I loved this book! I'm a big fan of middle grade mystery/adventure/sci fi stories and this one checked all my boxes. It is well written, and once the reader accepts the premise, it is all very believable. The characters are true to life, the dialogue flows and the events are realistic. I was rooting for the characters all the way, and the writing evoked the needed emotion at the critical parts of the story. And it was a nice bonus that Alec's family was vegan :) .

Loved it! The Boy from Tomorrow is a smooth read. Perfect blend of spiritual elements without being frightening. Camille did a fantastic job of combining the past and present and makes it easy to understand for children ages 8 and up. Would definitely recommend for children and adults!

A fabulous take on spiritualism, in a non-scary form for kids. Alex and Josie live in the same house, but separated by 100 years. They initially communicate with a spirit board, and later a phonograph. Then, Alec uses the library archives (rather than just the internet) to learn about his new friend. I loved the way they were able to influence each other's lives and relationships across the century. Can't wait for it to come out so that I can put a copy in my daughter's hands.

A charming time travel narrative that draws two lonely children together across the decades. Camille DeAngelus has written an engaging and enthralling take on the gothic genre which updates the typical conventions to make them relevant to a contemporary reader. The central motif is the value of true friendship.

A girl from 1915 and a boy from 2015 are able to communicate through a talking board, and what they say changes each child's life. It's both exciting and heart-wrenching to watch as Alec uses his resources--the library and the internet--to help Josie and her sister escape from their abusive mother.

At the beginning, this book seems like it's going to be spooky and mystical. Both Alec and Josie initially think they're communicating with spirits through the talking board. But when it becomes clear that the two kids are communicating across time, the story becomes much more interesting. 

This book isn't for everyone. I think younger kids are likely to be frightened by the spooky events, or by the abuse Josie and Cass suffer. But for older kids, this book has a fun twist on the typical ghost story.

This is not so much a time-travel book, thought it is, and it isn't so much historical fiction, though it is. It is a different take on the usual way of doing time travel or historical fiction.

Alec corresponds with a girl who lived in his house a hundred years ago, first through a ouija or spirit board.

It sounds odd, but it works. Alec is going through problems, and so is Josie, and they both give each other mutual support.

The thing about time travel, is the pieces all have to fit together, and these do. This is not the <em>Blink</em>, from Doctor Who, but it has those elements, of notes passed through the years by being hidden in places where Alec will find them.

And, although I think adults should never be involved in this sort of magic, in this case, it worked. It was the teather to the real world, so to speak.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

(This review is scheduled to be posted to my blog on May 1, 2018, according to Amberjack Publishing's Approval Preferences that reviews not be published until the week before the on sale date.)


The Boy from Tomorrow would have easily been one of my favorite books when I was in the "middle grade" age category. In my tweens, I was reeeeally into ghosts and death and supernatural occurrences and spiritualism. (I'm not sure I knew the term "spiritualism" then, but I knew of Ouija boards and spirit photography and all that awesome morbid Victorian stuff.) I'm still pretty into that stuff now as a 30-something (oh god when did I become an adult how did this happen), so I'm about to rave about this book.

Summary: Alec in the present (-ish, 2015) discovers that he can communicate through a "talking board" (aka: a Ouija board) with "spirits" in his house. Meanwhile, in 1915, Josie and her little sister Cass are communicating with a "spirit" through a talking board in their house too. When they discover that nobody is a ghost and they are actually somehow communicating across time, they chat through the board every chance they get, and Alec and Josie become good friends. But Josie's cruel mother is a spirit medium, someone who supposedly can talk to the dead, and she wants to use Alec's knowledge of the future for her own purposes. They find another way to communicate with each other, and while they love hearing about technology and books and songs from the future, Alec has some other information he's not sure he should share... like the fact that there's a child-sized headstone in the local cemetery with their last name on it. While Alec is trying to decide if he should tell what he knows, Josie is trying to decide if she wants to know ahead of time what will happen to her and her family.

What I liked: This was a great book in so many ways. The story is strong and deals with a lot of complicated time-travel-like issues without dumbing them down. For example, Alec starts finding letters and objects that have been left for him in the house... so Josie must have left them... but when he tells her about it, she hasn't done it yet... so now Josie knows she will leave them, but how, and when, and where...? It had my head spinning (in a really good way) at a lot of points, trying to figure out the mysteries of reaching across time with them. And poor Josie, trying to decide if she wants to know whose headstone is in the graveyard, and what will happen to her in the future, and the dates when people she knows will die... All of this information is at Alec's fingertips through Google, but should he share, and does Josie want to know? Ugh. Such a tough situation for both of them. I really felt for them, which I think shows that this book handled that really well.

