BookFilter review: A lonely girl in 1915 suffers under the cold indifference of her mother, a psychic who makes money by communicating with the dead. A lonely boy in 2015 feels adrift after his parents divorce when he and his mom move to a new town and a rambling old house. Josie, the girl, keeps an eye on her little sister and tries to keep suspicions about her mother's "gifts" to herself. Alec, the boy, is alone and feels it, awkwardly trying to make friends with a kid at his new school and wondering if life will ever get better. What connects them? A ouija board and the fact that they both sleep in the same bedroom in the same home, just one hundred years apart. Talking to one another becomes their only comfort and soon, a way for Josie to escape her prison and Alec to make a friend for real. This modest middle grade novel begins simply and engagingly. But author Camille DeAngelis piles on the melodrama and doesn't play fair. If Josie's mom is a fraud, why isn't she more astonished upon discovering her daughter is talking with a boy from the future? Alec's dad on the other hand seems to have done nothing worse than divorce his mom, but Alec is overwhelmed even though divorce is not usually the trauma it once was. So while Josie deals with her mother's creepily suspicious assistant, a staff completely indifferent to the almost brutal treatment of Josie and her sister AND a snoopy schoolmate who just wants to pry out secrets about her mother, Alec simply makes trips to the library and has a school pal who behaves decently from the start. The excitement is decidedly weighted to the past even though the chapters alternate between them. Worse, DeAngelis plays fast and loose with the magic taking place.When the ouija board becomes inaccessible, Josie and Alec simply switch to a phonograph playing wax cylinders so they can chat away, which feels awfully convenient. And while one doesn't need an explanation as such for every strange goings-on, what the heck is up with that possessed doll anyway? With lazy magic rule-making, a confused jumble of elements and a climactic plot twist that feels too easy, "The Boy From Tomorrow" wears out its welcome long before that creepy doll loses an eye. -- Michael Giltz

To me was not your typical subject matter for the age tween age that I believe it is intended for. Besides the 3 main characters, the people were very flat. The story seemed to just jump into the Ouija board incident with no relationship with the boy's friends or mother. There seemed no rhyme or reason for his friendships which really didn't seem to matter anyway. Spiritualism and the use of the Ouija board is not something children this age should be fooling around with. The man servant also was not well developed. Wasn't going to finish the book but did and it did turn out all right.

In The Boy From Tomorrow, twelve-year-olds, Alec and Josie, are roommates. They share a bedroom and are great friends. The only problem is they’ve never technically met. Alec lives in 2015 and Josie in 1915.

Alec moved to the old house at 444 Sparrow St with his mom after the divorce. While exploring the new house, he finds a spirit board and meets Josie. Josie’s abusive mother is a possible psychic in 1915, who keeps her daughters locked in the house. As Alec and Josie chat and prove that each other is real, they learn more about each of their lives and how Alec can help Josie and her sister escape their mother.

This is a cute story that was labeled as YA but is better for readers closer to Alec and Josie’s age. It reminds me of the innocence and warm and fuzziness of reading Babysitters’ Club books when I was that age. I’ve like a kid’s opinion on The Boy from Tomorrow though. While most of the books is “aww cute” with just enough adventure, the ending is a bit different. While keeping this spoiler-free, it’s possibly too adult. Not in an inappropriate way, but possibly uninteresting.

What I Loved About The Boy from Tomorrow

Remember, I am looking at this from an adult’s perspective.

I love that Alec and Josie are just friends. Alec has the same platonic friendship with Josie as he has with his 2015 best friend, Danny. There are jokes about girlfriends, but romance doesn’t play into it.

Which leads to the next point, the 12-year olds are 12-year olds. There’s a slumber party scene where some of Alec’s new friends smuggle their grandfather’s whiskey along, but the others decline it, and we don’t see those friends again.

The final thing I loved is that nothing is sugar-coated. Josie’s little sister is starved and locked in the closet. Alec is dealing with her parents’ divorce and his father’s new girlfriend. These things are real. It’s not graphic enough to traumatize children, but the topics aren’t hidden either.

The Boy From Tomorrowfollow is a cute, enjoyable read. Let me know if you have a child the right age who has read it. I want to know their thoughts on the ending.

This is the story of two very lonely children living in the same house. Danny and Josie are both 12, both being raised by single mothers, and both have a very real need for a friend.

The only trouble is, Josie is alive in 1915 and Danny is alive in 2015. A trifling matter.

