Gr 5–8—Cosmo is not happy with his name, his mother, or the fact no one seems to be listening to his advice about how to help Granddad Kevin remember important things, such as the fact that Cosmo's brother is dead. Granny Deedee is overwhelmed by the social workers who are taking an interest in Granddad, and Cosmo's mother is away long term to pursue business in Sydney. This means that the boy isn't getting a lot of attention from anyone but the bullies on the playground. One night, Granddad Kevin advises Cosmo to go to Blackbrick Abbey and open a gate with a special key he gives him. Cosmo follows his instructions and inadvertently time travels back to when Granddad was just 16-year-old Kevin and worked as a stable boy for the wealthy but stingy owner of the Abbey. Not long after his arrival, Cosmo helps Kevin sneak a beautiful young woman into the Abbey. While Cosmo is sure from the love-stricken look on Kevin's face that this is Grandma, her name turns out to be Maggie, which means he has to intervene to ensure his existence. Adventures and contretemps ensue, making for a rollicking ride. Cosmo's fresh and sassy approach to life is true to his youthful perspective. His age is left intentionally vague (as is what happened to his father), and his voice engages. The solidly constructed time-travel plot adds to the fun.—
Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, COTime travel fiction is usually brain-bending, and the premise of this Irish import is particularly complicated. Cosmo travels back to his grandfather's youth and discovers that the sixteen-year-old is falling in love with the wrong woman. If Granddad marries the "ridiculously good-looking" Maggie instead of Granny Deedee, Cosmo won't exist. High stakes indeed. This genealogical conundrum is played out against the upstairs/downstairs world of 1940s Blackbrick Abbey, where Granddad is a stable boy. This is a tale of secrets and boyhood schemes. The historical details are fairly generic -- a contemptible lord of the manor, a kindly housekeeper, a spoiled eldest daughter -- except for the fresh and convincing lore of horses and riding. The present-day framing story involves a multistrand family tragedy in which Cosmo is coping with not only his grandfather's slide into dementia but also his brother's earlier death and the abandonment of his mother. And the logic of it all? As Cosmo says, "Some things are mysterious and some things are difficult to explain. . .Weird things happen. That's the thing about being alive: It's totally weird." sarah ellis
Be the first reader to comment.
Comment Policy:
Comment should not be empty !!!