Another thing I liked? ALL THE SPIRITUALISM GOODNESS. This is the first middle grade book I've read that deals with spiritualism but now I'm on the hunt for moooore. Talking boards? Automatic writing? Postmortem photography?? The age of spiritualism was weird and awesome.

There's also some tough situations that were handled quite well, I thought. Alec's parents are recently divorced, and he and his mom are both still struggling with a lot of the emotions that go along with that. Josie and Cass's mother is cruel to the point of being abusive towards them - both physically and emotionally - especially towards Cass. Some of those scenes were hard for me to read, but again, I think that shows that the author did a good job with them. Josie begins to realize that it's her responsibility to keep herself and her sister safe, which means she has to make some very adult decisions toward the end of the book.

What I didn't: The only thing I'm wondering is if the very end of the book is a little bit much for middle grade readers? If I was my tween self reading this, would I have wanted to read about the characters in their 20s and 30s and beyond, seeing what happens to them as adults? I don't know. I can't decide. As an adult now, it was interesting to see where they all ended up, but I felt like maaaybe the peek that far into the future wasn't really needed. We are told earlier in the book what will happen to both Josie and Cass, and I think I would have been satisfied with that. (SPOILER - Alec finds out that Josie is going to be a reporter, and Cass is going to be a famous actress. So we know they don't die young, and they seem to end up with careers that suit them. Yay!) Did I need to know in detail what will happen to them at a few different stages of their adult lives, reading about it scene by scene? Mmm, *shrug*, I feel like I could have done without it. I did really like seeing a peek into Alec's future though. (SPOILER - Where he follows the letter to another house and meets Cass's great-granddaughter?? And it's implied that he maybe likes Josie and hasn't met the right girl in his own time that can compare with Josie yet, but suddenly here's this girl in the present who's related to Josie that he seems to really hit it off with?? *sigh*... Maybe it's a little over the top, but it worked for me. Got me right in the feels.)

Another very small nitpick of mine is that some of the transitions from one scene to another were a bit abrupt and awkward, so I had to read back and little to figure out what had just happened. Like, one minute we're walking down the street with Alec and his friend Danny, and then all of a sudden Alec is talking to Josie. Oh, ok, I guess Alec and Danny made it back to their houses and Alec went up to his room and is talking to Josie... gotcha. Obviously that's not a big deal, and I don't expect the author to spell all that out for readers step-by-step in detail (cuz that's boring as heck and I don't want to read all that anyway). But I could have used a transitional something, like those little symbols in between paragraphs like * * * that show things have jumped ahead, or even one-liner like "Later when Alec got home," or something. Also it's worth noting that I read an ARC so this could be completely resolved in the final version.

TL;DR: As a tween, this would have been on my birthday wishlist SO FAST. As an adult, I still loved it! It's a really well done story of friends communicating across a century, sharing their everyday lives and some really tough things too, with a lot of interesting spiritualism info included.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I think the plot is very interesting and very catchy.
Even if in the short description of the book says that Alec and Josie met through a spirit board, before reading the book I thought it a was a childlike way of meeting. But their meeting involves spiritualism in a very deep way. Because of that I din not like the book.

The Boy From Tomorrow by Camille DeAngelis is a children's adventure book aimed at ages 8-11 years. I am considerably older and I really enjoyed the tale.
The story unites two children one hundred years apart, who live in the same house. Their bond, formed through curiosity and loneliness is beautiful to witness.
There were some very different parenting ideas at the beginning of the twentieth century. The modern reader consequently finds some of the passages of child cruelty difficult to read.
A sisterly bond is beautifully portrayed. The reader can 'feel' the love and desire to protect.
The novel has single parent families. Both uniquely drawn and elicit two very different feelings from the reader.
The Boy From Tomorrow is both absorbing and entertaining. I loved it. I was also impressed that the author warns against talking boards in real life, saying to leave them for stories.
A compulsive read that I read in just one sitting.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

One-Line Summary:

Two people find a connection that transcends time, and it’s exactly what they both need to shape their individual futures.

