Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 6-8. To escape the 1939 bombings of London, Vivian Smith is sent to stay with her aunt in the West country of England. At the railway station she is kidnapped by a young boy calling himself Jonathan Lee Walker who takes her to Time City, a place existing outside the stream of time. Jonathan and his cousin Sam, mistaking Vivian for someone else, think that she can save the city from its predicted destruction. By the time she convinces them otherwise, she is entrenched in their problem. The rest of the story concerns the trio's efforts to find another way to prevent Time City's ruin and to get Vivian back home. The long novel is in some places perplexing. The children jump from one time period to another while trying to figure out who is stealing the ``polarities,'' which keep Time City whole; they also deal with the ``unraveling of time'' in ``Twenty Century,'' which also may puzzle many. But Jones keeps the action twisting and turning with plenty of crises and injects humor to help smooth the confusion. Fantasy fans who go with the flow will be entertained. BE. Science fiction [CIP] 86-33304
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Vivian Smith, a young evacuee from the London blitz, is being sent to stay with her mother's Cousin Marty. But Vivian is met by a young boy named Jonathan, not Cousin Marty, who kidnaps her and takes her to Time City, a place that exists in space and time outside history. Jonathan, the son of one of Time City's prominent families, and his cousin Sam have brought Vivian there because they think she can save the city from its predicted destruction. But the two have made a mistake: V.S., as they call her, is not who they thought. Now the three of them must save the city from ruin and figure out how to return return V.S. to the ``Twenty Century.'' Although the book is slightly confusing at the beginning, with its time travels to various ``unstable'' periods of history, Jones (author of Howl's Moving Castle and Warlock at the Wheel) has written a powerfully moving story about children who are, quite literally, racing through time to save their world. Ages 12-up. (October) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6 Up High-spirited time travel fantasy that is sure to delight its readers. When 11-year-old Vivian Smith is evacuated from London in 1939, she expects to end up in the peaceful British countryside. Instead she is kidnapped by two youthful time travellers who mistake her for the ``Time Lady'' and whisk her off to Time City, a richly imagined alternative world which exists in time but not in history. Time City observers, Viv learns, have reason to believe that the Time Lady, the wife of the founder of Time Citya mysterious Merlin figureis at large in history and is busily altering it, thereby endangering not only the historical world but Time City itself. If Vivian is to return to her own world and time, it will be necessary for her to help her kidnappers foil the Time Lady first. That almost nothingwhether person or incidentis precisely what it appears to be at first encounter both complicates Vivian's task and delights readers. This ability to surprise has become a Diana Wynne Jones signature, as have her unflagging inventiveness and almost uncanny ability to create imaginary worlds of resounding reality, a capacity based in part on her attention to detail and in part on her capacity to create believable and sympathetic characters. All of these gifts are in abundant evidence in A Tale of Time City which is, accordingly, absolutely first-rate entertainment. And to her fans, this will be one of the few things about her new book which will come as no surprise! Michael Cart, Beverly Hills Public Lib . (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Eleven-year-old Vivian, kidnapped to far-distant future Time City by mistake, proves to be one of the City's saviors. Vivian Smith has gone to the West Country to escape the bombing of London at the beginning of WW II when she is unexpectedly met by imperious Jonathan Lee and whisked to Time City, which stands on its own piece of recycled time. Jonathan and his friend Sam explain that they had mistaken Vivian for the Time Lady, a mythical heroine or destroyer--their eavesdropping got muddled--who may be the cause of the deterioration of Time City. Convinced of their mistake, they pass Vivian off as cousin Vivian Lee. daughter of 20th-century Observers. The three bounce back and forth in time, trying to discover who is stealing the polarities, hidden by mysterious creator Faber John, that keep Time City whole. Aided by grouchy Tutor Wilander, android Elio, and a mysterious woman who saves Jonathan's life, they unmask Vivian Lee and her parents as the villians, reunite the pieces of Faber John and the pieces of the polarity, and save the city. As in earlier books such as Howl's Moving Castle, there is never a dull moment, with a new crisis or a new twist at every turn. While time-twisters never bear much scrutiny, Jones manages to resolve paradoxes and scattered clues without leaving the reader feeling cheated. Meanwhile, the book bounces merrily along, gathering momentum and generating dramatic tension. In all, a spirited, funny, and entertaining story. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
