A Tale of Two Centuries

Gr 8 Up—Alessandra, 16, is devastated when she discovers that her betrothed has deceived her and married someone else. She is positive that her 21st-century time-traveling cousin, Cat, if she were in Less's shoes, would have stormed across the piazza and given the deceitful cad a piece of her mind-she certainly wouldn't have been reduced to tears as Less was. Missing her cousin, and wishing for an adventure of her own, Less finds herself in the presence of Reyna, the mysterious gypsy who, in Harris's My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (Entangled Teen, 2012), was responsible for transporting Cat back 500 years to Less's 16th-century Italian world. Reyna grants Less her wish and soon she finds herself in 21st-century Hollywood, miraculously able to speak English and on her way to Cat's home. Armed with only a few cryptic sentences bestowed upon her by Reyna that are meant to guide her during her stay, Less quickly becomes immersed in the modern world-navigating high school, trying out for the role of Shakespeare's Juliet, and falling in love with too-cool-for-school heartthrob Austin Michaels. She gains a lot more than just a boyfriend; she learns how to speak up for herself and fight for what she wants. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have read Harris's earlier book as this title stands on its own. This is a surprisingly delicious time-traveling romance that will cause many teen girls' hearts to flutter.—Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY