A Mutiny in Time

Gr 4-6–In an alternate reality, fifth-graders Dak Smyth and Sera Froste discover a time-travel device invented by Dak’s parents called the Infinity Ring. After a test run leaves his parents lost in time, the friends learn of a secret group called the Hystorians who claims that there are breaks in the past that have caused history to go off course. They plan to use the Infinity Ring to fix those breaks and, as Dak and Sera are the only ones able to use it thanks to a DNA-lock implemented by Dak’s parents, the kids are enlisted to help. Events necessitate a rushed departure from the present when the SQ, a mysterious organization that seems to run the world, attacks the Hystorians’s headquarters. Dak and Sera disappear into the past, joined by Riq, a teenager with a talent for languages to complement Sera’s scientific expertise and Dak’s historical knowledge. They are charged with fixing the Great Breaks in time to save the future from a Cataclysm of natural disasters. This is the first title in a multiplatform series patterned after “The 39 Clues” series (Scholastic). It includes a code to unlock an online game or mobile app. Action drives the narrative, leaving little time to develop characters and relationships. Events happen very quickly and there are missed opportunities to probe more thoroughly ethical questions raised by Dak and Sera about changing history, as well as which events to change. Still, the brisk action and interactive component will likely attract readers, particularly those who devoured “The 39 Clues” titles.–Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL