more shallow and predictable in their characterisations.
The way Alec tried to explain the future to them was authentic for a 12-year old that has grown up in the 21st century.

Great moments:
Location 1674 "Mrs Gubbins. She says we should take heart because fear is catching." I love the way this is said, it's authentically early 20th century but also authentically Cass.
Location 1928 "Her breath smelled of spirits." Awesome! This is like a one-line summary of the mother.
Location 2371 "That night Josie tossed... dreamed she was still awake." This line is great. I feel all the tension and angst and restlessness like a weighted blanket.

Now for the awkward, unrealistic and straight up bad.
There are way too many references to other stories. It feels like the author is leaning on the strength of those stories and most of them are major, established classics. It is presumptuous to think this story can be grouped alongside "The Little Prince", Shakespeare or any of the other dozens of titles quoted here. Although, I will add that the bit about the cannibal bird quoting Othello is brilliant and I appreciated characters who love to read.

I appreciate the integration of a vegan diet into a modern fictional world. However, I feel that it is distracting and adds nothing to the story. Why do we need to know what they're eating?

The boys themselves are 2 dimensional at best. Alec coming from a recent divorce and not wanting to see his dad, the interactions with his mom are blah and lame. There's nothing there that makes me feel like these are real people. They seem so forced. The friends are lame and seem only to be there to fulfil certain functions in the plot.

The last 2 chapters feel like the author ran out of time and had to rush to finish in one day. It's unsatisfying. Emily-Jane conveniently falls asleep so Alec can read the letter. Nora is the spitting image of Josie??? They happen to be having a vegan meal? Ugh.

Corrections
Location 766 "their tutor gasped, half terrified" this aside should not be included in Alec's dialogue. A little way down, there's a "1-7" in the dialogue that should not be there.
At location 1382 "the pointer spelled out" should not be part of the dialogue
Location 2821 "chignon" No. We are reading from Alec's perspective, even if it is a third person narrator, it is limited. I don't think he'd know what a chignon is. It is inauthentic.

The Boy from Tomorrow by Camille DeAngelis Amberjack Publishing
This charming young adult book brings the reader a pair of twelve-year-olds, Alec Frost
and Josie Clifford, who live in the same house one hundred years apart. Josie’s mother, Lavinia,
is a noted oracle, who holds seances in the front room for a select clientele in 1915, and claims to
speak to the spirits of the dead. Alec and his mother have just moved there in 2015 after his
parents separated. Both children have difficult lives for very different reasons. Lavinia is selfish,
secretive and abusive, cruelly isolating Josie and her younger sister, Cassie, from the rest of
society. Alec is shy and introverted, finding it difficult to reach out to make friends in a new city.
They find one another, unexpectedly, through the use of a “speaking board” (ie., Ouija
board) that remains in the house. At first, Alec and Josie believe the other to be a spirit, but come
to understand the truth, and become friends across the separation of a century. Alec is all too
aware that he and his new acquaintance will almost certainly never meet in person, but he comes
to enjoy the friendship, telling Josie all about the world of the future. Josie tells him about her
life and the history of the house.
But all does not run smoothly. The secret, on both ends of history, comes out, threatening
to ruin the bond between the children. Alec himself is betrayed by a jealous schoolmate, making
him want to retreat from his new school. Lavinia, keen to keep her primacy as the foreteller of
important events, discovers her daughter’s conversation with a boy from the future, and holds the
board hostage, demanding facts about the future in exchange for letting Alec have access to his
friend.
Both children are resourceful, though, and manage to maintain a relationship that will
surprise and delight the reader. Alec is reluctant to find out the fate of his friends but picks up
clue after clue that lead him to a marvelous, though realistic conclusion. Apart from the means of
communication between the children, there are no miracles in this story, but it is a very good
read. Recommended for young adults twelve and up (there is some discussion of death) and
curious adults who wonder how they would handle a friendship with someone who lived a
century away.