This is an incredibly sweet and fun story. It's Middle Grade, skewing towards a slightly Coraline-level creep feel. (I had this thought before the book was mentioned by Danny, and felt vindicated). Josie and Danny communicate first through a "talking board" (a much more pleasant way to say Ouija board), then through letters written by Josie and found by Danny. Danny occasionally finds the letters before Josie has written them.

And finally, the two learn they can communicate via a very old gramophone. There, they amuse each other with their different ways of speaking, Josie's little sister Cass tells Danny of her doll that can predict the future even better than her and Josie's mother, and Danny plays rock music that completely throws Josie for a loop.

The under current to their friendship is the horrible home life Josie and her sister are subjected to. Tutored at home rather than allowed to go to school, they are raised by a cruel mother. Lavinia Clifford is psychic to high society, written about in magazines and visited from all over the country. And also, she locks her children in cupboards for hours when they make her angry. She's an absolute terror.

Is it her friendship with Danny that will save her future, and her sister's? This is Middle Grade, and it's not Christopher Pike we're dealing with, so you know nothing too bad will happen. But the suspense is real, and the desire for Cass and Josie to make it is intense. And also the hope, the seemingly impossible hope, that Danny and Josie will get to meet someday, as impossible as it may seem.

Absolutely delightful.

And I'd like to thank the author for the foot note at the very, very end, about taking care when using a 'talking board'. Because that part....made me slightly uncomfortable.

4.5 Stars

Shortest synopsis would be: This is a story of three kids who found a way/s to communicate with each other despite their timeline differences, that led one to help the other two secure their future.
But since I'm so generous, I can give you more than that one long sentence. Alec, a 12-year old from 2015, just recently moved in 444 Sparrow Street with her mom when he found an Ouija board that somehow introduced him to Josie(12) and Cassie(6-7), sisters from 1915 who are living with their mother who is a medium. Their exchanges eventually turned into some hard twists but at the same time, the realization that Alec can somehow help the sisters in their predicament with their abusive mother became obvious and he's set just to do that. But is that even possible when their century apart? And how can they change a future when it's already past.
♥♥♥MY THOUGHTS♥♥♥
Here's a fact, I'm not really into Middle Grades because I never expect them to stir emotions from me, and I want my reads touch my emotions in any way. But THIS BOOK certainly stirred my emotions in a mess, wrecked way. AND I LOVE IT.

Though this story tackled some serious, sensitive issues, I still find it a sweet story of friendship, learning how to value and treasure it no matter the circumstance. This book even teaches that life is what you make it, at least that's the message I got from it. The MCs, Alec and the sisters, Josie and Cassie are not the most extraordinary characters there are in Fiction, but they are unforgettable still. And thanks to the author's amazing talent, it was very easy to connect with them. Halfway through, I found myself connected aching for them. I didn't even see that coming. Like I said I never thought a Middle Grade book could stir such emotions from me.

I want to emphasize that I love the author's writing. It was simple yet very descriptive and vivid, it makes the characters and setting so alive and every scene believable. The plot is unique and well-developed. The little history, especially the thing about Psychic are fascinating subjects that was handled well. Same with the abuse. It was handled well too as wasn't romanticized and glossed.

Now why I didn't give it 5 Stars? At the end there were some points that are left still mysterious and unexplained. But I think the author left it that way so the younger readers don't get confused that much. Besides, the idea of time travelling and talking to someone you can't see are already enough confusing for younger minds. (though I don't really call what happened Time Travelling)

And yeah, the ending was bittersweet,

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. In one sentence I can say this book is very engaging, fascinating, magical, emotional and simply amazing. It transcends all my expectation.

I like this kind of story very much, despite it being written for a younger audience and lacking a more philosphical depth. Nevertheless the unusual connection between “Past and Future” via a Ouija board is incredibly interesting as a premise alone. The protagonists soon meet the same essential questions I had from the moment I read the blurb (on netgalley. So many thanks for granting me the opportunity to read this beautiful book!). Of course the how first but that becomes irrelevant so quickly that an answer no longer matters. More pressing are the struggles what to keep from the people in the past and what (and how) to tell them in order to set events in motion that will have happened. Bit of the usual “time manipulation/travel mindf*ckery” here but not in a headache inducing way. The future (Alec) has an influence on the past (Josie) and vice versa. Mixed in with a bit of gothic charme, con artists and love affairs… Very up my street.

I loved this, though I admit it was a little slow to get into, despite having all sorts of things that I love. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of spiritualism. The most compelling bit was the end, when Alex was older and we found out what happened in the intervening years.

