Could We Time Travel and The Genie Game

O'Brien, Cynthia. Could We Time Travel?
January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™
Copy provided by the publisher

I love the idea of time travel so much that I usually have a time travel outfit in my closet. A longer skirt, prim blouse, wool shawl, leather boots-- something that would be acceptable in the past and maybe a bit quirky in the future. Books like Finney's Time and Again and movies like the 1980 Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour Somewhere in Time captivate me. But what is the science behind time travel, and could it really happen?

This starts with a helpful introduction to what time is, and how time is processed by the human brain. The brief overview of ways that society has measaured time includes a picture of an Aztec calendar, something my daughter replicated for a 6th grade social studies project! Readers who have consumed a lot of science fiction will appreciate the explanation of light years. 

The second chapter addresses the problems with time in space, discussing the differences in twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly. Albert Einstein is introduced,  but it made me sad that he didn't think people would ever be able to travel back in time. Most of my students, when polled, would rather travel back in time than into the future! 

The book is rounded out by descriptions of wormholes, Tipler's cylinder, and black holes as possible scientific phenomenon that might be able to be used for time travel. Sadly, they all have significant drawbacks. Black holes seem most promising, however, and there's a shout out to Professor Ronald Mallet and his idea to use spinning laser light to create a black hole and twist time into a loop. The burning question is this-- how many laser lights do I need, and how fast do I need to spin them? Could this be done on a playground whirl-a-round, because I have tried to time travel that way, just without the lights! 

This finishes with an important warning about not changing the past if we do time travel, as well as a glossary and index. I would have love to see a list of middle grade time travel novels included with this, since readers who enjoyed Tash's  The Queen of Ocean Parkway, Garrett's The Forgotten Summer of Seneca, Otheguy's Cousins in the  Time of Magic or O'Brien's White House Clubhouse
are always looking for more time travel books to read. 

Ifuenko, Jordan. The Genie Game (#1)
April 21, 2026 by Amulet Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Valentine Adesanya lives in Gloss Angeles in a world where everything is controlled by three big companies, called the Trio Trust. Her older sister, Mango (aka Vanessa) has gone to college and gotten a job, like their Nigerian parents could wanted her to, but didn't study business. She's been missing, but her parents seem to have completely forgotten about her. When Valentine gets a text to go to a boba shop, she meets the strange Gabe, who says he can grant her a wish. Valentine wishes for her sister to be here, and before she knows it, Gabe is leaving and she is held hostage by The Boba Bubble, or Bubby. She's now in thrall to GENIE, the General Employee Network of Immortal Engineers, and the only way she can be released is to grant wishes and gain points. She really wants to get back home, especially since Mango is nowhere to be found, and return to her parents even if they don't support her career goals of being a filmmaker. Instead, she is drawn into the world where she must earn points to furnish her "bottle", and to eventually be free of her contract. She works to get points, and when she reaches her 300,000 point goal, spends them on something that surprises the organization that runs the game. This ends on a cliffhanger, so there is definitely more to the story. 

Strengths: The magical world into which Valentine is thrust has lots of delightful details. It is very gamified, and at times was a bit like a magical version of the Sims games my children loved fifteen years ago, especially when Valentine is trying to furnish her bottle. It's interesting that her parents forget Mango, and even Valentine! The competition is interesting, and Valentine is very clever in using her points. It will be interesting to see what the next book in the series is like. 

Weaknesses: Like Riordan's The Lightning Thief and related books, The Genie Game has a ton of characters that pop up during Valentine's travels. While the author's note outlined her reasons for making a fun, magical world, the world has a rather sinister underlayment that took away from the fun a little bit. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Saunders' oddly dark The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop or Giles's The Last Last-Day-of-Summer.