Girl Out of Time

I enjoyed reading this, it was what I enjoyed about the scifi genre. Clyde Boyer has a great writing style and I was hooked from the beginning. I was invested in what was going on and enjoyed getting to know the characters in this world. I look forward to reading more from the author.

"Uncle Jack was in the front yard with his back to the house. Across from him stood Mara. She was wearing a brilliant white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of worn blue jeans. Her hair was pulled back in an ornate braid spun with mathematical precision. She was radiant."

Girl Out of Time by Clyde Boyer was more than what I was expecting. I devoured it.

Anna and even Mara's adventure was fun, exciting and just what I needed.
This was a wonderfully written book and I especially loved the dialogue and the unexpected events.
Talk about science, aliens, portals/time travel and wormholes the power of friendship and working together with a little touch of mystery this is one book I can't wait to get for my 13 yr old nephew.
Two girls out tonsave the planet, I'm sure most Jr High kids will connect with these characters and enjoy this story just as much as I did.
I had the best time being sucked into this world.
And I will definitely be adding Boyer to my list for the kids in the future.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Girl Friday Books
Thank You for your generosity and approving this eARC!

Thank you #NetGalley and #GirlFridayBooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

After Anna is orphaned, she is packed off to Uncle Jack’s research farm. Because Anna’s eyes are always on the sky (and her heart is in space), she notices that there’s something unusual about the sky around the farm. Strange lights and odd noises lead Anna to befriend Mara, an unusual woman who lives in an…unusual…home on the shores of a nearby lake. Anna quickly learns that Mara is more than she first appears.

Numerous elements and episodes of the story are firmly rooted in popular culture. Rather than making the story trite, these roots help the story feel like a modern twist on that which we already know. Time travel, wormholes, and creatures from other dimensions combine to make this fast-paced story work. Anna’s innate curiosity elevates these potentially scary elements to pure adventure as she embraces new experiences and new friends.

I loved the discussion on contemporary agricultural practices and the need to find ways to sustainably farm for a growing population. The diverse cast of characters make clear that sustainable agriculture is a worldwide issue. This important aspect of the story is accessible without being patronizing to young people.

Engaging characters makes this a fun read that explores deeper themes such as friendship, finding purpose, and finding hope in an often confusing world. This book is great for middle school and early high school age kids, those who like a splash of science in their stories, and those who always try to do the right thing.

After the tragic death of her parents, 8th grader Anna moves from her hometown of Boston to the rural farmland with her uncle Jack. With her love of science guiding her, Anna discovers an anomaly in the time-space continuum right in her backyard. Here she meets Mara, a mysterious woman from the future and her AI support SID. When a wormhole opens up and another creature enters her world, both Anna and Mara end up on the adventure of a lifetime.

I LOVED this story! The whole storyline was engaging, exciting, and just the type of thing to captivate my sci-fi loving middle schoolers.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Girl Friday in exchange for a fair review.

I enjoyed reading Girl Out of Time. I wanted all of the futuristic technology that was included throughout the story. I think readers will enjoy imagining themselves flying through space like our main character.

Girl Out of Time by Clyde Boyer is such a fun Science Fiction Novel for all ages. I throughly enjoyed reading it. Anna and Mara’s Friendship was fun to read, and I absolutely loved their adventure together. This was an exciting experience with so many unexpected events throughout the story. I never knew where it would take me as a reader next. I love the talk and experience reading about portals/time travel, Aliens and wormholes. I will definitely have to pick this up when it comes out and read it a second time. All of the characters are easy to connect with and understand, they were realistic and felt very well written, Clyde Boyer did an amazing job on this one! 5 Stars.

Thank you so much to Clyde Boyer, Girl Friday Books, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

An adventure through time à la Doctor Who, Girl Out of Time is a beautiful story about finding yourself and belonging.

Great debut novel targeted at older school kids to Young Adults. A great read: female lead, science fiction and thoughtful messages about the planet and us as custodians. Recommended. thank you to #netgalley for advance copy

This was a fun sci-fi read that I think toes the line of middle school and young adult. I enjoyed the characters and the emphasis on empathy for our fellow man or alien. I think Mara's world could have done with more building.
I noticed that Boyer rarely uses placeholders like "it," "she," or "them." This makes his paragraphs sound repetitive when he's always referring to a person or object by full name.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clyde Boyer for the loan!

