Customer Reviews

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When (The Snipesville Chronicles)

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This brought back my son's love of reading again. We found it under 'Historical Fiction' which is a bit of a stretch. They do talk about history, but not as much as their adventure. I would like to see more history in subsequent novels. My son loved the characters, especially Alex!

This is a real original. The three main characters are American high school kids - two from California, one a native of Snipesville, Georgia, where the others have miserably come to live - who find themselves swept mysteriously into the England of the two World Wars (yes: both of them). What makes the book so good is its fairness towards all the cultures concerned. Unlike most time-travel books, this one explores the differences not just in speech (which is brilliantly done) but in thought-patterns. Californian Hannah, used to analysing her feelings in depth with her family, finds herself living with an old-style, reticent Englishwoman who will protect children from unsuitable subjects but not from brisk physical punishment; Brandon, who is black, faces shocking colour-prejudice from some people but kindness and friendship from others who have never met a black person before and innocently describe him as "coloured". Some of the book is very funny - Hannah, in 1940, disgusted by the cigarette smoke everywhere; Brandon, in 1915, realizing that he will have to use a chamber pot - and there are some heart-wrenching bits too. Young readers will learn a lot from it (the target-audience is 9 and up), but will find it above all an exciting, powerful story.
It's a great read. You should buy it.

I'll admit, the opening of this book was a little slow for me. All the time spent with Hannah and Alex before they go back in time (and before they even get to Georgia), didn't really do anything for me. BUT, if you stick it out through Hannah's whining about how unfair her life is (actually, this continues throughout the book), they'll meet up with Brandon and end up in WWII England where things get very cool. In WWII England, Hannah, Alex and Brandon are all evacuees for the London, sent to the English countryside to escape the Blitz. Hannah and Alex are taken in by an almost welcoming couple. Brandon, who is black, is taken back to London. Though black children were also evacuated during the bombings of London, it was much harder to find people to take them in. Also, black people weren't all that common in England during this time, so Brandon spends the entire book being kind of a novelty. Hannah and Alex are left to get used to the British countryside during the war and desperately try to find out what happened to Brandon in a society that doesn't tell unpleasant things to children. Meanwhile, Brandon runs away from the man who took him back to London and is presumed dead after a bombing.

But he's not dead; he's really in WWI England. He's even in the same town as Hannah and Alex, just 25 years earlier! Brandon manages to find friendly people (with some help) and even a job, but being black is a much rarer thing in 1915 than it was in 1940. And the attitudes toward black people weren't all that great either. In her acknowledgments, Laing states that the past is not particularly politically correct, which is true, and neither is her portrayal of it. The scenes set both in 1915 and in 1940 are rich in historical detail, including the attitudes of the people in them. While Alex seems to go along pretty fine throughout the story, Hannah is constantly bristled by the treatment of children (what she considers a beating, everyone else considers a well-deserved spanking) and Brandon is constantly affected by peoples reactions to him as a "colored" young man. Though Brandon makes it through his time traveling experience suffering from nothing more than hateful words, the black people he meets both during The Great War (WWI) and WWII do not fare as well.

I managed to get completely caught up in this book. There is a story inside a story that needs solving in order for Hannah, Alex and Brandon to make it back to 21st century Georgia, and though they don't understand how or why, it is connected to their present day lives. Also, given that he's in the same town, Brandon's experiences in 1915 England have some really close ties to the people he, Hannah and Alex meet in WWII England. There were so many ways that all of these connections and different-name-same-person instances could have been screwed up or over simplified, but Laing manages to make them all make sense and even manages to make some of them surprising. My only disappointment in this area was Peggy, and it totally wasn't Laing's fault. I simply wanted 1915 Peggy to grow up to be a different person, but not everyone can live up to their full potential (I'm still angry about who she grew up to be, but I don't want to ruin the surprise).

In short, this is a great time travel book. I wasn't so caught up in the logistics of the time traveling that I lost the ability to be caught up in the times where they ended up. It's also a great look at the day-to-day lives of some of the people left behind in England during the fighting of each world war.


Book source: Review copy provided by the author


PS - This book has a new cover, not shown here, which is a big improvement!

Although her little brother, Alex, might find their new hometown of Snipesville, Georgia, a welcome change, Hannah Diaz still thinks it's way more boring than California.

To curb her whining, her father signs her up for a creative writing camp at the local college. She's so reluctant that, when she can't find the classroom on her first day, she instead finds solace in the student union café. Meanwhile, Alex attends the baseball camp held at the same college. There, he meets Brandon, a local African American kid who only dreams of escaping Snipesville. When baseball camp ends up being a drag, the two boys escape to the student union and run into Hannah.

To kill time, the three children head up to the library.

An encounter with a woman who calls herself "The Professor" leaves them spooked, and Brandon comes across an old identification card belonging to someone named George Braithwaite. As the kids leave the library, they notice a strange change in their surroundings. They find that they are no longer in present day Snipesville, but in England...in 1940!

While the children acclimate to their new lives, The Professor appears, and tells them that they need to find George Braithwaite to go home. This sets them on a long journey through time, one that will familiarize them with events and people that existed long before any of them were born.

A fun, educational mystery, this story does a successful job of bringing history within reach. Interesting details--such as the quality of the food and everyday luxuries, such as toilet paper--leave the reader with a clear picture of life in the past, and how people and places change over time.

DON'T KNOW WHERE, DON'T KNOW WHEN is the first in a series, and I'll definitely be looking for more!

Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose

My sister is 13 years old and she despises books. After much begging and pleading I finally convinced her to read Don't Know Where, Don't Know When. Here's what she had to say:
That was a really good book. I loved it. I read a lil bit every night. I like those kids in the book. I would so read it again.
Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is the first book my sister has read and actually ENJOYED!!

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is an amazingly engaging book written very well. A good friend of mine recommended me to read it and after I asked what it was like, she responded that it was a bit like Harry Potter only with history. Now that I've read it, I agree. No, there's no wands or boarding school, but there is the magic of time travel and of characters that take you to another place and time. As I read the book, I marveled at some of the things that the kids, Alex, Hannah, and Brandon, encountered and wondered to myself "could this actually be the way it was then?" I found that these things were true.
Annette Laing is a wonderful writer who grabs you with her style. I highly suggest this book for anyone at all.

Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is a story of many people and times. Hannah and Alex Dias, two young teens from California have just been transplanted from the home they have always known to another world, otherwise known as Snipesville, Georgia. With its private luxury communities in the middle of cotton fields and mall known far and wide as the Small, Snipesville is the last place on earth Hannah wants to be.
Brandon Clark, born and raised in Snipesville, has one ambition: to get out, to be one of the "Big Shots" who leave black Snipesville and make a name for themselves in the wider world. However, Brandon's future seems to stretch before him, planned by his parents, like the grim parades of death that leave the family funeral home.
When Hannah, Alex, and Brandon are drawn together by their mutual differences and isolation, unlikely events begin to unfurl. Brandon's discovery of a British World War II national registration identity card and the appearance of a mysterious woman known as The Professor lead the children on a time travel journey spanning two World Wars and nearly one hundred years. The only clue to the mystery: Find George Braithwaite.
Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is author Annette Laing's first foray into the world of children's literature. It is the promising if slightly raw beginning of a series that has the potential to be great. Those familiar with Maiya Williams time travel series (The Golden Hour, The Hour of the Cobra) will find good grounds for comparison. The differences? Laing's use of social and/or cultural history is easier and more accurate, and there is an absolute avoidance of declaring a moral (not that this excludes the reader from finding one (or more).
The Characters: Hannah is a nightmare. I have never met a child like her (and thank my lucky stars that is so), but I have it on good authority that children like her really do exist. She speaks to everyone, regardless of age or relationship, with snotty abandon, no fear of physical punishment, or even as far as I can see, grounding, blunting her sarcastic tongue. Even those of us not in favor of spanking children cheer when one indomitable British dame finally gives Hannah her just desserts. By the end of the book she is not noticeably changed in attitude, but decidedly challenged in outlook by late experiences.
Alex is largely a secondary character in this book, with no real chances for expression. There are, however, hints of future importance and even leadership to look forward to.
The story built around Brandon is very interesting. Both of the father figures in his life, real life and time travel, are named Gordon. The wives are imposing (and in Mrs. Gordon's case, downright nasty) and there is an idolized older brother figure who looms large but is never really seen. It is lovely to see the confidence and self possession Brandon gains with the Gordons's that he seems to lack with his own family. Speaking of the Gordons, the daughter Peggy is a wonderfully despicable and yet pathetic character, because you have to wonder if it is her own weakness of character, an acceptance of family prejudice, or the troubles she has had to endure that have so warped her opinions. Peggy plays an important, if secondary and sometimes unrecognizable role throughout the story.
The real jewel of this story is Mrs. D, who I will leave you to discover for yourself. She is a lovely and lovingly portrayed example of all the strong, staunch, somewhat undemonstrative women who kept Britain going during the horrendous years of World War II.
Do yourself a favor: read this book and read it carefully. At times it is a bit difficult to work your way through the teenage angst, especially in the first two or three chapters. Children may not find any of this distracting. By the time you reach chapters five and six you won't care any longer; you will be too involved in the lives and worlds being lived on the pages before you.This book is appropriate for the ages specified and beyond. Paying close attention will reward the reader with clues and hints as to the future of the series. Enjoy.

Anyone feeling some Harry Potter withdrawal would do well to pick up this book. Like the Potter books, this one is aimed at a youngish audience (9-12, or so), but (like Potter) it turns out that this is one of those books that the rest of us can enjoy, too. Some readers might find that it starts a bit slow, as Hannah and her brother try to adjust to their new lives in a small Southern town. But then they meet up with a mysterious college professor and the puzzle of why the kids are time-traveling and what they need to accomplish before they can return home begins to unfold. Laing does a great job of exposing readers to the everyday experiences (such as with eating, toileting, holding conversations, etc.) that the time-traveling kids experience in the different times and places. This is NOT an "educational" book, and yet anyone who reads it ends up learning quite a bit about life in England during both of the world wars. Perhaps the best part ... even though the kids solve the mystery (great ending -- but I won't give it away!), there are hints of more adventures yet to come. I can't wait to read about their next adventure, wherever it ends up taking them....

Not your typical snooze fest, this book makes history come alive. My children and I both loved it. With a touch of fantasy (a la Harry Potter and Susan Cooper), it combines time travel and mystery. Hannah's attitude toward Snipesville and life in general is one many preteens can identify with and many parents will recognize. Brandon and Alex are refreshing and engaging characters who help broaden the range of nonjock heroes for boys. This is something your preteen will read again and again.

This is book one in "The Snipesville Chronicles. It's a fun and informative book about a group a kids who travel through time, to England during WWI and WWII. Besides learning about the hardships of the wars, they also learn other historical facts, especially how fortunate they are due to modern conveniences. They also learn the importance of acceptance and of being accepted and the strength of friendship.

This is a very good book that's full of emotion and I would recommend it to adults as well as children.