The infinite

Agbabi's intriguing middle-grade adventure follows Elle Bíbi-Imbelé Ifíè, who was born on Leap Day. Not only is Elle a Leapling, she also was born with the Gift, the ability to jump through time. But this power comes with incredible responsibility--and consequences, too, if anything goes awry. When Elle turns 12, she and her best friend, Ben, take a time-jump trip, only to discover that something terrible is happening to Leaplings in the future, and only she and Ben have the knowledge and ability to possibly change things for the better. Agbabi's voice-y novel features a strong, incredibly likable Black protagonist, along with her energetic comrade. The world building is intensely detailed, and some readers might get bogged down in the specifics; they will nonetheless follow Elle and Ben as they put together clues and unravel the unsettling mysteries of the Time Squad Centre. This original journey blends elements of sf and adventure to craft an exciting tale for fans of time-travel stories.

British Nigerian Elle Bíbi-Imbelé Ifíè, who is autistic, is a Leapling: someone born on February 29. Now that's she's approaching her seventh year at Intercalary International--a top secret boarding school for the 0.6 % of Leaplings who have what Elle calls The Gift--she's finally allowed to use the time-travel ability she's cultivated at school to participate on a class trip to 2048. Once there, she'll tour Time Squad Headquarters, home to an elite team of time travelers responsible for maintaining order across all time. It's there that Elle and her math-savvy best friend Big Ben--who reads as white and is also autistic--learn that Leaplings have been disappearing across myriad timelines. Teaming up with a Leapling named Ama who's searching for her missing brother, Elle and Big Ben endeavor to piece together the clues and save the vanished Leaplings. Occasionally leaning on familiar tropes when developing the variously neurodivergent cast, debut author Agbabi nevertheless delivers a layered, time-bending adventure through Elle's astute and cheeky narration, intertwining a clever mystery with lightly ecologically focused problem-solving. Ages 9--11. (May)