Summary:

When Alec moves into 444 Sparrow Street, it’s old and rundown and is a promise of a new beginning with his parents recently divorced. Like all old buildings, he expects it to have its secrets, and he finds one hiding in a drawer: a handmade talking board with angels in each corner. At first, it seems like a fun game to play during a sleepover—until he realizes the entities they’re speaking to aren’t ghosts but people.

A hundred years ago, in the same house, Josie is no stranger to talking to spirits. In fact, her mother makes a living doing just that. What she hasn’t heard of, however, is speaking to a person who’s very much alive but in a different time.

For Josie, the future is a scary prospect. Her mother keeps her locked up tight in the house, and the future means freedom, as well as uncertainty. Worse than that, it feels so far away. For Alec, the past is terrifying, because he knows, logically, that his new friend is already dead in his timeline. But the way he always wants to remember her is the way she appears in their shared house: vibrant, uncertain, and very much alive.

The Positives:

- I forgot this book was even middle grade. Now, I don’t read a ton of mid-grade, because usually I get constant reminders that it’s too young for me, and mostly, I don’t feel like I get much out of it. Why would I? I’m not the target audience. That was not the case with this book. I was thoroughly engaged, invested in the characters, and I got some powerful takeaways from it. The fantastic thing about this book was that it transcended audiences.

- Alec and Josie are probably the cutest things ever, in their own ways. Alec is devoted to his new friend and helping her however he can. Being separated by a hundred years makes it a bit more difficult, but being in the future has its advantages, too. Josie’s troubles are more visceral and gut-wrenching. Trapped within the confines of a house with no friends and an abusive mother, the future seems bleak—except when she speaks to Alec, of course. He makes the future sound wonderful. If only she can survive her current situation. There’s such a tone of hope, and the friendship between them builds naturally and is just so sweet. It’s the sort of beautiful, pure connection that only two 12-year-olds can have, of course, which makes it all the more special.

- The time travel spin was unique and interesting. I confess, when I see time travel, I balk. I’m not a huge sci-fi fan at its best, and time travel in particular often leaves me doubtful. However, this isn’t true time travel in the sense that persons are sent hurtling through time. The way it’s approached in this book is much more circumstantial and believable, which I liked. It didn’t require a huge suspension of disbelief.

- WHERE DID THESE FEELS COME FROM AND WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA? I’m not a big fan of *hiss* emotions. Or feeling them. It’s a hassle. That being said, I felt all the emotions with this book. It was funny, sad, heartwarming, angering, hopeful, dreadful. I snapped between them so quickly that I was afraid I might get emotional whiplash. In the end, the gamut was well worth it, and how the book closes is fantastic and fulfilling.

The Negatives:

- What’s up with Mrs. Gubbins? This isn’t a huge negative, and maybe it doesn’t require explaining in a middle grade. But Mrs. Gubbins obviously isn’t just a doll or just a figment of Cass’s imagination. I kept finding myself wanting to know how she was tied to the girls, though, and what happens to her. Maybe I’m just nosy and that’s why, but I really wanted some follow-up about her.

- Where the heck is karma when you need it? Mrs. Clifford is awful. AWFUL. She’s meant to be, because there are awful people in the world, but gosh darn it, karma is supposed to get those people. Where the heck was fire and brimstone and fury? I know, I know, you’re not supposed to wish bad things on people, but I kept hoping she’d get her comeuppance. Unfortunately, I think part of that is just a facet of mid-grade works, but you know what? I’m just going to imagine it, and that’ll make me feel the world is still in balance.

- TRIGGER WARNING FOR CHILD ABUSE. I don’t believe this is mentioned anywhere else, and I think it should be said, considering it took me off guard. I don’t mind it, personally, but I know several people who if they had started this book, it would have triggered them. So make sure you know what you’re getting into going in. It isn’t graphic or gratuitous, but it could definitely be triggering, so be forewarned.

Overall:

I knew I had to read this as soon as I read the description, because it reminded me of Lake House, and I was hoping for the same warm, tingly feelings I got from watching that. I wasn’t disappointed. Unlike the movie, however, The Boy from Tomorrow has some dark moments, moments that I think are made even darker by being an adult (and for me, being a parent). However, every moment of it felt real and true to life, and the overall feeling was optimism and hope for the future, and I definitely came out the other end with the warm tinglies and having enjoyed the book. More than just for kids, I would recommend this to any age who wants a light, easy read that will stir up some emotions and leaving you feeling warm inside.