Description:
Josie and Alec both live at 444 Sparrow Street. They sleep in the same room, but they’ve never laid eyes on each other. They are twelve years old and a hundred years apart.

The children meet through a hand-painted talking board—Josie in 1915, Alec in 2015—and form a friendship across the century that separates them. But a chain of events leave Josie and her little sister Cass trapped in the house and afraid for their safety, and Alec must find out what’s going to happen to them.

Can he help them change their future when it’s already past?

My thoughts:
The premise is interesting. A Ouija board found in an old house connects two children living in the same house 100 years apart. Once readers accept that part of the fantasy, then this book becomes a sweet adventure, a dark thriller and a tribute to friendship.

I think the strength in this story is that the Ouija board is not used as the main mode of communication. This makes it stronger because of the negative, dark, occult reputation of the Ouija board. This is not that kind of story.

Instead, our protagonist, Alec uses Google, the New York public library, microfiche and a little detective work to find letters hidden in the house. What makes it fun is that he is the one who tells Josie that she will hide these letters a hundred years later before she actually has written any letters. Without spoiling the story, just when I think the tricks of the book have been played out, the author brings in more surprises.

A sweet, feel-good read.

Last sentences:
Their discovery, their secret, their impossible friendship: it was all still ahead of him. She raised the glass to her mouth, smiling to herself as she took the first sip.

Advanced digital copy provided by Net Galley and the publisher for an honest review.

Alec and Josie are both twelve years old, but they are separated in time by one hundred years. Alec lives in the house Josie and her family lived in previously and when they discover they can communicate with each other they form a friendship. Both Alec and Josie learn about each other's family situations and their friendship changes their lives. This is a unique time travel story with magic and some suspense.

Alec Frost and Josie Clifford, along with her sister Cass, are best friends, but they have never seen each other in person. The girls live in the same house as Alec, but 100 years in the past. They all live at 444 Sparrow Street, but the girls are there in 1915 and Alec is in 2015. They communicate by using a spirit or talking board, which we today call a Ouija board. Josie’s mother is a psychic who conducts séances in her home.

The friendship develops over time and, as the kids get to know each other, Alec realizes that the girls might be in danger from their abusive mother.

The time travel aspect of this book was interesting because it was done in a completely new way. The kids didn’t step into a time machine or a portal or anything that’s been done before. They communicated with the talking board. Josie’s mother, Lavinia Clifford, is horrible to her children! When she discovers their communications with Alec, she uses it for her own gain, forcing Alec to tell her things about the future in exchange for communicating with Josie. Then, they find the phonograph and wax cylinders and are able to continue to communicate without the mother’s knowledge. Josie is also able to pass notes to Alec by hiding them places in the house where he might find them in the future. I thought that was really cool.

Cass has an odd doll named Mrs. Gubbins. One mystery of the novel is: who is she? How is it that she can communicate? Cass talks to the doll and the doll tells her things that no one the girl’s age can know. What happens to Mrs. Gubbins in Alec’s time? Does she communicate with him? We never really learn much about Mrs. Gubbins’ history, which was disappointing.

The girls are never allowed to leave their home. Their abusive mother keeps them out of school and inside all the time. She locks Cass in a cabinet as punishment, or locks the girls in their room. There are other incidents of cruelty that could be disturbing to young readers. These incidents are treated as part of the story and are essential to show that the girls are in danger in their own home. These things could bring up bad feelings in readers though. I would suggest maybe offering some resources at the end of the book for kids who may find themselves in similar situations.

Alec has made a couple friends in his new home and one, Danny, is very helpful to him. They conduct their own research into the history of the house, visiting the library and the local graveyard for answers. Alec is not sure if he wants to find the graves of his friends from 100 years before though.

Alec’s mother thinks he is having troubles due to her divorce and sends him to a counselor. When she eventually does learn the truth though, it’s surprising that she believes Alec. But, she does and she supports him, which is refreshing, especially after seeing how poorly the girls’ mother treats them.

I thought the main characters were all well developed. The book itself can be described as part mystery, part paranormal, part time travel, part historical fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it and rate it as one of my top two books of 2018 so far. I did wish the ending had been a little different. I wanted Alec to be more eager to find out what happened and go visit the address. I wanted there to be a ton of letters telling him all about Josie’s life. I guess I was hoping that the book would not end. I wanted there to be more.

There is a good word of advice at the end that warns of the dangers of using Ouija boards. I was glad to see that. It’s not really something to play with and kids might be tempted after reading this novel.

