This is a great middle grade sci fi read that I think lots of kids and adults alike will enjoy!! I had a lot of fun reading it!!

Such a great, exciting story. With amazing characters and I really found it easy to read, I couldn't put it down. I was hooked. It was such a fun, captivating story. Anna and Mara have such a lovely bond and character together! I really enjoyed following them through the scifi story!

Thirteen-year-old Anna loses her parents in an accident and is sent to live with her uncle on his farm. With no purpose and hope, days stretch out into nothingness. Until one night, the sky explodes in thunder. That’s when she meets Mara, a time traveller from the future. Mara needs Anna’s help because her time-travelling has broken the universe, opening wormholes that lead to other worlds. Resulting in a “thrilling adventure of two unlikely friends teaming up to take on a world of aliens, wormholes, and time travel—to save themselves and, possibly, the entire planet.”

And I agree with this description. Girl Out of Time was indeed a thrilling adventure, but not just that. It also was a heartwarming story of friendship. A friendship that seemed unlikely, but bloomed throughout their journey. And that made this book so worth it. I was rooting for Mara to overcome her fears and fight for what she loves. And also for Anna because she needed this special connection after she had lost everything.

On top of all that, we are faced with the reality we live in. Our planet is sick, and if we don’t do something quickly, it will die. This story shows possible futures for us and that we need to work hard to make the best future possible.

Even though I prefer standalone books, I wished this one had a sequel. At this point, there is no talk about it, but who knows what the future holds.

“Girl Out of Time" by Clyde Boyle is a thrilling adventure of two unlikely friends who travel through time and take on aliens. The genre is geared towards teen sci-if but is a delight for anyone to read. This is a wonderful little story about friendship and belonging.
Thank you NetGalley and Girl Friday for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you, Girl Friday Productions, Clyde Boyer, and Netgalley, for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh, I loved this! Very imaginative and perfect for any age. I'm hoping for a sequel

I had a great time reading this book. Life for Anna takes an unexpected turns once something awful ends up happening. She is sent to live with an uncle she barely knows. At first life there is boring until she bumps into a time traveler. They ask Anna for help and she is only to happy to oblige. Along the way Anna sees some stunning places and gets to use some amazing technology. As this tale comes to a close life on this farm will never be the same.

It was really good. The adventure of Anna and Mara was engaging and exciting.
An easy read for readers looking for the unexpected.

this was a cute book and a fun read

thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

Girl out of time was such a fantastic read. About a little girl who lost her family and what family means to them. About growing up. And what it means to try to save what you have.

This book deals with climate change, and change in general and the author wanted it to end on a hopeful note. I would say he succeeded. When it comes to change it takes work and it's not always easy but with people you trust and love, it is possible. And when it comes to that change, we follow a main character who is thrown into change.

After losing her mother, father, and then her home to live with her uncle, she's got a new school to deal with. New kids. And she's afraid of it. She doesn't want to be the weird kid. Then she meets Mara.

We get a book that has various dimensions, other worlds, the want to run away from out problems. It's got a lot of hear.

My biggest issue with this book is that there's very few descriptions of the characters. And I believe one of color. It's a small town but if you've got interdimensional travel, time travel, all that stuff, you can add more people of color.

I will still give this book five stars. I loved it despite that.

I received this eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to them and the publisher.

DNF @ 31%

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

This took me a while to get into. I realized that I didn’t really process anything happening until at least a third of the way in … and then I didn’t care enough to finish it whoops. This book wasn’t for me so feel free to read it if it’s your interest.

In a Nutshell: An intelligent and imaginative sci-fi read for middle graders. Covers some thoughtful themes. A bit too long for the target age group but the fast pace and thrilling action-adventures compensate for the length.

Story Synopsis:
Anna Armstrong has always been a space aficionado. After her parents pass away unexpectedly, she is sent to live with her Uncle Jack on his farm, which is not the kind of farm you might imagine.
On her first night there, Anna sees some strange lights and a mysterious woman floating above the lake in the back of the house. Thus begins Anna’s thrilling adventure, courtesy Mara, the time traveller from the future who seems to be hiding from something, or someone. Mara needs Anna’s help in tracking some wormholes, but little do they know that an ‘unearthly’ visitor has already landed in their vicinity.

Where the book worked for me:
👽 The story stays true to its protagonist’s age. Anna is a seventh grader, and she acts like one, though at a much higher intellectual level. She is impulsive, curious, stubborn, but also courageous and loyal. She makes for a complex and well-rounded lead character. The parallel lead, Mara, is a wonderful mentor-cum-friend to Anna, allowing Anna to learn from her mistakes and allow her curiosity to lead her the right way. I loved their bond.
👽 The plot includes many complex scientific concepts such as wormholes, gravitational pull, and artificial intelligence. However, it doesn't treat its readers as stupid by spoon-feeding them every explanation, but provides just enough info to understand the scene and trusts its young readers to decipher it correctly. Many YA authors would do well to learn from this approach.
👽 Thought-provoking topics such as sustainable farming techniques, the importance of food and farmers, climate change and its impact, and conservation of natural resources are balanced alongside more regular MG staples such as bullying, supportive friendships, and first crushes. There are also some brief philosophical points such as on actions vs. consequences. While I could have done without the crush factor (it didn’t add much to the story and wasn’t even explored in detail), the rest of the themes are handled well.
👽 The imagery is amazing. Every scene is so vividly written that it is not at all difficult to visualise the events, even when they are out of this world, literally. The descriptive writing is one of the best features of this plot. I still can’t believe the scenes came from debut novelist’s pen… errrr… laptop.
👽 It was a lot of fun to read about the futuristic elements in Mara’s arc. They did feel a tad too farfetched to be practically possible just a century ahead, but hey, this is science ‘fiction’. We go with the flow!
👽 While the content is episodic at times, there are enough of action and adventurous sequences to keep us hooked. Even during moments of lull, the book doesn’t reduce the pacing. This is especially helpful because the book is quite lengthy at 368 pages.
👽 Plus points for having two well-sketched female protagonists in a sci-fi story, all the more relevant as the author is a man. This is so rare an occurrence!

