From Publishers Weekly
Amiable characters, fleet pacing and witty, in-the-know narration will keep even the non-bookish interested in this semi-fantastic adventure. Sixth-grader Josh, from an upscale Manhattan home, gets mixed up in his best friend Aaron's experiments with "cellular reorganization" (Aaron compares the process to faxing himself through cyberspace; Josh calls it time-travel). Before long Aaron has imported a few characters from 1923 into the present, where Josh must cope with them. To Peck's (The Last Safe Place on Earth) credit, the time travel mechanisms seem almost plausible; even better, they don't overpower the story. The author takes equal care in creating his characters, which include a string of silly English au pairs hired by Josh's newly single mom; Josh's 12-year-old sister ("I'm virtually thirteen and emotionally fourteen"); trendy teachers (the reading teacher calls his course Linear Decoding). Except for a pat and unnecessary twist at the end, when Josh's father shows up just in time for Peck to hint at a marital reconciliation, this clever caper doesn't miss a beat. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7?Prep-school life in the '90s is confusing for sixth grader Josh as he tries to cope with his parents' separation, his obnoxious older sister, and a succession of wacky English "O Pears" hired to assuage his mother's guilt about returning to work. He doesn't need the troubles caused by his computer-nerd best friend, Aaron, who is trying to invent a way to travel in time. But ready or not, Josh finds himself briefly transported back to 1923, and a housemaid from that time appears in the present to reorganize his life for the better. Crammed with events and overwhelming (not to mention unconvincing) computer theory, this story of a boy coping with trying situations is amusing, but uneven. For better Peck dealing with a similar theme (without the trendy computer technology), stick with The Ghost Belonged to Me (Viking, 1975).?Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.