I am going to come at this review from two angles. The first is from the perspective of theme and the idea of righting wrongs, second chances, etc. That part of the book was good and I did like how it all came together in the end - messiness of life and all.

But, as someone who loves time travel books this fell short for me. There was really no explanation for the time travel - nothing that could be duplicated in theory, no idea who the person was who kept helping him and the whys. I wish that part of the story had been fleshed out and developed better.

For me this is a maybe purchase. The message and theme are a plus but the execution was a minus.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

"I'd seen the face of evil, and it looked very human."

What a sad and touching book. I absolutely adored the exploration of difficult topics like racism and justice. It saddened me to learn at the end that this story was based on true historical events. I think it only serves as another strength of this book that it took such a terrible tragedy and found a way to add a fictional twist that could help educate young and old readers alike.

The writing style was quite distinct with lots of short, succinct sentences and I found that very refreshing. It's not often authors choose to be so straightforward and to the point; it's the norm to be overly descriptive. I found it very impressive how the author managed to make such a large impact with so little words, I suppose it really is true that less is more.

So, all in all, an absolutely fantastic read and I think it should be required reading for young students in America and even other countries. It certainly taught me a lot and I think it'd teach others a lot too!

14 year old Richie runs away from his aunt and goes to live in the woods where he meets Morris, a black man. Then Richie finds out he can time travel back 30 years. Morris tells him about his granddaddy being lynched. Richie wants to figure out how he can go back and forth time traveling and see if he can save Morris’ granddaddy.. Can he do it?

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book.

I apologize in advance if this review is all over the place or doesn’t make sense, but I’m trying to write it as I go so I don’t forget anything 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

Example one, it's 2019.
We start the story off with a boy bumping in to a man carrying a pocket watch. Later we learn the sentimental value of this item, but I feel like it's extremely outdated and if it did carry the attachment for Morris that the author claimed, this old man would probably not be leaving the house with it.
Also, our main character uses a flip style cell phone. I don't know anyone who two years ago used such a thing. Our main character is fourteen years old, given ammo and a gun OF HIS OWN that is stored god knows where and is free to grab it as he pleases. Not only that, he is also a proficient hunter, fisherman, knows how to use a compass, and has advanced knowledge of plant life. While not even being out of the tenth grade... I suppose the reason this doesn't bode well with me is that if we are going to read a story inspired by real life events then more of this should ring true or believable for its audience.

Next, I feel like in the first chapter alone, the author uses the word "black" at least ten times to describe more than just skin color. I just think that detailed descriptions and variations would be more useful in depicting this world and an atmosphere a bit better. I personally just can't like a book that is for children that constantly points to skin color negatively or without some tact by using phrases such as "There don't seem to be too many black people" or "I didn't think the cops would look for a white teen in the black section of town".

But also, in this first chapter, I know that we, as readers, are supposed to see that Richie has this preconditioned bias to his surroundings as well as the people in his city which is bad enough. However, not only is he racist in the beginning, but he's a bit of a rebel. Which, due to the overwhelming verbal abuse from his aunt, I would be an awful child too if that's the attitude I constantly received from my caregiver. In one chapter alone, Aunt Trudy says, "I'm about ready to give up", tells him she wants to send him away, calls him a "stupid idiot", and says that she doesn't know what his parents ever saw in him... Yikes.

Next complaint, and back to the issue of it being 2019... I feel like, taking place in St. Louis, the appearance of a man of color would not have been that shocking to Richie. However, if the author hadn't told me it was 2019, OR St. Louis I would never have known. I guess what I am trying to say is that this story is overly character driven, and when it comes to setting the scene, whether it be in the city or while he spends time out in the woods, I experienced a lot of difficulty imagining the surroundings since nothing is very descriptive.

I also get that it is a short book, but a lot of action is packed into a couple short chapters and it is hard to understand what is going on... For example both times hunters appear. One minute they're in the woods, the next they are not... Or when the cops come looking for him. He is running but we don't know why... Or when we find out about another missing boy... Stuff is just thrown into these chapters and I feel like with a little more time spent explaining and more details regarding the setting or characters internal feelings, these scenes could really come alive.

And this also goes with my feelings that EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER lacks depth and feels flat. I won't even go into how I don't think neither Morris nor Richie are very well done main characters, but even the supporting characters are emotionless. For example, when time traveling, Richie appears suddenly in the road and is hit by an old man while driving. The man takes Richie's body home to his wife while they care for an UNCONSCIOUS child for two days. Neither of these two grown adults are worried in the slightest bit when he wakes up and talks to them. Instead, they say things such as "my car hit you". No mention of being sorry, if he has parents, or of seeing a doctor... ALSO they find out Richie claims to have an uncle he was traveling with, and instead of reuniting this child with his family or getting the police involved, they suggest he stay there and help with the laundry for a few days until "MAYBE" his uncle FINDS HIM.

I won’t even go into my disgust over the chapter regarding the lynching of Mr. Scott...

All in all, I appreciate the chance to read this story, but it definitely was NOT one of my favorites.