One boy, one girl, two different timelines, and one super read. Split across time, a fast and fantastic friendship is forged. Only, the HOW it happened is something I don't like at all. Alex is twelve and he's moved into a fixer-upper with his newly divorced mom. While she's caught up in her own woes, he gets a hold of an Ouija board. (Yep, hold up because anyone who has a clue knows this is bad news.) Of course, it answers, it usually does! The other end of the line is 100 years ago, and a twelve-year-old girl, with a "medium" as a mom, and child abuse. It's a paranormal book with child abuse aimed at middle grades. Maybe this should be moved to another grade level. I certainly wouldn't give it any of the kids I know to read at that age. The abuse could trigger some readers, and it doesn't have a warning. I felt that the story that could have been wasn't. That left me feeling sad and miffed.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

Sorry this book just didn't work for me. I wanted to love it but it was just ok. I am pretty sure it's just me. :)

Josie, Cassie and their tutor sneak into their mother’s room to experiment with her Ouija board one evening. The spirits they contact are not dead, though. They haven’t even been born yet.

Alec discovers this same Ouija board in his new house. At a sleepover, he and his friends decide to try it out themselves and meet spirits who are alive… but maybe not of their time.

One hundred years apart with only a house and a Ouiji board in common, Josie and Alec develop a deep friendship.

The Boy from Tomorrow has an interesting combination of gentle innocence from the three children and a mysterious – and insidious! – undercurrent within the world Josie and Cassie are forced to inhabit. Her mother is famous for communicating with the dead and serving as a channel for spirits. Josie doesn’t really believe her mother can do what she claims, but then… Josie talks to a boy from the future so who knows. The girls also live with their mother’s bodyguard, a man who never sleeps or eats, AND Cassie has a doll that tells her secrets. I love that we, along with the children, never understand what exactly is happening. Who is this secret-sharing doll and why did she choose Cassie? Does their mother have a connection to the spirit world? Who or what is her bodyguard?

Great for middle school. Eerie but the eeriness is like a fog around the children, making the goodness of Alec, Josie and Cassie all the brighter.

A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley for an honest review.

This was not a book that I really enjoyed. I'm not a big fan of the whole paranormal activity, and I don't like reading anything about witchcraft or ouiji boards. The writing was enjoyable, but I just didnt like the content.

3.5 out of 5 stars

The Boy from Tomorrow was simply a heartwarming and charming story. That is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about this book. There is just something wonderful about the friendship formed between a boy and a girl from different times. Anyway, with that being said lets get into more of my thoughts on the book!

The writing style within this book was very easy to fall into. The descriptions painted a nice picture and I could imagine the places where everything was happening easily. Also, the transition between the time periods in the different chapters was done seamlessly. At times the writing did feel a bit simple, but that is due to the fact that this book is a middle grade and it isn’t something that bothered me (I just wanted to have mentioned it as well).

The main characters were definitely the highlight of this book. I enjoyed following both Alec and Josie and learning more about them. I very much enjoyed their interactions with other characters, but especially with each other. They were very well fleshed out, along with Cassie, Josie’s sister, and their tutor Emily. The secondary characters I found rather lacking and two dimensional. I would have loved for some of them to be more fleshed out, especially the parents.

Another thing that bothered me was the few things that were hinted at in both Alec’s and Josie’s past, but never actually explained or developed – particularly in Alec’s case. (I can’t go into exact details about this, because of spoilers.) My biggest problem with this book is the time of the story. There weren’t clear breaks within the narrative, it just felt like the events were running together. The made the story feel a bit choppy.

Overall I really liked this book. It was charming and it explored a beautiful friendship with two children from different times. I would definitely recommend you to check this book out, if the synopsis sounds interesting to you! It’s definitely worth the read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Ms. DeAngelis for this book. I love stories about time, but what I dislike are stories that spend a lot of time explaining time. None of you are Hawking, just let it be. This book has no explanations for anything and for that, I want to give it hug. If you are willing to believe in the premise, you will believe in the story and that is good enough. There are HUGE holes that time worms would destroy, but this book is not about that. It is not about how it happens or what it happens it is just that it happens. Like Paper Girls, this works because being 12 allows you to roll with a lot of punches. As you age, you need and want to know more. When you are 12, it often just is.

It is a middle reader book that has some pretty intense moments in it, but they are real and honest and done with taste. There is so much to think about here and I suspect there are a lot of 6th and 7th graders who will love, love love this.

The most magical read of 2018 thus far goes to The Boy From Tomorrow, hands down.

Two children living in the same house 100 years apart, communicating. That's it, that's the story. Okay, it's not, but it's the gist of it - woven into it we have some "let's do this"-attitude in children being awesome, parents trying to parent, and history. And so much more. So, so much more.

