Customer Reviews

Time Capsule

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished this new collection, and I am pleased with the content. I teach middle school language arts, and I am planning on using this book as the centerpiece of a study about the different decades. Some stories are better than others, but teenagers would love the pace and characters in this book. My only disappointment is the treatment of the sixties and seventies. Along with unnecessary profanity, the stories seem to perpetuate stereotypes about those eras. Because of the language and adult references, I will have to find alternative selections for those time periods. This does not mean that this would not be welcomed leisure reading for modern teens. The questionable content is nothing that they haven't heard at the movies. The introduction and factual information about the decades is a great way to make history come alive. A creative and informative short story collection.

This is a superb book I happened to pick up at the library because of its striking cover design.
Each short story is introduced with a short but insightful capsule of what was prominent about that decade, and what was invented in that decade, giving a "feel" of the spirit of each decade. The tone is very appealing -- just the right amount of detail, oriented toward teens. The short stories are very good in themselves -- appealing plots (often with a twist), multidimensional characters, grand themes, and relevant to the lifestyle of the decade. Following each short story is a description of that story's author, attractively describing the author's other works, and inviting further reading.
In light of the previous review, I re-scanned the "60's" and "70's" stories. What profanity there was, was scarce, in context and not worse than I've seen in upper elementary assigned fiction. Regional standards may vary, of course.
The "60's" story is of Benny Woods, a small-town high school football star who is facing a conflict with his coach over his long hair: cut it, or don't play. The stakes are high, as not playing means losing a potential college scholarship. Benny's relationship with his grandmother is a fascinating side story both personally to Benny, and as it relates to the way our society treats seniors.
The "70's" story makes light of drug use, but it's told in the style of an obvious fantasy: the protagonist's parents SO want to be "hip" that they send marijuana brownies and psychedelics to school in their son's lunchbox, while he wants nothing more than to be square.
The only weak and inappropriate story, in my opinion, is the "80's" story. Mathias Rust, of course, was the 19-year-old who flew a Cessna, undetected, into the heart of Russia and landed in the center of Moscow for the cause of peace in 1987. In the "80's" story, his supposed brother, Ingo, comes to the US as an exchange student. Ingo pretends to be Mathias in order to be popular with the girls at an all-night under-age drinking party. The drinking party is portrayed as an inevitable and even beneficial teen activity. The quality of the writing is poor, and the connection with grand themes is missing.
In sum, this is an excellent book, except for the "80's" story!

This collection of short stories offers a nice trip through the last 100 years. As the middle school teacher at a christian school, I have found that some of the material is inappropriate for my classes, as there are references to drug use and a few other issues. I did, however, enjoy the book myself.