Official Review: Out of Time by Sarah Mackie

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 24 Jan 2016, 09:17

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Out of Time" by Sarah Mackie.]

4 out of 4 stars

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The year was 2079, 14 years after the Great Surge changed the planet as we know it. Out of Time is a story written by Sarah Mackie about 12-year old Sam Bentley who was transported back to year 2015.

Sam has always been fascinated by stories about the past, when people wore beautiful clothes, changed hair colors and wrote on paper. This fascination always led him to the former town square to look around for evidence of a way of life that has now become a legend. In one of his trips, his little sister Daisy, afflicted with diabetes, tagged along. It was then that a storm hit and they barely made it to the cave where their family, and so did others’, lived.

Though Sam was able to save Daisy from the storm, she was in a really bad shape. Guilty about what happened to his sister, Sam took refuge in his father’s shop. His father was a kind of inventor, so his shop was filled with assortment of things. There, Sam found a shiny metal box which turned out to be a DNA-activated time machine. .

Sam was transported back to year 2015 and was rescued and kept by Ella and her husband Edgar Davenport, who, Sam eventually learned to be his great-grandparents. Completely out of place and literally out of time, Sam was anxious about his sister’s condition but hopeful because, insulin, a medicine for Daisy was available at the time he was presently in.

I believe this story would be a big hit to the intended audience. Though time travel has been a common subject for science fiction, what made this story special and interesting was the factor pertaining to Daisy’s condition and her immediate need for medicine making it imperative for Sam to go back to his own time.

It presented very important issues for a growing child. First of which is family, manifested by Sam’s love for Daisy and his willingness to do everything so she would get well. Second is friendship. No matter how brave and smart a child is, he needed friends to play with and to work with, and in this story, Sam’s friends played important roles in order for him to go home. Moreover, the author masterfully injected a very important and timely issue, awareness of the consequences of what we do now to the future generation. Not only that, the book also encouraged kids to go way beyond, explore, discover, and ultimately, create.

There were both lovable and hateful characters. Sam was the typical protagonist, loving brother and loyal friend. Then, there was Max Lazenby, traitorous colleague and real-deal evil person who would do everything for money.

With great plot and memorable characters, this is generally a pleasurable read. However, in addition to people living in caves and eating rabbit stew and sea kelp, I would have (personally) liked a more detailed description of the people and how they actually lived. The absence of which, though, did not warrant a loss of star.

So, I give this book the rate of 4 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to those who like stories about time travel. Better yet, I recommend it to everybody, children and adult alike who are concerned about the future and who are willing to do something to save the environment for future generation.

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Out of Time
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bluemel4 · Post by **bluemel4** » 28 Jan 2016, 17:20

Great review. I really like that this book has a larger meaning about what we are doing to future generations.

Lorirainbowbright · Post by **Lorirainbowbright** » 28 Jan 2016, 21:13

Great review. Your review really makes me want to read the book.

Shelle · Post by **Shelle** » 29 Jan 2016, 16:44

Great review! I've read a couple time travel books lately and this one seems to have a new a creative approach. It sounds really interesting.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 29 Jan 2016, 19:40

bluemel4 wrote:Great review. I really like that this book has a larger meaning about what we are doing to future generations.

Thank you very much. Yes, it touched multiple important issues making it one great book not just for children but for everyone.

-- 29 Jan 2016, 19:42 --

Lorirainbowbright wrote:Great review. Your review really makes me want to read the book.

Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

-- 29 Jan 2016, 19:46 --

Shelle wrote:Great review! I've read a couple time travel books lately and this one seems to have a new a creative approach. It sounds really interesting.

Thank you very much. It is one interesting book for children and adult alike.

Rachaelamb1 · Post by **Rachaelamb1** » 30 Jan 2016, 11:23

I love that the story is about helping his sister...so few fantasy or sci-fi books seem to have anything much to do with family.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 30 Jan 2016, 18:40

Rachaelamb1 wrote:I love that the story is about helping his sister...so few fantasy or sci-fi books seem to have anything much to do with family.

Oh, yes. That is why it is one great book not only for kids but also for grown ups.

Lorirainbowbright · Post by **Lorirainbowbright** » 31 Jan 2016, 15:15

Love your review, it makes me really want to read the book. I love book's dealing with Time Travel. One of my favorite types of books to read. Great review.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 31 Jan 2016, 15:28

Lorirainbowbright wrote:Love your review, it makes me really want to read the book. I love book's dealing with Time Travel. One of my favorite types of books to read. Great review.

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 31 Jan 2016, 16:35

Great review! The book seems like it could appeal to all readers, and not just sci-fi fans.

Post by **bookowlie** » 31 Jan 2016, 16:38

I enjoyed reading your review! You made the story sounds so interesting...well, except for the rabbit stew and sea kelp meals.

I am not a big fan of time travel books, but this one seems like it has a wider appeal.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 31 Jan 2016, 16:47

LivreAmour217 wrote:Great review! The book seems like it could appeal to all readers, and not just sci-fi fans.

Thank you very much. I also think it could.

-- 31 Jan 2016, 16:56 --

bookowlie wrote:I enjoyed reading your review! You made the story sounds so interesting...well, except for the rabbit stew and sea kelp meals. I am not a big fan of time travel books, but this one seems like it has a wider appeal.

Thank you. It is very interesting. I think it has a deeper purpose which is to raise awareness of the consequences of our actions today that might affect the environment in the future.

Amheiser · Post by **Amheiser** » 04 Feb 2016, 13:50

Your review made this book seem very interesting to me. Congratulations to the author for a great idea for a story! I like that the story has some very important moral and ethical subjects to it which are so important for everybody to think about.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 04 Feb 2016, 15:29

Amheiser wrote:Your review made this book seem very interesting to me. Congratulations to the author for a great idea for a story! I like that the story has some very important moral and ethical subjects to it which are so important for everybody to think about.

Thank you. I sincerely hope a lot of people will read this book and learn from it.

anonanemone · Post by **anonanemone** » 14 Feb 2016, 19:10

Sounds like an interesting premise. I suspect that a truly deprived future contrasted against an economic downturn is fairly stark. Congrats to the author!