The Time Travelers by Linda Buckley-Archer
(Cover picture courtesy of Teacher Girl’s Book Blog.)
1763. Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious-looking children.
Peter Schock and Kate Dryer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine. Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine—and Peter and Kate’s only chance of getting home.
Soon Gideon, Peter and Kate are swept into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.
The Time Travelers is pretty much your typical time traveling story, but with much more interesting characters and more complicated science behind the actual traveling through time (especially considering this is a YA novel!). Linda Buckley-Archer uses archetypes for her characters, but lets them grow and develop at a natural pace. She also twists the plot until you are left breathless and wanting the second book in the trilogy by the end.
I received this book for my birthday one year and immediately fell in love with it. Linda Buckley-Archer is an excellent writer who obviously did massive amounts of research to bring 18th century England to life. She stays true to major historical events and places, but it is the little details that make the world of Gideon Seymour come to life for readers.
Not only did I enjoy this book with its wonderful characterization and historical accuracy, I also learned a lot from it. Therefore, Linda Buckley-Archer has done her job as a writer of historical fiction.
I give this book 4/5 stars.