28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Mediocre story is not the worst of its problems, April 27, 2005
Gary Paulsen has churned out an unoriginal tale peopled with cardboard characters in his novel Time Hackers. Which is unfortunate from this skilled and award-winning author, but not uncommon in this category of fiction. However, if that were the only problem, I'd give this book 2, possibly 3 stars, as a quick, harmless bit of fluff for kids.
Unfortunately, while this book is fluff, it isn't harmless. I'm no prude or fundamentalist. In fact, I consider myself to be a classical liberal, and I've spent 42 years reading both widely and deeply within the realm of English language literature, including my studies in grad school. Not that this fact means anything, other than I'm not some small-minded provincial, who doesn't understand that literature (at its best) is a look at the human condition.
And yet, it means something that I would even need to make such a dislaimer for what I'm about to say, and therein, perhaps, lies part of the problem.
I make a habit of reading the books my kids read. It doesn't take much time or effort (even one of the Harry Potter tomes is only a matter of a few hours) and it keeps me in touch, opening the door to many hours of enjoyable conversation with my children about an artform that is dear to my heart. Thus, when my daughter brought this book home, I picked it up and breezed through it.
After which I decided my daughter didn't need to be--in fact shouldn't be--subjected to a story in which the driving force behind one of the two main characters is his desire to see the famous women of history naked. Had this been something in passing, a quick gag, that would have been one thing. But this subplot literally comes up every few pages; it is, in fact, the very substance of the character in question.
I am well aware that the YA (or teen) category of fiction has long since mainstreamed sex as an explorable topic--but do we really want to sexualize elementary school students? Besides, this isn't even a positive sexual message. The character doesn't see these women as anything other than objects, their places in history notwithstanding.
Perhaps Paulsen thinks this character merely reflects reality. And to some degree he's probably correct. But is this really the place for that sort of reflection? Does it matter that my daughter (and many other people's daughters) might in some small way come to think of themselves as mere sex objects? Sexuality is wonderful, but it should not be the way girls--or boys, for that matter--judge their self worth.
Indeed, I've nothing whatsoever against human sexuality. (Once again, it seems strange that I should even feel the need to make such a disclaimer, lest my commentary be dismissed offhand--is that truly where we are as a society?) But there is a time and a place for everything. And what is essentially a chapter book aimed at elementary school kids is not the place for misogyny played for laughs.
That's one dad's opinion, anyway.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Time travel at its best!, January 27, 2005
This is a great, fast-paced story for those who like sci/fi time travel adventures! Dorso is a "regular" kid who lives in the future (the story never says exactly what date it is). He has a friend, Frank, who's the comic relief in the book. Someone is playing a prank on them - they keep getting transported (it only lasts for about 60 seconds) back in time. They see glimpses of Beethoven, Custer, wooly mammoths, Gettysburg, etc. - these are the best parts of the story. The dialogue between the boys gets a little repetitive and boring at times - it seems like they keep saying the same things at times. But overall, if you like computers, technology, adventure, mystery, and suspense - you'll like this book!
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