A Circle of Time [Hardcover]

Marisa Montes (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Time Travel Mysteries

"I helped you. Now you help me."
As fourteen-year-old Allison Blair lies comatose in the hospital, she hears in her head the voice of Becky Lee Thompson, pleading for help and pulling Allison back in time to 1906--and into Becky's body. But why? Is it to prevent Becky's tragic death, or the death of Joshua, the boy who loves her? Allison must remain in the past--fortified by her own growing feeling for Joshua, and Becky's will--to make sense of the layers of mystery, blackmail, and mistaken identity so that history will be altered.
Becky's spirit struggles to keep Allison's body alive. Can Allison save Becky and Joshua and return to her own body before time runs out?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10-This time-travel, historical mystery begins as 14-year-old Allison Blair is struck by a car and almost killed. While she is grasping onto life in a coma, she is whisked away in time by Becky, who has come to 1996 from 1906 to gain Allison's help. The book flashes back and forth between the hospital, with Becky in Allison's body and about to undergo brain surgery, and 1906 on a California estate owned by a wealthy Spanish family. There, Allison meets Joshua, who was Becky Thompson's boyfriend before her untimely death. Once she convinces him of her situation, he becomes her ally and helps her change history. The focus shifts to Sadie Thompson and Don Carlos, the estate owner, and the mystery of what happened to his daughter's baby years earlier. While Allison's lessons to Joshua about feminist history detract a bit from the sense of urgency, this is still an enjoyable, compelling read. Much like Caroline B. Cooney's Both Sides of Time (Laurel-Leaf, 1997), it takes on a romantic spin, along with the old Wizard of Oz theme of Allison's just wanting to click her heels three times and be back in the comfort zone of home.
Nicole M. Marcuccilli, Glenview Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. When Allison is seriously injured in an accident on a deserted California road, the ghost of Becky, a girl who lived nearly a century earlier, comes to her aid. Becky's spirit sustains Allison through a coma--but at a price. In return for her life, Allison must travel back in time to 1906 to save Becky and her beau, Joshua, from their deaths during the San Francisco earthquake. In classic gothic fashion, Allison uncovers a skeleton in the closet of the powerful Cardona Pomales family that holds the key to the tragic deaths. Readers may question how readily the Victorian-era characters accept modern Allison's time traveling (Peni R. Griffin's Switching Well [1993] is more convincing in that regard). Yet fans of both mysteries and time-slip stories will like the novel, which is liberally spiced with romance and melodrama, and clarifies a bit of intriguing and tragic California history. Catherine Andronik
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152026266
• ISBN-13: 978-0152026264
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,383,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A haunting blend of romance, fate, and time travel, June 4, 2008

By 

Sarah - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Circle of Time (Hardcover)

Marisa Montes's A Circle of Time is a magical tale that blends time travel, fate, and romance. Fourteen-year-old Allison Blair lives in the 1990s, but after a horrific bike accident that results in her being thrown down the side of a ledge (minus helmet), she ends up hovering between life and death in a coma. A mysterious young girl named Becky Lee Thompson begs her for help, telling Allison that she helped save her life, and expects the same in return.

Allison is sent back to 1906 California days before the massive earthquake, and must relive Becky's footsteps to discover how she can help change the course of history. She's terrified of Becky's abusive mother and entranced by Joshua, the sweet young boy who has a chaste crush on Becky. Most of all, Allison-as-Becky feels horribly confused, since Becky's not giving her any guidance. Allison does reveal some future inventions to Joshua, but the most annoying modern insertion that grated on my nerves was the section where Allison is preaching about feminism to 1906 Californian men and expecting them to change instantly; it felt false and out of place.

At times, she's pulled back to the present, where she can hear her mother but can't respond. As precious minutes tick by and Allison develops a dangerous brain bleed in the present, her time to save Becky in the past runs dangerously low. After a disastrous first attempt, she has the opportunity to start over (it feels a bit like Groundhog Day - 15th Anniversary Edition for a brief minute).

Montes brings the settings to vivid life, particularly the forest where healer Magda lives, and the elegant estate where the Cardona Pomales, immigrants from Spain, live. The descriptions of vineyards reminded me of the glorious setting of A Walk in the Clouds. The plot unwinds gradually, with plenty of twists and turns in store, including several mysteries that have an impact on the finale. The ending was sweet without being overdone, and was the perfect finish to this bewitching blend of romance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a circle of time, November 29, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: A Circle of Time (Hardcover)

This book was SOOOOOOO good. I recommend it to everyone. even if you don't like time travel and that kind of stuff, it's still a really good book. Everything ties in together at the end, and it keeps you guessing the whole way through. The plot is really interesting, and I couldn't put it down- I read it in about two hours, so always have a lot of time when you feel like reading this book. It always helps to re-read it-- you get the extra details and it's even more enthralling. This book is perfect for anyone who loves a good mystery, probably ages 10+.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, April 19, 2008

By 

Janak R. Khatiwada "its the books" (Madison, AK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Circle of Time (Hardcover)

I love this book! Its filled with happy and sad moments! Its about a girl that gets hit by a car and is in coma. Somehow their is a connection between this girl in the 1800 and her. She travel back and forth to her body and Becky's. Mean while she finds true love and respect for a guy that Becky has know since a baby. Becky need Allison to do something for her but Allison dose not know what it is. Will she ever find out or will she die trying? All you have to do is flip the book open, and dive into a book that well warm your heart.