A YA novel managed to slip past my filters! That's ok though, because I do have a soft spot for A. R. Capetta. Unfortunately, this book didn't really hit for me, even taking into account the fact that I don't read YA much these days. YA just doesn't hit the way it did when I was fourteen and reading 4 books a week because I felt a profound sense of alienation from my peers. And also because I'm in my twenties now and don't really want to read about teenagers.

I'm not quite sure what the book could have done to be a better read for me. I found the characters and dialogue a little simplistic, but it works within the fairytale-like tone of the book. The themes feel a little on-the-nose, but again, it's YA, so the theming is often going to be clearer and more black-and-white than adult fantasy. It's all within genre norms, so it feels unfair for me to ding the book for it. I will ding the book for the sudden POV shifts being a little confusing, and for the somewhat confusing element of how the time travel magic worked? I would have liked just a little bit more of an explanation.

For things I did like, the time travel plot was lots of fun, and the mystery was compelling (the resolution left a little bit to be desired, but it works with what the novel is doing thematically)! Callisto and Fawkes had a cute romance, and I always like to see trans characters in YA who aren't modern day characters dealing with coming out in high school. It's like a little kiss to past me, who had Alex Fierro and just about nothing else.

I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 3 because I don't think it's fair to rate a YA book by my enjoyment when I don't really like YA anymore. I think I would have loved this book when I was 15, but unfortunately I am no longer 15. I recommend if you are 15 though!

ᨳ᭬ ⭑ | dnf @40% ࿐ྂ

I wanted to love this so much, but I've accepted that it just isn't for me.

No matter how hard I try, I can't get into the story.

I wish every book was about queer time travel, tbh. And this one truly had the greatest concept. It's about this dimension called Pocket that every traveler has to cross before the intended destination in time can be reached. Pocket tends to all the needs a time traveler might have on their journey, from time-specific knowledge to translations of old languages to the era-appropriate clothing. Providing the latter is the job of Calisto, who happily spent their entire life in the place out of time – until they meet Fawkes, a boy who blindly stumbles from one time to the next. From there on unfolds a chaotic time travel adventure with both characters never really knowing where and when they will end up next. While I did like the time traveling, I wish the book focused more on Pocket and explored the world in detail. It's full of diverse characters with interesting professions that were mostly only mentioned briefly. The whole book is fairly short, and maybe a full-length novel would have been the better choice for that great of a concept. I still liked it a lot, and the plot about the time wardens hunting Calisto and Fawkes reminded me a lot of the "Loki" tv series. I am convinced that this book is at least partly inspired by that show, with all the talk about the true timeline and certain decisions causing it to branch. Not a bad piece of media to be compared to, if you asked me.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Utterly charming and magical premise. But ... kinda wanted more from the costume side of things? Maybe it's just my nerd brain, but I wanted MORE about the weird and wonderful fashions of history! More about Pocket! More of the whimsy of being a rest stop for time travellers! Instead it's 99% time travel shenaniganery (which is fun too, but .. Idk I can never make perfect sense of it) and plot threads that I didn't care about as much as that first glimmer into Pocket. Still. A+ concept. Adorable queer romance. Cute, cozy, quick.