Counter Clockwise [Hardcover]

Jason Cockcroft (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2009 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

What if your mother were hit by a bus?

And what if your father disappeared one day through a hole in the bathroom wall?

Is there a way to change the course of your life's history?

What if time moved

In this dazzling debut novel, Jason Cockcroft has crafted a mind-bending adventure with a startlingly original narrative structure.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In British illustrator Cockcroft's promising first novel, Nathan Cobbe copes as best he can with the death of his mother, hit by a bus a year earlier. But his father, Henry, will do whatever it takes to prevent her from dying, even if that means traveling back in time. Focusing less on Henry and more on Nathan's experiences, the book successfully avoids explaining the mechanics of Henry's time-travel, details not as important as the chaos he creates. A mysterious Beefeater appears as a kind of guide for Nathan, who eventually gets drawn into the alternate realities engendered by Henry's actions. Humorous motifs (a dog that can be placated only by bubble gum, news reports about an Esperanto-speaking mule, etc.) leaven the situation, and Nathan himself invites readers' steady attention: he responds realistically to the strange events, asking insightful questions and making understandable mistakes. The powerful messages—the need to accept the hand we're dealt and not to let time slip by—mix enticingly with the lightly introduced philosophical and scientific concepts. Ages 10–up. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

The first novel by English illustrator Cockcroft is a fantasy that features travel into the past and into alternate versions of the present. For the past year, ever since Nathan’s mother was struck by a bus and killed, he has lived with his father. On the anniversary of her death, Nathan’s father disappears into another dimension, traveling back in time in hopes of preventing the accident; Nathan soon follows. His unpredictable guide is Bartleby the Beefeater, a larger-than-life character who knows more about Nathan and his father than any stranger should. After venturing into parallel universes, Nathan sees his own world differently and works to make his fractured reality whole again. Readers may be intrigued by the ideas of visiting parallel universes and the past, but here the time-travel device is unconvincing and the discussions of physics are less than illuminating. Still, the story is well paced, the dialogue is often entertaining, and attractive line drawings decorate chapter headings. For larger collections.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; First Edition edition (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061255548
• ISBN-13: 978-0061255540
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,211,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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