Time Trapped

Gr 6–8—A sequel to the excellent Time Snatchers (Putnam, 2012). After spending five months in peaceful ignorance of his past, Caleb, a time-traveling thief, is forced to return to Timeless Treasures, where he is back under the thumb of Uncle, the Faginesque leader of a band of thieves. Things have changed while Caleb was gone. Uncle is more erratic and strange, and cruel Frank is running most of the day-to-day operations. As Frank exercises more and more harsh control, it puts Caleb and his new recruits in danger; something will have to be done before all their futures are snatched away from them. With his memories and time-snatching ability restored, Caleb feels the loss of his adopted family as well as the fear of being back with Uncle and Frank. These emotions propel much of the action in the book as Caleb tries to find a way to protect the recruits and get home. Ungar cleverly includes real historical occurrences in his characters' time-travel episodes, so the book serves as an enlightening glimpse into different eras and events. Characters are well established and most take interesting and honest turns. However, the action is uneven at times, and the resolution of the main conflict comes off as rushed and slightly anticlimactic. Nonetheless, this is well-done science fiction that is built around a very intriguing concept.—Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX