Mira's Diary

Gr 7-9–This first book in an exciting series by a trusted “diary” author is history plus mystery, along with a little romance tossed in. When Mira gets a mysterious postcard from her missing mother, she’s angry. Where has she been? Why did she leave? Her ecstatic father, on the other hand, flies her and her brother to Paris in hopes of finding his wife. At Notre Dame, Mira discovers that she has the power to travel through time, startlingly finding herself in 1880s Paris. Unfortunately, she can’t seem to control her power. Fumbling through the past, Mira runs into her mother, also a time traveler, who is on a secret mission and is in trouble. Can Mira help her mom, kiss a boy, and still get home to the right century? With an engaging story, accessible history, and a spunky heroine, Mira’s Diary is an absorbing, fast-paced adventure. Fun and evocative thumbnail sketches add enormously to the book’s appeal. Recommend this one to fans of R. L. LaFevers’s “Theodosia” series (Houghton Harcourt).–Terry Ann Lawler, Phoenix Public Library, AZ