MAY 2014 - AudioFile
Three narrators deliver a compelling performance. Moving seamlessly through the story, they complement both the developing plot and one another’s voices. Angela Goethals is the voice of Margaret, who must travel back through time from 2014 to 1938 in an attempt to change history and save her father from a death sentence. Goethals’s clear, resonant voice has a haunting quality that brings out the urgency of Margaret’s mission. Steven Kaplan and Josh Hurley also give moving performances that convey the themes of loyalty and friendship, adding to a captivating listening experience. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
This book is hard to put down! Vivid and memorable, SAVING LUCAS BIGGS casts a captivating spell that will keep you turning pages. A heartfelt yarn of family, friendship, and homespun time–travel magic.” — Ingrid Law, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of SAVVY
“A riveting time–travel adventure. Strong storytelling, suspense, lyrical writing, high drama, weighty matters made accessible and a bit of humor add up to a terrific and heartwarming read.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“The authors weave a tale of justice and family bonds with threads of historical fiction accented with the fantastical physics of time travel.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
De los Santos and Teague craft a gentle, quiet sci–fi story where the focus is not on the science…love, nonviolence, and social justice are. Give this one to readers who like stories about family, doing the right thing, and standing up to those who don’t. — Booklist
“The authors’ graceful use of language and fearless exploration of a more spiritual dimension simultaneously comfort and challenge readers, encouraging deep thoughts. This novel makes a good companion for armchair time travelers and budding philosophers alike.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The authors’ graceful use of language and fearless exploration of a more spiritual dimension simultaneously comfort and challenge readers, encouraging deep thoughts. This novel makes a good companion for armchair time travelers and budding philosophers alike.
Ingrid Law
This book is hard to put down! Vivid and memorable, SAVING LUCAS BIGGS casts a captivating spell that will keep you turning pages. A heartfelt yarn of family, friendship, and homespun time–travel magic.
Booklist
De los Santos and Teague craft a gentle, quiet sci–fi story where the focus is not on the science…love, nonviolence, and social justice are. Give this one to readers who like stories about family, doing the right thing, and standing up to those who don’t.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The authors’ graceful use of language and fearless exploration of a more spiritual dimension simultaneously comfort and challenge readers, encouraging deep thoughts. This novel makes a good companion for armchair time travelers and budding philosophers alike.
Booklist
De los Santos and Teague craft a gentle, quiet sci–fi story where the focus is not on the science…love, nonviolence, and social justice are. Give this one to readers who like stories about family, doing the right thing, and standing up to those who don’t.
MAY 2014 - AudioFile
Three narrators deliver a compelling performance. Moving seamlessly through the story, they complement both the developing plot and one another’s voices. Angela Goethals is the voice of Margaret, who must travel back through time from 2014 to 1938 in an attempt to change history and save her father from a death sentence. Goethals’s clear, resonant voice has a haunting quality that brings out the urgency of Margaret’s mission. Steven Kaplan and Josh Hurley also give moving performances that convey the themes of loyalty and friendship, adding to a captivating listening experience. M.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2014-02-12
The authors, a husband-and-wife writing team, seamlessly incorporate heavy social-justice issues—fracking for natural gas in 2014 and a coal-mining protest in 1938—into a riveting time-travel adventure story. Margaret, 13, is devastated when her geologist father (recently fired) is falsely accused, convicted and sentenced to death by the vindictive and corrupt judge Lucas Biggs for arson and murder in the first degree. A whistle-blower, John Thomas O'Malley discovered that due to fracking, poisonous chemicals had leaked into the local water supply: Is he a traitor or hero? Two stories set in the company town of Victory, Ariz., told in alternating voices—Margaret's in 2014 and 13-year-old Josh's in 1938—run parallel and then converge. Desperate to save her father and supported by her best friend, Charlie, and his grandpa Joshua, Margaret breaks the sacred family vow and activates the genetic O'Malley "quirk" to travel back in time to try to change events just enough to impact the present. In 1938, a related narrative of injustice is unfolding, one in which Luke Agrippa's pacifist father is leading a nonviolent uprising for decent working conditions after a mine collapse and a company-led massacre. Who is Lucas Biggs, can he be saved, and why does it matter? Strong storytelling, suspense, lyrical writing, high drama, weighty matters made accessible and a bit of humor add up to a terrific and heartwarming read. (Mystery/fantasy. 9-12)
