The high-octane sequel to TIME SNATCHERS.
Caleb thought he'd escaped Uncle's clutches and could have a normal life in 1968, but no such luck. After being forcibly returned to Timeless Treasures and his old job of stealing valuable objects from the past, he learns that things have gotten even more sinister. Training the new kidnapped recruits doesn't seem very important to Frank, Uncle's evil lackey, even though a few of these kids have amazing thieving skills and genius for new technology. But then Caleb figures out it's because Frank doesn't plan on keeping them around very long - or keeping them alive.
Stakes are high for all of the time snatchers. If only Caleb can convince the new ones to stop having fun with the technology and use it to save their own lives.
TIME TRAPPED REVIEW
by Bea Smith, Middle School Librarian
Fort Worth TX ISD
TIME TRAPPED is the sequel to the well received YA book TIME SNATCHERS by Richard Ungar.
Caleb is a likeable reluctant hero who genuinely cares for other people and is bothered by his role as a thief and a kidnapper. He just wants to lead a normal life. The main characters were well rounded. As with most tween and YA novels, they seemed to be older and more mature than their actual age. I liked that Caleb and his crew of time snatchers went to places with real historical figures. The scenes were described very well, and I hope that the historical allusions will spark an interest in history with the readers. Perhaps some of them will be motivated to find out more about the historical people and places Ungar mentions as the crew travels through time. Each chapter has a date and a setting so as not to become confusing to the reader.
Suspense was well paced. When the recruits decided to try to escape, I couldn’t wait to see if they made it and how everything would possibly work out for everyone. The twist near the end came as a surprise, and I was impressed with the way Ungar managed to wrap up everything.
TIME TRAPPED is clearly a sequel, not a stand-alone. I wanted to know more about how Caleb came to live with Uncle. That aspect of the book reminded me very much of Oliver Twist. Since the United States had been conquered by China, and New York was now called New Beijing, I wanted to know details about how this reality had come to be and how long it had been instead of just getting one or two sentences in passing. It did concern me a bit that not all the children escaped unharmed, but perhaps this aspect is a product of the post Hunger Games norm. I found that one of the characters, Razor, was too grating. Instead of an endearingly irresponsible and eccentric rebel, she was just obnoxious and I didn’t like how her actions put everyone else in danger.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed TIME TRAPPED. It’s well paced and well written. I want to read TIME SNATCHERS now. I think the novel will appeal both to tweens and teens. It doesn’t contain anything that would be unsuitable for more advanced elementary readers but it’s long enough for middle schoolers. I would definitely put both books on the shelves of my middle school library.
Praise for TIME TRAPPED
"Ungar’s follow-up to Time Snatchers (2012) offers more exceptionally good world building and character development—along with heaps of suspense..." - Booklist Online
"In the exciting follow-up to TIME SNATCHERS (Putnam, 2012), Caleb has been pulled back into Uncle’s band of time-travelling thieves—snatchers, as they call themselves. ...Readers of the first volume will certainly be interested in the continuing saga. Captivating characters, including a computer with human DNA convinced she is not a computer, and technological prodigies enhance the plot." - VOYA Magazine
EXCERPT - TIME TRAPPED
“Wait! What’s your name?” I call after her.
She’s going to disappear into the crowd. The beautiful girl with no name. And I’ll be left wondering . . . Or worse, she’ll say her name and I won’t hear it. Because the noise level in the hall is increasing and a hundred inane conversations are going on around me and despite strict orders from my brain, my ears are picking up random words like belch and freight train, and pumpkin, and I’m afraid that when she finally says her name, I’m going to hear mustard instead and then what will I do—
“It’s Abbie!” she calls out.
Abbie. I’ve got it. Abbie. Abbie. Abbie. Three times should do it. Just in case, I whip open my memory book to jot it down. A scrap of paper flutters out.
I pick it up and gaze at the big loopy letters. She gave me a note! I can’t believe it. I unfold the paper.
Meet me in the park at 4:00 P.M. We need to talk in private.
We do? A beautiful girl needs to talk to me. And not only does she want to talk to me, but in private too. My dreams are coming true. This is incredible. It can take years to get a note like this from a girl, and I’ve done it in just over thirty minutes. A school record. Heck, maybe even a state record. My picture is going to be in Sports Illustrated. Right next to the girl who shot three holes in one during her sophomore year.
I look up to see if I can spot her. But Abbie is gone.
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| Author Richard Ungar |
I was born in Montreal, Quebec. When I was young I wanted to be either an artist or a lawyer when I grew up. Now that I am almost grown up I still can't decide between the two. So I do both.
I also like to write and began writing stories to have something to go with my pictures. But now I just write…even without pictures.
Three of my four picture books (the “Rachel” series) take place in the mythic village of Chelm. Once you have visited Chelm, it is very hard to leave. You see, the people there are very silly. And, when you spend half your day being a serious lawyer, silliness is welcome.
I’m very excited about my latest project. It’s a middle grade science fiction/time travel adventure series, published by G.P Putnam’s Sons. The first novel in the series, published in 2012, is called TIME SNATCHERS and the sequel, published on September 26, 2013, is called TIME TRAPPED.
I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of time travel and I wanted to write about it. In its earliest stages, TIME SNATCHERS started as a writing exercise in one of Peter Carver’s writing classes. The exercise was to write a story based on one of the images in Chris Van Allsburg’s picture book, THE MYSTERIES OF HARRIS BURDICK. I chose the picture called “Another Place, Another Time” showing children riding a sail-propelled handcar along a railway track that seemed to go on forever. For whatever reason, that picture screamed “Time Travel” to me.
I did quite a bit of historical research for both my middle grade books which was a lot of fun. In researching TIME SNATCHERS I learned a lot about ancient China, including how to fire porcelain in a kiln. For TIME TRAPPED, a trip to Scotland in 2012, taught me much about Scottish history, people and customs that I wove into my novel.
I’ve been asked which I like better – painting or writing. That is a tough question to answer. They are both important to me and I derive different but equal amounts of satisfaction from both. I have many ideas in my head for future picture books as well as novels.
The other thing I love to do is present my books to children, including doing storytellings. I’ve made author visits to most of the major cities in Canada and have also done readings in New York City, Tucson, Arizona and Shanghai, China. Connecting with my readers is one of the things I love most most about being a children’s author.
Website * Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads
Published Works
TIME TRAPPED, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013)
TIME SNATCHERS, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2012
EVEN HIGHER, Tundra Books, 2007
RACHEL'S LIBRARY, Tundra Books, 2004
RACHEL'S GIFT, Tundra Books, 2003
RACHEL CAPTURES THE MOON, Tundra Books, 2001
Honours and Awards
• 2013 One of the Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College, New York for TIME SNATCHERS
• 2012 Year’s Best, Resource Links Magazine for TIME SNATCHERS
• 2012 Booklist, Starred Review for TIME SNATCHERS
• 2009 Storytellers World Resource Award for EVEN HIGHER
• 2007 National Jewish Book Award for EVEN HIGHER
• 2007 Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Selection for EVEN HIGHER
• 2004 Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Selection for RACHEL'S LIBRARY
• 2003 Notable Book for Younger Readers (Association of Jewish Libraries) for RACHEL'S GIFT
• 2003 Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice Selection for RACHEL'S GIFT
• 2002 Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice selection for RACHEL CAPTURES THE MOON
• 2001 Notable Book for Younger Readers (Association of Jewish Libraries) for RACHEL CAPTURES THE MOON
• 2001 One of the Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College, New York for RACHEL CAPTURES THE MOON
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