Overall, I give this book my highest rating. You will love it.

If the first paragraph summary does not intrigue you... I do not know what will. I was hooked. The plot of the novel was so original and creative throughout the novel. I have never read a novel with such a premise.

The story is told with alternate points of view from our two main characters, Josie and Alec. There are some dark topics in the book's plot that I would not recommend for young children, but as an adult I appreciated. I would suggest a parent read this novel before deciding to let their child read it. The book covers spirits, abuse, divorce, and the use of an Ouija board. I think the author did a well job of handling these dark topics without glamorizing them or glorifying them. 

I was a little let down from the ending.. I wanted a little more. I think I would have honestly preferred a cliffhanger instead, so I could let my brain run wild with all the possibilities. Surprising I know, like who wants a cliffhanger?! Overall I highly recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys middle grade. I think this book is highly under-hyped. It deserves so much more!

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book. I am so glad I got to read this delightful story.

Time travel has always fascinated me and I have loved shows like Quantum Leap, the Sandra Bullock movie "Lake House" and the book "The Time Traveller's Wife." There was much to love about this story as Alec and his friend Sammy in 2015 seek to stay in contact with Josie and Cass in 1915. Their connection does start with a conversation or ouija board, but the author tells kids at the end to leave these devices to fiction and I really appreciate that. There is much to learn about being a good sister and a friend through some tough circumstances from this book. Would make a fascinating read aloud. Recommended!

E ARC from Netgalley.com



When Alec moves into 444 Sparrow Street after his parents' divorce, his expectations are pretty low. He does manage to make some new friends quickly, and finds a cool Ouija type board stuck in a cupboard. When he and his friends get messages that make some sense, he realizes that he is communicating with a girl names Josie who lived in the house 100 years ago. In alternating passages, we see how this communication across time affects both children. Josie is able to gets information about the future, some of which she shares with her professional clairvoyant mother, who is more concerned with her clientele than her children. Josie and her young sister Cass have a governess, Emily, who is very kind, but their mother will lock Cass into a cupboard for an entire day for even small transgressions. On Alec's side, he finds out about the fate of the girls as they get older, and encourages them to seek help, especially once Emily is sent away. Can a friendship across time save both children from unfortunate occurrences in their lives?

Strengths: I find the spiritualist movements in the early 20th century very interesting, and Schlitz's A Drowned Maiden's Hair is one of my daughter's favorites. Saw this compared to Tom's Midnight Garden, and that's not a bad comparison. There's no time travel, but definitely a feel of that. The sisters' relationship is interesting, and I loved that Alec talked to his mom about everything and she believed him. Clipped along at a nice pace, and had some good creepy moments.

Weaknesses: I really wanted the characters to eventually meet, but the 100 year difference makes this impossible.
What I really think: I don't have a lot of call for this type of book, so I will only purchase it if I have funds left towards the end of next year.

Josie, Cassie and Alec all live at 444 Sparrow Street and sleep in the same room but have never seen each other in person. Why? Because Josie and Cassie are in the year 1915 and Alec is in 2015. Somehow, despite being a hundred years apart, the two girls and Alec can speak to each other through a talking board.

Alec Frost is a kind 12-year-old boy who finally got his wish of living away from the city by moving to a small town with his mum. The only downside is that his father will not be joining them. His parents are getting a divorce and while it does have some effect on him, he handles the situations really well.

Josie Clifford is the same age as Alec - just a hundred years before - and she did not believe it possible to talk to someone from the future despite her mother, Lavina Clifford, being known for her abilities to talk to the dead. Josie is a clever and polite young lady, but thanks to her mothers fear or dislike of people and the outside world, she is not allowed to go to school. Being trapped in a house with a mother with no time for her children, a handful of servants, her little sister, Cassie, and their tutor, Emily Jasper. 

Cassie is a spirited child with a heart of gold but a knack for getting herself into trouble. She also has the habit of saying strange things on behalf of Mrs Gubbins, her dirty and tatty looking doll. Cassie wants nothing more than her mother's love and is denied it. Luckily for both of the Clifford girls, Emily is there and she cares about both of the girls more than most tutors would. 

I love how the book started - both groups thinking the other were ghosts. It was an interesting, entertaining, heartwarming and heartbreaking story all at once. The plot was brilliant and I enjoyed the mystery elements that were an underlying feature to be wrapped up at the end. The writing style appropriate for younger readers but still engaging enough for older audiences and I enjoyed the layout of the story with the alternating points of view and time periods. Both Alec and Josie were lovely characters to read the story through and most of the characters in the book were well developed and just complex enough for their role in the story.