By alternating POWs between 2015 and 1915, the author has created something dynamic and fun, which really puts some magic into an otherwise very realistic story. Calling what happens in TBFT time travel is a stretch in my opinion, but I don't know what else to call it, and I found that I could suspend disbelief easy enough and just enjoy the ride.

This story is entertaining but not unique. It includes a few delicate topics (child abuse, ouija board), so I would be careful before sharing it with my students. It is a typical time-travel scenario with the problems and excitement that comes with that storyline. I enjoyed the book but didn't love it. I would recommend it but only to those I was sure would enjoy the candid truth this book employs. I wondered how the story would end and was not disappointed by how everything was resolved.

Ever since I finished reading this novel, I have been searching for the right words to describe it—words that encompass every topic, every emotion, in the best way possible. Words like “charming”, “adorable”, and “sweet” are fitting to certain aspects, but somehow still feel wrong. However, darker words do not have a place here either, just as the characters do not allow darkness to remain in their lives. This is a novel of an endearing and vital friendship that defies the most impossible of circumstances. Of a life-changing connection bridging a century’s distance. To really pinpoint those words that I need, let’s dive into the story itself.

In this novel, we follow the lives of two young children—Josie and Alec—and their blossoming friendship. They both live in the same room of the same house on Sparrow Street. The twist? Josie is living in 1915, while Alec is in 2015. The pair meet across this one-hundred-year gap through the use of a hand painted spirit board belonging to Josie’s mother—who works as a psychic—and left in the house for Alec to find.

The two, along with Josie’s sister Cassie and their tutor Emily, form a deep connection, one that they rely on to cope with the difficult circumstances they are all in. However, the safety of Josie and her little sister is torn apart as events on their side quickly escalate to dangerous and life-threatening. Learning of this, Alec realizes he must do everything he possibly can to help bring them to safety and protect these people he has come to love.

I thought the main characters were very well portrayed, and were very much the driving force of the narrative. Josie, Alec, Cassie, and Emily are beautiful and utterly lovable. It is impossible not to get swept up into their lives, to feel every emotion they feel, and root for them all the way. We are given much insight into their points-of view, an intimate look at their situations, and a detailed depiction of their personalities. The three-dimensional quality of these characters magnifies the realism, connects the reader on a personal level, and sets a solid base for a powerful story.

There is a bit lacking when it comes to many of the side characters, however. Though some of them play very important roles in the plot, they still remain fairly two-dimensional. We never get to see particularly far into their stories, which I think would have expanded and deepened the plot further—it would have made the message of the novel even more poignant.

While I had a few issues with Camille DeAngelis’ writing, overall, I do believe it fits the narrative and the book’s target age range pretty well. Her writing style is easy to fall into and her words flow nicely at a reasonable pace. DeAngelis is very descriptive, in terms of both physical and emotional details. The tone and atmosphere of every scene is very vivid, pulling the reader deeper into the lives and struggles of her lovable characters. It is easy to feel the wonder of the children, the joy and excitement of their friendship, the fear and pain in the darkest moments.

She also does a great job of switching between the two sides of the story, alternating between Josie’s and Alec’s stories every chapter. Her transitions over the space of a century are seamless. DeAngelis builds both children’s worlds skillfully, including plenty of historically accurate details that bring even more dimension into the setting. On top of that, she creates her own historical elements, centering around Josie and her family. I absolutely loved that she included this—it is such an interesting addition to the plot.

I only have a few issues with aspects of this novel. The biggest one is the style of writing within the chapters themselves. It felt as though every event, every day, completely ran together due to a lack of placing breaks between these parts. The fact that the narrative jumped around so much with absolutely no warning made things feel a bit jarring and choppy. This is something that could potentially make the story difficult for readers to follow.

The only other minor complaint I have is with the backgrounds of Josie and Alec. I feel like we are given very little insight into other parts of their lives. For instance, I would have liked to see some of the side characters, such as their parents, fleshed out a bit more. There is so much that is just hinted at, particularly on Alec’s side, and it left me feeling a bit unsatisfied. It is as if these aspects are multiple loose ends that were never tied up.

