This book has an interesting idea but just moves too slowly for the age group it is aimed at. I have more perseverance than many student readers, but it lagged for me, too. I really wanted to love this book....

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy I received of this book. I held off writing a review, because I abandoned the book. I was not impressed with the beginning and didn't feel optimistic it would get better. The premise sounded like something I would enjoy very much, based on previous books I've read, but the reviews I checked out made me think I made the right choice to abandon this story.

I chose this book based on the description, a magic object that allowed a group of children to travel back in time and potentially change history, a really cool idea, and one with lots of potential.
Unfortunately I really struggled with this book. The characters felt flat and unbelievable,and the pacing was really really slow, especially for a book aimed at a middle grade/teen audience. The first two thirds of the book were really repetitive, and felt like build up, It was only at that point that the time travel aspect kicked in, and unfortunately there was not enough book left for it to be allowed to develop in a satisfying way. The ending was also disappointing, there were too many coincidences and out of nowhere revelations used to wrap up various plot points. The ending suggests that there may be more books to come featuring these characters, unfortunately I will not be reading them.