Gary Paulsen is an author better known for his outdoorsy novels like Hatchet (and the entire Brian Saga) and Dogsong or for his historical fiction like Woods Runner, so this time-travel mystery book seems a bit out of the ordinary for him. It’s short and sweet and reminiscent of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and I think the kids and I all enjoyed it well enough.
We began homeschooling again this past semester, and one of my weekly assignments is for the kids each to read 2 novels of their choosing. I wanted to join the action this past week, so I chose this title that I’ve had on my Kindle for ages. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of time travel, and Gary Paulsen’s been a favorite writer in the past, so I figured this would be as good a selection as any for our first shared book—I just wasn’t aware how short it would be!
The novel follows two 12-year-old friends, Dorso and Frank, at a time in the not-so-distant future. Scientists have developed a technology that allows people to project scenes from the past like they’re film, giving them the opportunity to witness historical events firsthand. The addition of holographic technology also allows viewers to see historical characters face-to-face. A recent invention now allows historical smells to be transported with the images, though that’s not always a good thing. There’s just never been a way for today’s viewers to interact with those they watch or (more importantly) to reverse the effect and take themselves back in time. Until now.
When Dorso realizes that his computer’s been hacked in such a way as to behave like a legit time machine, things begin to get crazy-dangerous and fast. From Beethoven to pirate ships to cave-men, history comes alive for Dorso and his comic-relief buddy Frank.
Frank, by the way, has an endless desire to study the naked holograms of Helen of Troy and other ancient women—you know, for anatomical research. It’s actually pretty incessant, and my daughter (12) commented on a number of occasions, “Why are they always talking about naked women?” I wondered the same but then realized that Paulsen’s likely audience was never predominantly female. Mystery solved.
The book is adventure-entertainment only, having nothing to teach about history or the responsibilities of time travel. The warehouse employees that treat time travel like a game aren’t aware of the danger they pose (like possibly destroying the universe by disrupting the space-time continuum), so it’s up to Dorso and Frank to stop them.
Why are two middle-school kids who find themselves in the right places at the right times the universe’s best option for containing the danger? Since it’s a new technology that no one can understand, they’ve got as good a chance as anyone, or, as Frank puts it in Chapter 6, “We can not figure it out as well as anybody can not figure it out.”
The story is fast-paced and silly at times, but was an adventure my kids enjoyed. If not a literary masterpiece, this short book at least sparked a few writing prompts for homeschool and forced me to go find Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which I think we’ll watch together tonight. That, at least, is a most triumphant adventure.
©2024 E.T.
Read More from Gary Paulsen:
- Dogsong (1985)
- Hatchet (1986) [view also my first review of this book]
- Woodsong (1990)
- The River (1991)
- Brian’s Winter (1996)
- Brian’s Return (1999)
- Brian’s Hunt (2003)
- Time Hackers (2005)
- Woods Runner (2009)