NICK OF TIME: An Adventure Through Time
Ted Bell
Square Fish
Fiction/Action & Adventure
Hardcover: 9780312380687
Paperback: 9780312581435
464 pages

• Read an Excerpt

It's 1939, and 12-year-old Nick McIver lives in a lighthouse on an island off the coast of England with his mother, father, six-year-old sister Kate and faithful dog Jip. He spends his free time reading adventure stories and sailing his trusty boat, the Stormy Petrel. But part of him is a bit worried that he's not as brave as the fellows in his books; he's afraid of being afraid. Little does he know that his courage will be put to the test soon.

First, Nick finds out that his father, who is a World War I hero, has been helping to spy on the Nazi submarines roaming in the English Channel. Nick's dad and a few others believe that a second world war is about to erupt. They are keeping a close eye on the Nazi movements, and Nick and Kate are asked to keep watch as well. It's while they are down on the beach watching for Nazis that they discover the 19th-century sea chest.

The captain's sea chest should be ancient, but it appears to be brand new. And that's not the only oddity --- the chest has Nick's name inscribed upon it. Inside they find a golden orb that turns out to be a time machine and a letter from Nick's great-great-grandfather, captain of the H.M.S. Merlin. It states that Nick should use the time machine and travel to the year 1805 to help the Merlin steer through the maze of reefs and defeat the pirates working for Napoleon.

To make the situation even more terrifying, the pirate king, William Blood, also has a time machine and has traveled to the present day to kidnap Nick's dog. Nick has no choice but to use the golden orb and travel back in time to help his ancestor and save the canine's life. But will he have the courage to face the unimaginable dangers that await him?

Though this is his first novel for young people, Ted Bell is no stranger to writing wonderfully exciting books. And NICK OF TIME is one heck of an adventure! Filled with colorful characters, non-stop action, scary pirates, nasty Nazis, technically advanced submarines, rousing old-time sailing ships, thrilling battle scenes, heart-pounding sea voyages and nail-biting espionage, this story has it all. Plus, Bell has an explosive talent with description, bringing the scenes to life right before one's eyes: "The silvery moon, when it wasn't half hidden behind a few wandering clouds, was racing alongside the burnished luster of the dark mahogany hull, a watery shimmering reflection of the moon above, speeding along beside them over the gleaming sea."

If you are looking for a thrill and a new hero, this is it. Bell sums up the plot perfectly with Nick's thoughts: "It was going to be quite a summer. Pirates on top of the water, Nazis below." And as an added bonus, he ends the book hinting that another adventure with Nick is in the works.

       --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

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