Once Was a Time: (Middle Grade Fiction Books, Friendship Stories for Young Adults, Middle Grade Novels in Verse)

by Leila Sales

Overview

In the war-ravaged England of 1940, Charlotte Bromley is sure of only one thing: Kitty McLaughlin is her best friend in the whole world. But when Charlotte's scientist father makes an astonishing discovery that the Germans will covet for themselves, Charlotte is faced with an impossible choice between danger and safety. Should she remain with her friend or journey to another time and place? Her split'second decision has huge consequences, and when she finds herself alone in the world, unsure of Kitty's fate, she knows that somehow, some way, she must find her way back to her friend. Written in the spirit of classic time-travel tales, this book is an imaginative and heartfelt tribute to the unbreakable ties of friendship.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452161396
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	10/03/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	340
Sales rank:	514,233
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Leila Sales is the author of many critically acclaimed young adult novels, including Tonight the Streets Are Ours and This Song Will Save Your Life. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Editorial Reviews

01/25/2016
Ten-year-old Charlotte “Lottie” Bromley lives near war-torn London in 1940, which means food rationing, blackouts, and seeing little of her preoccupied father, a renowned scientist who is determined to discover the existence of time travel. Lottie finds enjoyment with her best friend Kitty, but when Lottie’s father goes missing, Lottie and Kitty are thrust into a dangerous situation that finds Lottie journeying to 2013 Wisconsin, where she discovers that she will never see her best friend—or anyone else she loves—again. Like many time-travel stories, Lottie’s adjustment to an unfamiliar era provides opportunities for lighthearted moments, such as using the Internet for the first time or eating at a diner with a 12-page menu. Lottie’s fortitude and resolve make her an admirable and sympathetic protagonist, but the real heart of this story lies in her friendship with Kitty. It’s a relationship that haunts Lottie (and will haunt readers, as well) until Sales (Tonight the Streets Are Ours) brings Lottie’s journey to an unexpected but satisfying end. Ages 10–up. Agent: Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Management. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

The friendship of two 10-year-old English girls is tested when one travels through a portal to the future. In 1940, food rationing and fear of bombs are the backdrop for best friends Lottie and Kitty, who care more about anagrams and playing make-believe than the war. Lottie's scientist father researches time travel, work that's governed by the Official Secrets Act and coveted by the Nazis. The girls are kidnapped and taken to a cellar where Germans are trying to coerce Lottie's father into revealing his research. Lottie sees a shimmering portal and leaps through just as shots are fired, landing in a small Wisconsin town in 2013. She's befriended by a helpful librarian and a boy her own age named Jake. The passage of three years confirms her father's hypothesis that there is no returning to her own time. Lottie adjusts to a new school and life with a foster family, when she finds a postcard from Kitty addressed to her and stuck in a library book, raising her hopes that her friend is still somewhere to be found. Lottie's first-person account has a lighthearted tone, with lots of dialogue and details contrasting childhood in wartime England with modern-day America. Her transition to her new life is awkward but realistic, and the focus of this charming novel is always on friendship and loyalty. Rewarding and uplifting.

"A timeless story of best friendship that is as original as it is authentic, as elegant as it is heart-wrenching. Sales is a master storyteller." -Courtney Sheinmel, author of Sincerely and the Stella Batts series

"A very beautiful story about the power of friendship."—India Winslow, children's bookseller, Brookline Booksmith

"An imaginative and heartfelt tribute to the unbreakable ties of friendship."—Middle Shelf Magazine

"At once epic and intimate, bold and gentle, and as boundary-breaking and timeless as the friendship that is at this story's magnificent heart. A gorgeous, exciting read." -Anne Ursu, author of the National Book Award-longlisted The Real Boy

"Blew me away... heart-wrenching and beautiful and totally unexpected."— Geek Dad

"Lottie's fortitude and resolve make her an admirable and sympathetic protagonist."-Publishers Weekly

"Once Was a Time has it all: suspense, humor, an intrepid heroine, and an intriguing take on time travel. But at its heart, Leila Sales's dazzling tale is about a friendship so powerful that nothing-not even time itself-can break its bonds. Unforgettable." -Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal-winning author of The One and Only Ivan

"Shines in its portrayal of friendship... will appeal to fans of When You Reach Me and A Wrinkle in Time."-School Library Journal

"Superb. Months after first reading the book, I find myself reflecting on its characters and outcomes."—The Children's Book Review

"The bond between Lottie and Kitty-proves to be both tender and unstoppable." -Booklist

"Touching, bittersweet ending."-VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates

"Will delight those who prefer to revel in the vast mysteries of time and coincidence."—The Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

03/01/2016
Gr 4–6—"Most people don't believe in time travel," begins this work of fantasy/sci-fi set in 1940s wartime London. Ten-year-old Lottie and her best friend, the anagram-obsessed Kitty, certainly do. Lottie's dad is engaged in top-secret scientific research that may help win the war. Sales's story takes an abrupt detour as Lottie travels to suburban Wisconsin in the year 2013, without any clothes, without any clues, and, worst of all, without Kitty. With the help of a friendly librarian, some clueless but kind foster parents, and a geeky outcast artist, Lottie finds a new life, but she can't forget her dearest friend. She's determined to find her again, though time and space themselves stand in the way. Packed with literary allusions, meditations on friendship, and historical/geographical tidbits, this book is a bit of an unwieldy read, and its never-ending stream of coincidence, luck, and nice people can get a little wearing (has any Child Protective Services interview ever gone so well with so little paperwork?). The science is fluff, but the book shines in its portrayal of friendship, both the intense bond between Lottie and Kitty and the blossoming trust between Lottie and her new friend, Jake. VERDICT This genre mash-up will appeal to fans of Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (Random, 2009) and Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.—Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-01-20
The friendship of two 10-year-old English girls is tested when one travels through a portal to the future. In 1940, food rationing and fear of bombs are the backdrop for best friends Lottie and Kitty, who care more about anagrams and playing make-believe than the war. Lottie's scientist father researches time travel, work that's governed by the Official Secrets Act and coveted by the Nazis. The girls are kidnapped and taken to a cellar where Germans are trying to coerce Lottie's father into revealing his research. Lottie sees a shimmering portal and leaps through just as shots are fired, landing in a small Wisconsin town in 2013. She's befriended by a helpful librarian and a boy her own age named Jake. The passage of three years confirms her father's hypothesis that there is no returning to her own time. Lottie adjusts to a new school and life with a foster family, when she finds a postcard from Kitty addressed to her and stuck in a library book, raising her hopes that her friend is still somewhere to be found. Lottie's first-person account has a lighthearted tone, with lots of dialogue and details contrasting childhood in wartime England with modern-day America. Her transition to her new life is awkward but realistic, and the focus of this charming novel is always on friendship and loyalty. Rewarding and uplifting. (Fantasy. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews