Official Review: Time Rider by Jack King

CataclysmicKnight · Post by **CataclysmicKnight** » 25 Apr 2015, 17:41

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Time Rider" by Jack King.]

4 out of 4 stars

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From the moment I saw Jack King's Time Rider: Wildertrek, I knew I wanted to read it. Time travel? Check. Kid who has to do epic, adult-like stuff? Check. Takes place somewhere I lived for several years? Bonus! The market is rather flooded with books about kids having to be heroes, so I was a little concerned, but luckily I had no reason to be.

Time Rider: Wildertrek, the first of at least two books, is all about a boy named TJ who lives with his divorced father in Tennessee who he barely speaks with, misses his sister who lives with their mom in Florida, is bullied in school and gets awful grades. If a lot of that sounds like a familiar beginning to a story, you're absolutely not wrong, but the story takes a twist when TJ finds out how his father was able to become such a fantastic historical author. In the locked drawer of his desk is a plain green book that ends up throwing TJ back in time to 1802! From there on, the book takes a fantastic twist, really highlighting life in early 1800s Tennessee, and it's here where the book shines.

Typically, a story like this would just be adventure, mystery or some form of cheesy educational experience, but Time Rider: Wildertrek feels like an easy-to-read period piece instead. TJ's dad, the historical author, became famous for writing books that actually made the reader feel like they were there, in the past, experiencing history. That's particularly fitting, since that's exactly what this books feels like. Jack King shows us, in an entertaining way, what life was like back then as TJ (renaming himself "Jeb") comes across bandits, religion, hard work, danger, Davy Crockett and day-to-day living as he's befriended and taken in by Sam Robertson, his wife and their five kids. This experience makes him grow naturally, in a way that doesn't feel forced like many stories, and when he returns to the present it shows.

Typically I have a slew of negatives I save for last, but I hardly have anything this time! The story does have a little bit of redundancy at times, where the author will explain something right before a character essentially says the same thing in their 1800s manner of speaking, but it's rather uncommon. Speaking of which, the dialogue also feels a little difficult to read at first since Sam and many of the other characters speak with an accent, but after a bit it feels natural and even helps distinguish between TJ/Jeb and the others, pointing out the boy's advanced intelligence compared to folks of the region and time who had to work all day, survive and make a living rather than go to school for years.

I won't wait any longer to say that Time Rider: Wildertrek gets 4 out of 4 stars. I'm very stingy with perfect scores, so I hesitated in doing so, but the book kept me reading and even had me look to see what else Jack King has written, leaving me excited for the sequel coming in October according to the publisher's website. If you enjoy period literature, adventure, history in general (especially American history) or books about kids who do fantastic things, this should be on your wish list!

******
Time Rider
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Amheiser · Post by **Amheiser** » 30 Apr 2015, 00:02

Good review! This sounds like a book that I would like to read. I always hated history books when I was in school because they were boring and I couldn't remember all the dates and names, but then I started reading books like this one that are written about people a person could relate to and are experiencing life during the periods of history that I tried to learn about. It makes it so much easier to understand what life was like for people back then and why they did things the way they did.

Rachaelamb1 · Post by **Rachaelamb1** » 30 Apr 2015, 08:12

Sounds like a fantastic book! Time travel books can all start to look alike after reading a few but it sounds as if this author nailed it!

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 30 Apr 2015, 22:22

Great review!

PashaRu · Post by **PashaRu** » 30 Apr 2015, 22:43

Sounds like a cool story. Thanks for the review!

gali · Post by **gali** » 30 Apr 2015, 22:56

Sounds good! Thanks for the nice review.

Post by **bookowlie** » 30 Apr 2015, 23:02

I really enjoyed your review. Sounds like a fantastic book!

TheMusicalMuse · Post by **TheMusicalMuse** » 02 May 2015, 13:50

I teach jr hi (12- to 14-year-olds), and all of the teachers in my school struggle to get many of the young men to read because so much YA lit is geared towards females. This looks like it might be right up the male alley. A couple of questions:

1) What specific age group of YA would you say this book would suit? Is it too old/young for jr hi boys?

2) Is it educational enough to use as a read-along with a social studies unit, or is it too "light and fluffy" to be used as a class novel?

Thanks for the review! Looking forward to your responses.

authorjackking · Post by **authorjackking** » 05 May 2015, 12:50

Post Number:#8 Postby TheMusicalMuse » 02 May 2015, 13:50
I teach jr hi (12- to 14-year-olds), and all of the teachers in my school struggle to get many of the young men to read because so much YA lit is geared towards females. This looks like it might be right up the male alley. A couple of questions:

1) What specific age group of YA would you say this book would suit? Is it too old/young for jr hi boys?

2) Is it educational enough to use as a read-along with a social studies unit, or is it too "light and fluffy" to be used as a class novel?

Thanks for the review! Looking forward to your responses.

Dear TheMusicalMuse,

This is Jack King, the author of TIME RIDER WILDERTREK. I'm new to this forum and I'm not quite sure how it works. Perhaps only the original reviewer who posted the review is supposed to reply. But let me answer your 2 questions.

!. The book is written for advanced young readers 11 years old to adults of any age who enjoy YA. It would definitely be suitable for 12 to 14 year old boys. It has loads of adventure!
2. The book was written to provide a detailed (but still entertaining and exciting) look at life in 1802 wild frontier days. It has lots of facts and true-to-life descriptions and characters and plot lines for the time period. Very definitely could be used as a read-along with a social studies unit. Would help the boys to know how different (and more harsh and dangerous) life was back then.

Sincerely,
Jack King, author