Disclaimer: I received a free ARC copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alec and Josie have tons in common: they're both twelve, have unhappy family lives, and live in the same house. On the other hand, they are 100 years apart. Josie's mother, a celebrated medium but a lousy human being, has a hand-painted Ouija board that lets them talk to each other across the decades. They soon form a close bond despite the differences between their eras, but what help can Alec offer from the future when Josie's life takes a turn for the worse? A clever premise and an engaging pair of protagonists.

I enjoyed the book, and I think that my students would too. The dual-perspective of seeing the world through Alec and then Josie makes it more marketable to all of my students instead of the boys seeing it as a "girl book" or vice versa.

I liked the small moments of early 1900s history that were blended in, and it made the time difference between the sisters' and Alec's lives more apparent. Alec, Daniel, and the girls were likable characters, as they were meant to be. The author definitely makes her villains stand out, but does give small glimpses into their humanity and what might lie beneath their issues.

At first, I was not expecting the girls' family situation to escalate so much, but I think it was useful conflict that helped to move the story forward. The girls' eager, youthful attitudes made them more magnetic than Alec, and it's undeniable that the sisters steal the show.

I do wish the story's pacing was a little faster at the beginning, but it does pick up once the depth of their mother's issues start to be uncovered. I wish there had been a little something more on Alec's end. His own family drama is a bit overshadowed by the girls', and I'm not certain it's really needed aside from a catalyst that prompts his and his mother's move to the Sparrow house.

Overall, I think this could be a useful book for a unit on friendships, family, or just a nice recommended read for a student who's looking for something a little different.

A BIG Thank You to NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for providing me an advanced electonic copy of “The Boy from Tomorrow” by Camille DeAngelis.

I loved reading this book and wished it had continued! The story is so unique and fresh and unlike anything I have read till now. The idea of two people connecting with one another from different eras is told in such a wonderful way! Right from the get go, we see how Josie and Alec start building a friendship through the talking board. Both of them are going through family problems and lack the love the wish from their parents. The story progresses on how they help each other even though they live in different timespans. Another aspect I enjoyed was all the book references of classic literature that the author seeps in the storyline. She gives us an interesting snippet of a few, which are now added to my reading list.

There were a few parts of the story that I didn’t quite understand. For example, I didn’t get how Alec and Josie were able to communicate via the phonograph suddenly. Was it supposed to be a magical phonograph? Also, it’s a big coincidence that Alec was able to receive letters from Josie at the right time and place. There might be some other loopholes pertaining to the time element, but I didn’t give much through into it. It is, at the end of the day, a children’s fiction novel that should be read for entertainment value.

The characters are beautifully written with their own distinctive personalities. I was completely absorbed in the friendship between Josie and Alec, and the way they help each other. It was fun to read how one reacted to a phrase, music, books, or lingos they shared with each other. Emily, Cass and Danny also brought a spark of entertainment to the story. Mrs. Clifford is one of those characters you just love to hate. I pictured she would look and act just like Lady Tremaine (the evil stepmother from Cinderella), only more witch-like. There were some characters like Merritt and Mrs. Gubbins that I found fascinating and wished we had more details of.

Camille DeAngelis writes in a charming manner, and her strength is in how she writes her characters. I am interested in picking up her novel “Bones & All” as I have heard good reviews of that as well. Agnieszka Grochalska, the illustrator has also provided delightful illustrations for each chapter that adds a pleasant touch to the story.

In conclusion, “The Boy from Tomorrow” is a nice time travel book that I would definitely recommend to read. I give 4.5 out of 5 rating for this book.

This was such a great book! I love history, so the fact that Alec (in 2015) was able to communicate with two young sisters from 1915 made for an excellent story.

Josie and her little sister Cassandra live in their new Victorian home with their beloved tutor Emily, and their horrible mother, Lavinia, who works as a popular and sought-after medium/seer. Lavinia shows her children no affection, and punishes them (especially little Cass) in cruel and inhumane ways. She never permits them to leave the house, and essentially keeps them prisoners in their own rooms, often times having the maid or cook locking them inside.

