Time Sight

Gr 4–7—Jonell's newest middle grade offering explores present and historical Scotland. Will and Jamie are second-generation Scottish Americans, and both of their parents are from the well-known Menzies Clan. The two boys set out on their first visit to their ancestral home in the Scottish Highlands without their parents, while their father searches for their missing mother. Will is unhappy with his situation: he's been sent away to a strange country and is in charge of his five-year-old brother. One day he is trying to see the picture in Jamie's Magic Eye book when he discovers that instead of seeing the shapes on the page, he can open a window into the past. While he and his cousin Nan are experimenting with this newfound skill, Jamie stumbles upon them and becomes trapped in the past. The characters leapfrog across time searching for lost family and trying to escape danger, sometimes certain death. Jonell does not pull punches when it comes to depicting how violent the past could be, but there is no gratuitous gore. Readers learn about the greatest hits of Scottish history: King James IV, the Roman invasion, and the Bronze Age. The end of the book does address the violence that the characters have inadvertently witnessed during their travels and still conveys a positive message. While the time travel itself is treated a little cavalierly, it is likely the target age group will not mind.