Bibliography: Scarrow, Alex. (2010). Time Riders. New York: Walker Books. ISBN: 978-0-8027-2172-3
Plot Summary: They should all be dead. But when a mysterious man offered them a chance to live, they took it. Maddy escaped a plane crash, Liam the sinking of the Titanic, and Sal a horrible fire. From different times, they come together in New York to relive the events of 9/11 over and over; learning about time travel and looking for time shifts that mean someone else has altered history for their own gain. When just such a shift is detected, they realize they must stop whoever has unleashed the power of the Nazis on the present Earth or the world itself may be destroyed.
Critical Analysis: I really like the hook of this book, the first in a series, young people rescued from death for a bigger purpose of saving the world. And the author does a nice job of setting up this world, where time travel is possible and the characters live in a loop that repeats over and over again. I thought having the loop be 9/11 was an insightful choice, imagine having to live that series of events again and again. The details of the machines, the computers, the clone, the travel are fun. The characters themselves are interesting with clear-cut personalities.
But I didn’t find myself loving this book. First of all, I find Nazis a very obvious choice. Yes, they are evil, yes, there are parallels between events then and events today. But it isn’t very subtle, is it? Second, most of the events were outside the characters’ control. They spent a lot of time reacting to circumstances and not much time changing those circumstances.
Finally, I found the whole book to be very somber and serious. I realize almost dying and then saving the world is not all sunshine and light, but especially the second half of the book was unrelenting in its dreariness. The question is, though, what do readers in the target audience think? I would love to know what kind of kid/teen appeal this title has.
Review Excerpts: “Time travel produces plenty of fodder for reader education and introspection….The villain even has his own internal demons; nothing is too black or white and victory is hard-won in Scarrow’s world. Despite some unevenness, this series is off to a promising start with plenty of potential and gusto.”–VOYA
“This is an interesting premise populated by engaging, well-developed characters….While the ending brings closure, there are still plenty of opportunities for a sequel, possibly multiples, to follow.”–Kirkus Reviews
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