Timeslip Tuesday

 I normally review things right around the date they are published, but this is early for two reasons: I wanted to give people time to read the first book in this series AND to request this from Netgalley. If you are a teacher, librarian, blogger, or other "professional reader" and DON'T use Netgalley, you should definitely check it out. There are always a lot of middle grade and young adult digital ARCs, and it's a life saver when I run out of things to read.

And, of course, summer is a fantastic time to time travel. Charlotte at Charlotte's Library is frequently taking off for other times and places with her Timeslip Tuesday feature.


Barrows, Annie. Magic in the Mix (Miri and Molly #2)
September 16th 2014 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Molly has settled in to life with Miri's family having been rescued from 1935, but the two girls still wonder why they seem to be the only ones who realize and remember what has happened. For everyone else, the family has always had three sets of twins. When their father decides to renovate the house and removes a rickety back porch, the girls discover that the door has become a portal to 1918, and the girls meet a younger version of the evil Flo and also Molly's mother. To complicate matters, they also get sucked back in time to the Civil War, which was raging in their area of Shenandoah, Virginia. Their purpose seems to be to save a couple of soldiers' lives, but when their brothers Robbie and Ray travel to the past with them, they become the captives and it is up to Molly and Miri to figure out how to save them, perhaps with help from 1918.
Strengths: This has everything a time travel book could want-- magic, rambling farmhouse; criticial historical juncture, the promise of further travels. Also, what ten year old doesn't want to have a twin? And siblings who are twins? So many good things here.
Weaknesses: Our eighth graders are the ones who study the Civil War, and this cover is not going to appeal to that age group, who might otherwise find that time period interesting.

Barrows, Annie. The Magic Half
December 26th 2007 by Bloomsbury Children's Books

I seem to remember picking this up and being surprised that I didn't like it, but I have absolutely no record of this, so maybe I just imagined it. Hard to believe that I wouldn't like this story. 

Review by Charlotte of Charlotte's Library.

Perhaps I didn't buy it because the covers are not good. Time travel books are difficult to get my students to read, and all of these covers are sort of washed out and...meh. I will buy both of these, now because I do think it is a good time travel series, but I wish the covers were more dynamic and appealing.