Out of Time by John Marsden

From the Publisher

James often finds himself gazing out the window at night, wondering about other worlds, and what it might be like to live somewhere else. But it is all just a dream—until the memorable night he slips into the laboratory of his friend, Mr. Woodforde. Brilliant but eccentric, the elderly physicist lets James in on a secret. For years, he has been working on a secret project: a time machine.
 
Welcome aboard, James. Next stop: the Past. Or…the Future….

Publishers Weekly

Marsden's (Tomorrow, When the War Began) intricately woven novella (first published in Australia in 1990) will likely initially mystify and intrigue readers from the very first scene. James, a troubled Australian youth, sees faces in the branches of the tree outside his bedroom window and hates to take a direct route between any two points. One of his favorite destinations is Lab 17, where an elderly physicist works alone on a time-travel project he thinks will win him the Nobel Prize. When the scientist dies, James takes the instrument and uses it to visit periods from the past. Told as a series of vignettes, the events occur in different parts of the world-the Mayan pyramids, New South Wales, Connecticut. But readers must look carefully to discover whether there is a connection tying these incidents together: a bootboy named Alexander disappeared from a hotel in 1832, and a boy "with no visitors" in a hospital bed next to James's sister is named Alex-coincidence?; and James travels back in time to help a girl reunite with her parents who were separated during a bomb explosion. Marsden's writing is luminous and evocative, his ending heartbreaking. Ages 13-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Claire Rosser - KLIATT

This is an unusual SF story for YAs, by the author of The Tomorrow Series and other excellent YA novels first published in Australia. It requires readers with curious minds who like puzzles and mysteries—even those that are perhaps not resolved in a story. James is a quiet boy, withdrawn, who others see as weird; the story of his life slowly emerges, but the reader has to be patient, picking up clues here and there. James has a friendship with an elderly physicist, and when the old man dies, James retrieves a box that the man had invented that holds the secret of time travel. Other vignettes of children are offered up: a girl lying alone in a hospital bed, wounded in a bomb blast; a mute orphan in Mexico who suddenly says in perfect English: "Fasten your safety belts. Put your head between your knees." Could this boy be a survivor of a plane crash? There is no way to describe this plot except to say it is intriguing and mysterious, with many questions throughout. For intelligent readers who will appreciate the story's originality. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 1990, Tor, 127p., Ages 12 to 18.

Kirkus Reviews

From the popular and excellent Australian author comes an episodic science-fiction novella that will intrigue many readers and confuse others. James, an isolated, uncommunicative boy, is friends with an aging scientist. When the old man dies, James discovers the body and the time machine his elderly friend has perfected. With it, James visits the ancient Maya and tries to understand the circumstances surrounding the death of his younger sister. Other unconnected episodes raise more questions for readers. Questions surrounding James's story are answered by the end, but Marsden leaves other mysteries unresolved. Always intriguing, sometimes confusing, the different strands of stories merge into a common theme involving lost children. Readers interested in science fiction and psychology should be most attracted to this haunting little item. (Fiction. 12-15)

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James sat in his room. Mr. Woodforde’s machine was on the desk in front of him. He was scared of it, but he played with it as though it held no particular power. He switched it on and off a few times, watching the needle on the battery indicator rise slowly from zero to nine, and even slightly beyond nine. He drew the machine closer to him, knowing from the burning feeling on his face that he was about to use it again. With sudden carelessness he keyed in random numbers: 45 degrees, 25 feet, 15 inches; 45 degrees, 25 feet, 15 inches; followed by a date and time: 11:09. 1948, 1400 hours. Then, before he could have second thoughts, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach, he pressed “Enter.”

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Out of Time

Tor Teen

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Excerpted from Out of Time by Marsden, John Copyright © 2007 by Marsden, John. Excerpted by permission.
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