‘Girl Out of Time’ is the most charming book I have read recently. It bundles some very loveable characters as part of a nice sci-fi story.

Anna in a tragic turn of events loses both her parents in an accident. Her Aunt Claire cares for her briefly, and she later moves in with her Uncle Jack. Jack is an agricultural scientist & farmer who is working on building new age crops in his farm in collaboration with Dr Gloria. Anna grows to love the town and the farm. She also adjusts well to her school and makes a few friends, many of whom appreciate her intellectual abilities.

Anna keenly observes some strange atmospheric phenomenon at night. Her pursuits lead her to Mara, a lady who has come here from the future. Mara lives a secluded life which she explains is because she has found that interaction with other people tends to change the timeline of events with undesirable effects. The two become inseparable friends and Anna also introduces Mara after a while to Jack as her teacher. Mara brings future tech with her - anti-gravity shoes which help elevation/flying, a personal advanced communicator iCom and an AI assistant – SID. Mara tells Anna about a wormhole which has opened up and an excited Anna coaxes her to allow her to travel to the wormhole and see other worlds. They also realize that there is an alien life form which is stuck on Earth after arriving accidentally via the wormhole. Mara also has some ‘Others’ chasing her across time and she is not sure how long she can evade them and stay safe.

The writing is very good and the descriptions of the farm, atmospheric events evoke excellent visual imagery. Anna & Mara are absolutely lovely characters, as also are Jack and Anna’s friends. The book refers to many concepts you would find in mainstream science fiction books but does not devote much space in context setting to make it appear to be credible science. While I suppose middle graders will also appreciate it, it is ideal reading for teens and well – also adults!. This is a slightly bigger book than I would have expected for the storyline, but the pace is very good, and I was engrossed from start to finish.

A lovely book which I am sure most will enjoy reading! Strongly recommended!

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

Girl Out of Time by Clyde Boyer
Anna Armstrong is a brilliant precocious girl who has always been fascinated by space. In fact, she has attempted to launch herself several times into space but unfortunately her homemade rocket ships did not have sufficient enough power to get her there. Tragically, on the day of one of her “launches”, she learns that her mother and father have died on their way back home from Europe. Thirteen year old Anna then goes to live with her kind uncle Jack on his farm research center outside Smartt Indiana.
Very soon upon her arrival, Anna sees strange lights in the distance and eventually goes and investigates. There, she discovers a different dimension in time and space, where girl named Mara exists. Anna soon becomes involved in trying to help Mara save the world from the repercussions of time travel using Science to help them.
This is such a wonderful book about responsibility, friendship and science. The young people presented are supportive and caring towards each other and lessons learned about curiosity, responsibility and friendship abound.
This book should be added to school libraries as well as any little classroom library. It is a science fiction novel that is accessible to upper elementary and middle school students.

I really enjoyed this story!! Anna must leave Boston to live with her uncle on a farm after her parents die. I’m not one to really enjoy sci-fi type books but this one was quite good! I liked the storyline, the science behind it, and Anna’s curiosity! It was a really cute read. I would recommend this book with my middle school students !

Thank you to Net Galley, Girl Friday Books, and the author for the ARC.

This is such a unique story. I won’t summarise the plot as the synopsis covers it pretty well — instead, let’s get into what makes it so good!

Anna and Mara are wonderfully written characters. I loved their dynamic and their character development. Other characters weren’t quite so vividly depicted, but for a middle grade novel, that makes sense — I know that when I was twelve or so, I’d really only have been interested in the leads.

I also liked the fact that the writing style was accessible for a young audience without talking down to them. It’s a fine line to walk, but the author definitely makes it work!

This is a lovely standalone, but I’d read a sequel, no question!

This is such a magical book and I enjoyed reading it just as much as my teen grandaughter. The story was about time travel, friendship and helping others. It is beautifully written.