So, as we come back around to the beginning of this review, I feel as though I have a bit more clarity. Heartwarming. At its roots, this is a depiction of two lost souls finding one another. Bittersweet. This is a story of a beautiful friendship, but it is not by any means purely fluff. It deals with some heavy and incredibly important topics—DeAngelis does not shy away from showing the horrific and heart-wrenching aspects of neglect and abuse. Family. Family is not made up solely of those related to you by blood. Family is made up of those who make you feel whole, who love you deeply, who protect and always support you. And above all—this novel is unreservedly powerful.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

When I started reading this, I was just hoping to get a fun middle grade book about two kids being friends despite them being 100 years apart from each other. I didn't expect my heart to ache every other page.

Both main characters are relatable, real and a pleasure to follow. You can clearly see the differences between them, and that somehow makes them fit in the story perfectly.

The writing style was amazing. It didn't hold back from using long words, which many middle grades do. It keeps you in the edge of your seat and makes you feel deeply for the characters and the hardships they go through.

I loved reading Alec, Josie and Cass interacting through letters, phonographs, messages carved on windowsills and time capsules. They all felt like genuine twelve year olds, had that distinct "not a kid but not a teen either" way of thinking and solving problems that when done right is the most joyous thing to read about for me.

Trigger warning for child abuse here, Cass and Josie's mother gives them hell. I appreciated and hated her character more and more with each passing page. A good contrast with Alec's mom, who ends up knowing his secret and talking to the girls. She tries REALLY hard to believe what her son is telling him, and it was great for a change. Moms don't usually get a part in middle grade or young adult literature, and it was very refreshing to read.

When the ending came I was literally clutching my chest. It felt cathartic in a way, even though I wouldn't say I identify with anything that went on. This book deserves tons of readers, and I'll make sure to tell everyone I can about it.

Title: The Boy from Tomorrow
Author: Camille DeAngelis
Rating: 3.8/5 stars


I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a spoiler free review.

Warning: child abuse, use of outdated terms for people of Asian decent

Summary:
When Alec Frost moves to a large house on 444 Sparrow Street, he and his mom are looking to start fresh. One day, while Alec is exploring his new home, he finds a spirit board. When he started playing with this talking board, he has no idea he is about to form one of the best friendships in his life, with Josie Clifford. The only problem is… they live a century apart. This friendship just might end up changing the course of both of these young people’s lives.

Review:
Overall, this book made me feel really comfortable. The house felt really beautiful and the writing made me at ease in the story… I don’t know how to explain it. I loved the small illustrations, done by Agnieszka Grochalska. They were adorable and helped me mesh with the characters.

The beginning of the story brought a lot of confusion for me. I was unsure of who some of the characters were because they didn’t leave an impression when they were introduced. Most of the confusion was rectified as the story progressed and I became more invested in the plot and characters at about the middle point in the story. I also felt like everything was just happening in the beginning of the story. I struggled to find the purpose. Again, this was fixed as the story went on. One thing I wish was more explained is the technicalities behind the communication across the century. How were they always available at the same time? I have many questions about this. I also really wish that the reader learned more about Mrs. Gubbins. I am awaiting a spin-off story only about her!

I really enjoyed the different viewpoints that the story was told in. The juxtaposition between the two time periods was very interesting and I appreciated the historical aspects that were integrated into the story. For example, it was quite humorous for Alec to explain things from the modern world to Josie, such as computers and the Internet.

I loved the ending of the story. It brings to attention the terrible things Josie’s mother did and allowed Josie and her sister to find peace and happiness. The ending was the best part for me. After the middle of the story, I was interested in what was going to happen next. This story is great for the middle-grade age. It is perfect for lovers of magic and friendship.

444 Sparrow Street is home to three children: Josie, her little sister Cass, and Alec. Only, Alec moves into the house 100 years after the sisters. In an attempt to make friends, Alec invites a few boys over to play with a recently discovered spirit board…and actually manages to make contact with the girls (who, funnily enough, believe him to be the spirit).

Told in a past/present narrative, The Boy From Tomorrow explores the friendship that sparks between Josie and Alec. I’ll admit I went into this one expecting a lighthearted, fun fantasy-esque tale about two 12-year-olds who connect through time – and was completely caught off guard. Sweet, yes. Fun, yes. But there are also some seriously heavy topics explored within these pages that I was not prepared for! The girls’ mother is a famous (or, rather, infamous) psychic. Just as many people write her off as crazy and a con artist as though who pay a pretty penny for one last conversation with a loved one. Once the clients have gone home, however, their mother lashes out physically and doles out horrific punishments. At one point 6-year-old Cass is locked inside a dark closet for an entire day. In other scene she’s forced to eat a dessert meant for an 8-person dinner party (and then proceeds to be in deeper trouble after she’s sick). Listening to their stories, Alec actually researches abuse laws from that time and helps the girls concoct a plan to get away.

Death, naturally, is also a prominent theme. There’s a small cemetery in town that’s no longer being used by 2015 (Alec’s present). A few headstones bear the Clifford name – could one of them belong to Josie or Cass? Alec is just one click away from uncovering the truth…but do they really want to know? This question comes up a lot in The Boy From Tomorrow and I really enjoyed seeing how maturely these children handled it! Of course there’s that instinctual curiosity, but there’s also a very real, underlying fear: what if the headstone does belong to one of the girls? Do they really want to know when they died? How they died? Would knowing the circumstances alter their lives and somehow change their future?

I don’t have much to say on the minor characters, but there are several and they were all wonderful. Especially Mrs. Gubbins.

Toward the end of the novel there’s a time skip and suddenly the girls are teens, the adults with children of their own. Despite the years, they never forgot their friend Alec – while he himself was still decades from being born. While I delighted in learning what became of Josie and Cass, I preferred seeing them as children and watching their interactions with Alec play out.

Going into The Boy From Tomorrow, I expected a cute, lighthearted romp through time. What I got was so much more. Heavy topics like abuse and death frequent these pages, providing a balance to the wonder and whimsy of the magical/fantastical elements. Getting to know Josie, Cass, and Alec – and then watching all three grow up – made the ending all the more bittersweet. I’m positive this book will find just as many adult readers as it will children, and I’m so glad I read it. It wasn’t until I had finished the book that I realized I had come across Camille DeAngelis before: she’s the author of Bones & All, a 2015 novel I had been curious about. I also hadn’t known she wrote a few adult novels! That said, it seems The Boy From Tomorrow is already her highest-rated and I’ll be curious to see if she sticks with Middle Grade for her next novel. If it’s anything like this one, I have a feeling I’ll be reading it!

Honestly, this was a really slow book that didn't seem to portray children or their minds very accurately. It was a super interesting concept that definitely got better as the book progressed, but I just wasn't super invested in it for most of the story. Once the plotline about Cass and Josie's relationship with their mother started becoming more important, I was way more invested. I felt so heartbroken for Cass every time she did something that she didn't necessarily know was wrong but that she was punished severely for. There were also a lot of moments where information was discussed that had never been introduced but were discussed as if they were well-known fact. It was also somewhat disappointing that Harold never had a redemption arc, as it would have been nice to see a character change for the better, rather than just get worse as both he and Lavinia did. Overall, not my favorite book, but also not the worst book.

The Boy From Tomorrow is a charming book for young adults. Josie and Alec live in the same house in the same room. But they lived over 100 years apart. Josie is the daughter of a hard woman who may or may not be a witch but many in the community believe that she is. Alec is a modern day child of a recent divorce. He and his mom have just moved in to the house when he realized that he could communicate using the Ouija Board that he found.

Over time and through many methods of communicating through history, Alec decides he must help Josie and her little sister escape their abusive mother. The history and the juxtaposition of the two time periods makes this book a really fun read for any age.

This had such a nice classic feel. The simplicity of the concept (a boy from today talking to a girl from a century ago) worked really well and felt fresh.

I liked the historical connotations throughout (although some were a bit lengthy), and imagine this might make a great classroom read. The characters were well-developed, felt true to that middle-grade age, and were fun to follow (especially at the end, when we find out what the future holds). Recommended.

**NetGalley provided copy for review**

The concept for the book was a clever spin on time travel, just not particularly fond of the use of ouija boards (I give the author credit for including a note discouraging their use). Through the game, a boy from the current time, ends up communicating with sisters who lived in his house 100 years prior. I found the book quite interesting but as a children't book, I felt like it covered rather mature topic of verbal and borderline physical abuse of children. As the children become friends across time, the "boy from tomorrow" helps bring about a brighter future for the girls. The book offered glimpses into the every day life of a century ago as well as the world of a self-proclaimed medium. The story was well-crafted and clean; parents just may want to preview and discuss the book with their kids after reading. Book offered lessons on friendship, honesty, and offering help to someone in need. Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of The Boy from Tomorrow for the purpose of review.