Gracie’s Time
Christine Potter
Time Travel/YA
October, 1962
It’s almost Halloween, but something a lot scarier than ghosts is on everyone’s mind: nuclear war. After President Kennedy’s speech to the nation about the Cuban Missile Crisis, Grace Ingraham overhears her parents’ plans to keep her safe. She’ll be sent off to live with a wealthy uncle—in the nineteenth century.
Gracie’s from a family of Travelers, people who can escape into time. Too bad her mom and dad haven’t Traveled since their honeymoon trip to the Lincoln Inauguration. So Grace will have to go alone—even though taking a wrong turn can have serious consequences: like heading for 1890, and ending up …in 2018.
Uncaged Review: Gracie Ingraham comes from a
family of Travelers—time travelers. Except she’s
never actually seen her parents travel. They just
talked about when they had. In October 1962,
Gracie is a normal teenager living in New York.
With the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis looming,
Gracie’s parents decide to send her back in
time to her uncle in 1890. Except something goes
awry and Gracie finds herself forward instead of
backward, and suddenly plunked into 2018.
Gracie is taken in by fellow Travelers Claire and
Amp, a kindly couple who help her navigate the
strange new world. She meets Dylan. The fast
attraction and slow romance between Gracie and
Dylan is sweet, and organic. Music and culture
play strong roles in 2018. Gracie soon learns she
can unwittingly travel through time, which brings
new elements of danger her parents never expected.
While entertaining, this story is not a romance
in the sense of a happily for now or happily ever
after. Gracie and Dylan are both teens, so a serious
commitment would be out of place, but a few
dates and a couple kisses are reasonable. Also,
there was no conflict between them. Gracie travels,
Dylan does not. Their easy acceptance of that
short-changed any conflict that could have been
between them.
This is a fantastic blend of Young adult, time
travel, and suspense. Readers who enjoyed Ms.
Potter’s previous three books in the series will
recognize some familiar Travelers making guest
appearances. This is the fourth book in the Bean
Books series. Reviewed by Ryan Jo
4 Stars