I could not be happier with this book and I believe it will be one of my favourite reads of 2018!

This book was a really cute read! I'm really glad that I read it. Josie Clifford and Alec Frost live in the same house, 100 years apart, and forge a friendship by using a talking board. This was really interesting in the way that it was set up because it wasn't really a time travel book, but it had a similar quality to it, as these two friends were able to communicate even with time separating them.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints between the past (Josie) and the present (Alec). I really liked this setup and I liked being able to get glimpses into both of their lives. However, I felt that the balance between the two viewpoints was tipped in favor of Josie. We really got to see more of her world, and the people in her life much more than Alec, which made his chapters a little more one dimensional and not as deep.

There are some tough concepts in this book, mostly the abuse that Josie and her younger sister Cass suffer at the hands of their mother, but I think it is well done and it is never glamorized or romanticized. In fact, Alec is completely shocked when he finds out, and decides to do everything in his power to try to help them.

I was a little surprised that there wasn't more conflict at the end of the novel, but this didn't detract from the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to any one who enjoys middle grade novels.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to know the people who lived in your house before you did? Especially if your house is over 100 years old? This book might get your juices flowing. The Boy From Tomorrow is a delightful book. Children of all ages will love exploring and getting to know the past with Alec while rooting for Josie and Cass to thrive in the midst of their uncontrollable living situation.
This book has adventure, human relationship teaching moments and a loveable, (and hateful) cast mixed into a story to make you dream you had some way to connect with the people who lived in your home too.
The author, Camille DeAngelis has a smooth, relatable style of writing. One that makes you feel as if you are living with Josie and Cass in the 1915’s. Her story moves in and out of the past but not distractingly like some books I’ve read in the last few months. The makes for an ease that lets your soul wander into the story.
I suggest that you buy this book for your child when it is released May 8th, 2018 or preorder it. It’s that good.
I received this book from Amberjack Publishing via NetGalley in lieu of my honest opinion.

This is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

I loved this novel! Josephine and Cassandra are sisters living in Edwardstown, New York State, in 1915. Their mother is a medium who may or may not be genuine, but she is also a cruel and vengeful schemer who thinks nothing of forcing her younger daughter, Cassie, to eat a whole pudding that she naughtily sampled, even if it makes her sick. She thinks nothing of confining the rebellious Cassie to a cupboard for an entire day for speaking back to her, not even lettign ehr out for a bathroom visit. The two daughters are kept cut-off from society and are essentially prisoners.

A century away from this drama, Alec, who happens to be pretty much the same age as Josie, together with his divorced mother, moves into that same address, and through an antique Ouija board which Alec discovers in the house, he somehow miraculously makes contact with Josie, and they become friends. Unfortunately, Josie's mother learns of her Ouija board assignations and seeks to tap Alec's future information for her own ends, holding Josie hostage to force him to meet her demands.

The story is told in third person (thank you, Camille DeAngelis, you are a goddess amongst YA and middle-grade authors!), and it alternates from Alec's perspective to Josie's, and back again with each chapter and without losing moment or engagement. Despite its length, it makes for a fast and easy read, brings the reader in from the start, and holds them captive rather like poor Cassie and Josie are captive, but by a lot more pleasant means! I really enjoyed this book it was original entertaining, and a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend it.

This was a really excellent story. It started a little slower than I wanted, but picked up fairly quickly and I'm so glad I stuck with it, because it was lovely! What lonely little kid hasn't imagined they might one day stumble upon a friend, someone who would understand them and help make them feel more at home in their own skin? Now imagine if you could *actually* make such a friend - not an imaginary one, but one who is altogether real, albeit separated from you indefinitely by time and space?

Such is the magic of The Boy From Tomorrow.

Camille DeAngelis has crafted a beautiful, sweet, painful-to-read tale about the unique friendship that develops between Josie, a lonely twelve year old girl, and Alec, a slightly-less-lonely-but-still-searching-for-something twelve year old boy. Sounds fairly standard - until you add in the beautiful twist: for Josie, it is 1915, for Alec it is 2015. The beauty in the story arises as the differences between the children fade away, and the magic is wholly captured by the lovely prose in which DeAngelis lays out the burgeoning relationship between the two - a relationship that starts with a Ouija Board.

Josie (and her little sister Cass) live with a brutal, selfish, horrid "mother" who is a leading Spiritualist/Medium in early twentieth century New York City. The use of a self-proclaimed medium as antagonist was deliciously ironic, considering the magical twists and turns that the tale takes as true communication with "spirits" develops between the two kids. The story that unfolds is lyrical and moving, full of tidbits of history and family drama on both sides of the time divide (Alec's parents have just divorced). The story is, at times (especially in the beginning and whenever Cass's doll, Mrs. Gubbins, enter scene), eerie - until Josie and Alec figure out what is going on, there is a lot of confusion and fear, as one would expect if one was suddenly "communicating" with an actual Ouija Board. But the story unfolded at a solid pace, with just enough teasers about what was going on to keep me thoroughly engaged and curious to see what would come next. The supporting cast (particularly Danny, Alec's new real-time friend, and Emily, the girls' savior) was well-developed and provided a nice counterpoint to the main characters. And of course, the thoroughly distasteful Lavinia (Josie and Cass's mother) provided an excellent foil - she was horrid, but at just the right points to drive the story in a positive direction (if that makes any sense).

This was a really well-crafted tale about family - the ones we are born with and the ones we make for ourselves - and the importance of believing, no matter how odd things may seem, that magic really is possible...

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book in the middle grade genre and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy it. This story shifts from past to the future, between a girl, Josie who lives in 1915 and a boy, Alec, in 2015 – how they form a friendship which changes both their lives.

Josie and her six-year-old sister, Cassie are stuck living with a mother who’s a medium. She’s also a cold, heartless woman who has no time or love for her two sweet children. If not for their tutor Emily, Josie and Cassie would have no love in their lives. In comparison, Alec’s mother was awesome.

Josie, Cassie and Alec all had their own troubles to deal with. I liked all the three main characters. Cassie was so cute—a sweet, impish little girl with an infectious wit.

This story was wonderfully well-written. I liked the author’s writing style very much and the characters were interesting. The descriptions were elaborate and painted quite a picture. The story-line gripped my attention and kept it. Who wouldn’t find the idea of communication from the past to the future wicked cool? I did and if not for the ending, I would have given this book a solid 5 stars.

The ending was disappointing. A lot of issues were left unfinished without the proper conclusions and explanations. Except for the unsatisfactory ending, this was a pretty good book.

One hundred years apart, living in the same house, Alec meets Josie and her sister Cass through a talking (Ouija) board. What develops is a friendship spanning a century, and beyond a lifetime.

Josie and her little sister Cass live in 1915 with their mother, a famed medium. Josie has her doubts about her mother's powers. If she can truly speak to the dead, why has she never been able to speak to the her father? Despite her doubts, Josie is drawn to her mother's forbidden reading room. While playing with her mother's talking board, an elegant gift from the medium's best client, Josie, Cass, and their tutor Emily, make contact with Alec. After convincing the girls he is not a spirit but a boy from the future, a fast friendship develops. However, the more Alec learns about Josie and Cass, and their mother, the more concerned he becomes for their safety. From a century away, Alec works to help Josie and Cass. He faces the difficult decision of just how much of the future to share with them, and conflict with himself about whether he really wants to find out the truth of what fate may have befallen Josie and Cass.

The characters are so realistic and well-developed, and the contrast between the time periods vividly portrayed. The addition of Mrs. Gubbins, Cass's doll who only talks to her, was unsettling even to me as an adult (in a good scary-movie kind of way). She's very interesting - I really wanted to know more about who or what Mrs. Gubbins actually was... but she's really left quite the mystery. Cass often relays information to those around her as "Mrs. Gubbins says...." and Mrs. Gubbins says some vague but strange things about witches and bad men and predictions about the future - things no seven year old would know. And Cass often has to apologize for relaying information Mrs. Gubbins says she shouldn't have shared. She definitely adds a shivers-up-your-spine factor, but I liked her.

The book is appropriately targeted to middle grade audiences. I think it might be a little scary for younger kids, especially because of some of the cruelty of the girls' mother - nothing graphic, just unsettling. The book does talk about the medium having spirit guides from ages past, and them speaking through her. The only thing the talking board is used for is speaking to Alec, and for kids today who are not familiar with the idea of a Ouija board, parents may want to explain what a Ouija board really is. The author actually puts a rather stern warning at the end that speaking to living people across time is not the purpose of a typical "talking board" and more or less that one should be extremely cautious of the real deal. So, ultimately, some parental guidance suggested, but no major red flags.

As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and recommend it to any lovers of historical fiction and any adult who enjoys young adult books. For young adults, I think this is engrossing historical fiction in a time when historical fiction is less and less interesting to kids.