Alec and his mother (who is going through a divorce from Alec's father) move into the old Victorian house on Sparrow St. in 2015. First through a Ouji board, then through a Phonograph, Alec is able to communicate Josie and Cass. Alec, being 100 years in the girls future, does his best to help save them from what seems to be a very lonely and possibly dangerous future.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The things I didn't really like I cant say too much about because I'm afraid it would be a spoiler. I guess all I can say is, I don't understand WHY he waited so long at the end for the final letter. He wanted to know everything he could about the girls, yet he kept putting off visiting the one place he knew he would get answers...didn't make much sense.

Also, as others have noted, I would have like to have learned a little more about Alec and his family dynamic. You get an understanding about half-way through the book as to WHY his parents are divorcing, but you never really get to know his mother. The majority of the book focuses on Josie, Cass and their mother Lavinia.

In the end though, these couple things aside, I still really like the story. I'd definitely recommend it for Middle Grade children. There's a couple parts that are unpleasant, but nothing that a child that age can't handle.

** I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC copy from Netgalley

3.75 stars

I really got excited about the theme of this book. All about time traveling and a Brian Selznick vibe novel. I was also motivated for this copy because it is my first granted wish list from Netgalley.

The Boy From Tomorrow is a story of friendship and hope. It is brave for a middle grade story to tackle child abuse and cruelty.

The story revolves around Alec, who found an antique Ouija board and got to talk to a girl named, Josie who lived decades ago. Through their interest from one another's history and present, they come to know that they both live at the same house but in different year. Alec and Josie formed a friendship over conversations using the Ouija board. Alec unraveled unexpected happenings in the life Josie which correlates the future's information about Josie's past.

The story was fun. I thought, "what the heck?" Really? An Ouija board? That must have been a so long conversations. I thought this should be a paranormal one. But the author explained here side at the end of the book in using Ouija board as a bridge to past and present.

While reading this book, I always felt a vibe of Selznick's story. Correlating the past from the future is so amazing. Unravelling truths that could explained every happenings.

The author put a part in the book in which it tackles the question, "If you had a chance to talk to someone from the past, what would you do?" And the author gets the right thing. READ THEM A FREAKING GOOD NOVELS. I love the fact that the main character incorporates amazing novels that haven't written in Josie's time.

All in all, it was a fun and hopeful story of friendship.

I was mesmerized by this book! It was a great story and a good look at the differences in the centuries. I couldn't put it down! I liked the main characters and sympathized with Alec's not being able to do anything about the abuse that Josie and Cass suffered. It was interesting to see what was acceptable in each century as far as disciplining children. It was a WOW! book!

A nice middle great novel with some historical elements and some fantasy/time travel. It's not scary, although there is some (mild, in so far as such a thing is possible) child abuse. Alec and Josie are both appealing characters and good narrators; both stories feel era-appropriate but also accessible to young readers. I think this would be easy to recommend and a lot of young readers would enjoy it.

“The Boy from Tomorrow”- I’d seen this title in several publisher/book recommendation emails and was happy to see it available as an advance reader ebook. It was an enjoyable story of two tweens, living in the same home a century apart. Alec (present day) connects with Josie (1900’s) via spiritual methods. We realize they both struggle to find friendship and a sense of belonging. They reach out to one another and Alec soon realizes the true danger that Josie and her sister are living in. He longs to change the course of their life, but what can he possibly do? He is a kid and living in a different time period. Is their future set in stone or can they rewrite history. It was truly an enjoyable story. I would have no issue with my own children reading the story, but as I work in a fairly conservative school district, I’m not sure if it would be appropriate for the elementary library. Many of my students are intrigued by the paranormal, but the verdict is still out on whether I should provide them with a book that encourages the use of a Ouija board.

Loved the story! It was so believable! I felt a part of the story -- and wanted to be right there with them!! I loved it!!!

I adored this middle grade book about two kids, Josie and Alec, who live in the same house but 100 years apart.  The author does an excellent job showing how a teen from 2015 would try to explain the future to another teen in 1915 and vice versa.  I loved the way they were able to communicate and how Alec would find letters and other messages from Josie hidden in the house.  This books does have a happy ending but not in the way you would think.  Wanting to know if Josie and Alec get to meet in some sort of time and space plot twist, is what kept me reading. Also,I highly recommend this fun and heart filled book.  It releases in May.