Where the book could have worked better for me:
👾 The secondary characters, maybe except for Jack, don’t get enough detailing. Fiona and Lulu, being Anna’s besties, could have had a much greater role to play in the plot, but we barely get to know them. Scout gets a somewhat better deal, but why he is looked down upon and teased so much by his friends, we never know properly.
👾 Mara’s backstory wasn’t too convincing. I was hoping for a better explanation.


All in all, this was a fun yet intense middle-grade sci-fi novel. It will work even for teens and possibly for adult readers too, as long as they go in with the right expectations. I can’t put my finger on the reason, but somehow, that cover, though striking, doesn’t convey ‘middle-grade’ to me. I began this book expecting a regular sci-fi story. Luckily, I was able to adapt to the right age group soon. (Being a regular children’s book reader helps.)
The plot is quite ambitious for a debut work, but the author uses his credentials well to provide us with an entertainer. Definitely recommend this to youngsters who enjoy sci-fi adventures.
Though the story ties up neatly at the end, something tells me that we shall be seeing more of Anna and Mara in future. I hope my gut feel is right. If there is indeed a sequel, it will definitely hop onto my reading list.

4.25 stars.

My thanks to Girl Friday Productions and NetGalley for the DRC of “Girl Out of Time”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thank you so much to the publisher and author for an early arc copy of this novel! This story was a fantastic read and the prose was so engaging!

The main character, after tragically losing her parents, goes to live on her uncle’s farm, and so much SFF mystery ensues!

I loved reading this story and appreciated the author’s development of the characters!

Girl Out of Time is an interesting take on alien "invasions," mixing it with time travel and wormholes. It offers a strong female main character, but doesn't make the book unappealing to male readers. There is a sense of adventure and mystery as well, as the MC partners with a woman from the future to track down aliens who have made their way to Earth.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an Advanced Copy via Netgalley.

"Girl Out of Time" follows a sci-fi story surrounding Anna, who is left orphaned and moves with her uncle Jack. However, on her first night there she is awoken by strange lights.

The story is good, and one of the things I loved about this were the short chapters and the urge to keep reading that this created. It was also a light-hearted read, which I really enjoyed, but it did seem childish at many times, which makes me think maybe I am getting too old for certain books. I believe this will be perfect for middle grade students, who will be amused reading this and want to discover what's going on, as well as seeing characters their ages going through unexpected events and growing in development.

I really wanted this book to be amazing. The cover is special. The concept is perfect. I am here for your time travel science. Give it to me. You don’t even need to explain all the rules. Just say “time-space” and I am here for it. However, you can’t break the other rules. A rusty old bike doesn’t fly. It is hard to pedal and it either stays that way, the chain breaks, or you add oil or WD40. You can’t have a scientist say “get used to the metric system” and then have the tech give the temperature in Fahrenheit. I can forgive some of the stuff as this book is for middle readers, but rules are rules. Don’t make rules in your book only to break them.

Anna has lost her parents in an accident. Now, she is moving to live with her uncle on a farm. However, on her first night there, she sees strange lights near the lake. She decides to find the origin of the lights and makes un unusual and unexpected friend. Will she be able to help her friend to go back home?

I enjoyed reading this book. It was fast-paced and easy to read. It's the kind of book that has you 'reading just one more chapter'. The characters feel real, and are relatable to teens. The plot was engaging and kept me interested throughout the story.

I would recommend this book to teens for sure! It was a fun and engaging read, even for me as an adult.

This is such a unique story. I won’t summarise the plot as the synopsis covers it pretty well — instead, let’s get into what makes it so good!

Anna and Mara are wonderfully written characters. I loved their dynamic and their character development. Other characters weren’t quite so vividly depicted, but for a middle grade novel, that makes sense — I know that when I was twelve or so, I’d really only have been interested in the leads.

I also liked the fact that the writing style was accessible for a young audience without talking down to them. It’s a fine line to walk, but the author definitely makes it work!

This is a lovely standalone, but I’d read a sequel, no question!

This is such a magical book and I enjoyed reading it just as much as my teen grandaughter. The story was about time travel, friendship and helping others. It is beautifully written.

Girl Out of Time by Clyde Boyer
Anna Armstrong is a brilliant precocious girl who has always been fascinated by space. In fact, she has attempted to launch herself several times into space but unfortunately her homemade rocket ships did not have sufficient enough power to get her there. Tragically, on the day of one of her “launches”, she learns that her mother and father have died on their way back home from Europe. Thirteen year old Anna then goes to live with her kind uncle Jack on his farm research center outside Smartt Indiana.
Very soon upon her arrival, Anna sees strange lights in the distance and eventually goes and investigates. There, she discovers a different dimension in time and space, where girl named Mara exists. Anna soon becomes involved in trying to help Mara save the world from the repercussions of time travel using Science to help them.
This is such a wonderful book about responsibility, friendship and science. The young people presented are supportive and caring towards each other and lessons learned about curiosity, responsibility and friendship abound.
This book should be added to school libraries as well as any little classroom library. It is a science fiction novel that is accessible to upper elementary and middle school students.

I really enjoyed this story!! Anna must leave Boston to live with her uncle on a farm after her parents die. I’m not one to really enjoy sci-fi type books but this one was quite good! I liked the storyline, the science behind it, and Anna’s curiosity! It was a really cute read. I would recommend this book with my middle school students !

Thank you to Net Galley, Girl Friday Books, and the author for the ARC.