Both Sides of Time [Hardcover]

Caroline B. Cooney (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

Imagine changing centuries--and making things worse, not better, on both sides of time.



Imagine being involved in two love triangles in two different centuries. What if, no matter which direction you travel in time, you must abandon someone you love?



Meet 15-year-old Annie Lockwood, a romantic living in the wrong century. When she travels back a hundred years and lands in 1895--a time when privileged young ladies wear magnificent gowns, attend elegant parties, and are courted by handsome gentlemen--Annie at last finds romance. But she is a trespasser in time. Will she choose to stay in the past? Will she be allowed to?


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though narrated in the stylized, spine-tingling voice that has become a Cooney trademark, this tale of time travel and romance lacks the momentum of the author's best work (The Face on the Milk Carton; Driver's Ed). While her decidedly unromantic boyfriend tinkers with a car engine, Annie wanders through the soon-to-be-demolished Stratton mansion, longing for a more gracious way of life. Suddenly she "falls through" 100 years-landing in 1895 just in time to witness (albeit hazily) a murder. The first person Annie meets is Hiram "Strat" Stratton, slated to inherit both the mansion and the family fortune if he marries his plain but sweet and devoted cousin Harriett. Annie and Strat fall head over heels in love, thus reproducing in the 19th century a triangle loosely similar to the situation created by Annie's father, who, unbeknownst to Annie's mother, is conducting an affair with a co-worker. Along with the murder, the various affairs of the heart provide fodder for almost requisite musings on the position of women then and now. Constrained by the novel's black-and-white approach, the truly intriguing social issues raised here never acquire real urgency. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-10. Disturbed by her parents' marital discord and completely taken for granted by Sean, her mechanically inclined boyfriend, Annie Lockwood is ripe for romance. And where better to find it than in the past--a past epitomized by the once elegant mansion about to be razed in her hometown. At the mansion during a storm, Annie finds herself falling 100 years back in time to a point, where she encounters the romantic idyll she has yearned for and where she alters the lives of several people when she and Hiram Stratton Jr. fall in love. But she realizes that the 1890s are not her time and makes the transition back to the present, only to realize that she has to return to prevent a miscarriage of justice because a ladies' maid has been wrongfully accused of murder. Life among the wealthy in the 1890s is nicely rendered, as are Annie's bittersweet experiences. However, after the first time, Annie's time shifting loses credibility, and her ready acceptance by the Strattons is forced. But romantics will be caught up by the story and will catch their breath at the cliff-hanger of an ending, when Annie, trying to return to her own time, falls even further back in time and "opened her eyes to see when, and what, came next." Sally Estes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385729480
• ISBN-13: 978-0385729482
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3.6 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (163 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,476,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A higher rating than 5 stars, this book should have it!, July 17, 2003

By 

Trekkintheplains "Take a sad song and make it... (South Dakota, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Both Sides of Time (Scholastic Classics) (Paperback)

I've always been fascinated by the concept of time travel. I like to write and my stories end up in this theme time and time again. I was in 8th grade when I saw this book in a school catalog and read its description. When I got the book, I started reading and could NOT put it down! Even 6 years later it still holds my admiration. It's one of my very favorite books still out of the many I have read, and I read every night. A 300 page book takes me 3-4 days!

Annie is a high school girl with a handsome but unfortunately unromantic, car-obsessed boyfriend. He lives at the soon to be demolished, now apartmented, Stratton Mansion. Annie dreams of the days when the mansion was at its peak and of the romance that must have occurred there. Suddenly she finds herself flung 100 years into the past in a real-life true romance, the rival of rich but plain, love-stricken Harriet who pines for the same man as Annie. What Annie didn't bargain for was a murder mystery and a plot against the entire Stratton family by several wicked characters, working together and separately for their own selfish goals and twisted motives. It's a race against time to save herself, her true love and those around him.

I recommend Both Sides of Time, and its companion Out of Time to anyone with a heart for romance and a desire to live in times long past. The characters will surprise you and will make you think twice about human nature, you might even find pity for those you hate and unexpected sympathy. Your heart will be in your throat to the very end.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful story!, March 3, 2000

By 

7th Grade Student (Grand Rapids, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Both Sides of Time (Paperback)

Have you ever thought of going back in time? Well in this book, Both Sides Of Time, a girl named Annie Lockwood does. She travels back to 1895. There she falls in love with a handsome, nice, polite, and wealthy gentleman named Strat. Strat loves her too but their love hurts many people around them. I loved this book. I could realate to the characters and I could picture each scene in my mind very vividly. It was a murder mystery, love story, a time fantasy, and it displayed relationships in two centuries. In fact, I liked this book so much that I bought both of the other books in the series! This book was mysterious and intriguing. I really liked that. I admit that the first couple of pages threw me off. I didn't get what was going on and I was worried that the whole book would be like that. But I did catch the drift about what was going on after a few pages. After that I couldn't put the book down. At the end I was just left hanging. I wanted more of the book. So I was glad when I went to the store and saw the other books. If you like love stories and mysteries you will like this book. I know I did.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book of character development., November 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Both Sides of Time (Scholastic Classics) (Paperback)

I found this book to be very entertaining. The plot was creative and somewhat logistic, but I found the best part of the book in the characters themselves. I enjoyed seeing how people would react to situations in the book, especially Annie and Strat the two main characters. I would recommend this book for anyone.