The Boy from Tomorrow

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 :) .

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.

The Boy from Tomorrow by Camille Deangelis sounds like an instant time travel movie where people fall in love and all dreams come true. In reality, the novel spans time and space. It is time travel, but not in the way, I was expecting: it’s better.

When twelve-year-old Alec and his mom move into 444 Sparrow Street after her divorce from Alec’s father, he feels bittersweet of moving to the town he always wanted to live in, but without his dad. Alec did not expect the Ouija, a talking spirit board or having it write back that Alec was the spirit communicating! If it wasn’t a spirit on the other side then who was it?

Thus a crafty time travel device is born. There is a warning at the back of the book that if you use a spirit speaking board, it can be dangerous.

On the other side of the talking spirit board in 1915 is very lonely twelve-year-old Josephine, Josie Clifford, who lives with her little sister Cassie, her tutor Emily Jasper, and her very famous spiritual medium mother Lavinia Clifford.

As Alec and Josephine deepen their friendship through letters, Alec opens an entirely different world to Josephine. Then disaster strikes as her scamming, not–fit-to-be-a-mother- Lavinia takes control of the spirit board and demands answers upon answers from Alec concerning the future.

When Emily, Cassie and Josie’s tutor is taken away, the girls are locked into their house with no way out. However, when a gramophone is brought for tutoring lessons, Alec and Josie can hear each other’s voices along with Alec’s friend Danny, and Josie’s sister Cassie joins the fun.

Still, life is not pleasant for the girls, and something has to be done. Can Josie and her sister Cassie find a way to escape and live with their tutor Emily Jasper and her family? What can Alec tell them about their future; do they even want to know? Why does Cassie insist that her very ugly doll Mrs. Gubbins talks to her and can tell her some of the future?

The Boy from Tomorrow is a good story about a century-spanning friendship that brings life and love to two very lonely people and their families. I highly recommend it for any library.

This was a really excellent story. It started a little slower than I wanted, but picked up fairly quickly and I'm so glad I stuck with it, because it was lovely! What lonely little kid hasn't imagined they might one day stumble upon a friend, someone who would understand them and help make them feel more at home in their own skin? Now imagine if you could *actually* make such a friend - not an imaginary one, but one who is altogether real, albeit separated from you indefinitely by time and space?

Such is the magic of The Boy From Tomorrow.

Camille DeAngelis has crafted a beautiful, sweet, painful-to-read tale about the unique friendship that develops between Josie, a lonely twelve year old girl, and Alec, a slightly-less-lonely-but-still-searching-for-something twelve year old boy. Sounds fairly standard - until you add in the beautiful twist: for Josie, it is 1915, for Alec it is 2015. The beauty in the story arises as the differences between the children fade away, and the magic is wholly captured by the lovely prose in which DeAngelis lays out the burgeoning relationship between the two - a relationship that starts with a Ouija Board.

Josie (and her little sister Cass) live with a brutal, selfish, horrid "mother" who is a leading Spiritualist/Medium in early twentieth century New York City. The use of a self-proclaimed medium as antagonist was deliciously ironic, considering the magical twists and turns that the tale takes as true communication with "spirits" develops between the two kids. The story that unfolds is lyrical and moving, full of tidbits of history and family drama on both sides of the time divide (Alec's parents have just divorced). The story is, at times (especially in the beginning and whenever Cass's doll, Mrs. Gubbins, enter scene), eerie - until Josie and Alec figure out what is going on, there is a lot of confusion and fear, as one would expect if one was suddenly "communicating" with an actual Ouija Board. But the story unfolded at a solid pace, with just enough teasers about what was going on to keep me thoroughly engaged and curious to see what would come next. The supporting cast (particularly Danny, Alec's new real-time friend, and Emily, the girls' savior) was well-developed and provided a nice counterpoint to the main characters. And of course, the thoroughly distasteful Lavinia (Josie and Cass's mother) provided an excellent foil - she was horrid, but at just the right points to drive the story in a positive direction (if that makes any sense).

This was a really well-crafted tale about family - the ones we are born with and the ones we make for ourselves - and the importance of believing, no matter how odd things may seem, that magic really is possible...

This is the story of two very lonely children living in the same house. Danny and Josie are both 12, both being raised by single mothers, and both have a very real need for a friend.

The only trouble is, Josie is alive in 1915 and Danny is alive in 2015. A trifling matter.

This is an incredibly sweet and fun story. It's Middle Grade, skewing towards a slightly Coraline-level creep feel. (I had this thought before the book was mentioned by Danny, and felt vindicated). Josie and Danny communicate first through a "talking board" (a much more pleasant way to say Ouija board), then through letters written by Josie and found by Danny. Danny occasionally finds the letters before Josie has written them.

And finally, the two learn they can communicate via a very old gramophone. There, they amuse each other with their different ways of speaking, Josie's little sister Cass tells Danny of her doll that can predict the future even better than her and Josie's mother, and Danny plays rock music that completely throws Josie for a loop.

The under current to their friendship is the horrible home life Josie and her sister are subjected to. Tutored at home rather than allowed to go to school, they are raised by a cruel mother. Lavinia Clifford is psychic to high society, written about in magazines and visited from all over the country. And also, she locks her children in cupboards for hours when they make her angry. She's an absolute terror.

Is it her friendship with Danny that will save her future, and her sister's? This is Middle Grade, and it's not Christopher Pike we're dealing with, so you know nothing too bad will happen. But the suspense is real, and the desire for Cass and Josie to make it is intense. And also the hope, the seemingly impossible hope, that Danny and Josie will get to meet someday, as impossible as it may seem.

Absolutely delightful.

And I'd like to thank the author for the foot note at the very, very end, about taking care when using a 'talking board'. Because that part....made me slightly uncomfortable.

4.5 Stars

Shortest synopsis would be: This is a story of three kids who found a way/s to communicate with each other despite their timeline differences, that led one to help the other two secure their future.
But since I'm so generous, I can give you more than that one long sentence. Alec, a 12-year old from 2015, just recently moved in 444 Sparrow Street with her mom when he found an Ouija board that somehow introduced him to Josie(12) and Cassie(6-7), sisters from 1915 who are living with their mother who is a medium. Their exchanges eventually turned into some hard twists but at the same time, the realization that Alec can somehow help the sisters in their predicament with their abusive mother became obvious and he's set just to do that. But is that even possible when their century apart? And how can they change a future when it's already past.
♥♥♥MY THOUGHTS♥♥♥
Here's a fact, I'm not really into Middle Grades because I never expect them to stir emotions from me, and I want my reads touch my emotions in any way. But THIS BOOK certainly stirred my emotions in a mess, wrecked way. AND I LOVE IT.

Though this story tackled some serious, sensitive issues, I still find it a sweet story of friendship, learning how to value and treasure it no matter the circumstance. This book even teaches that life is what you make it, at least that's the message I got from it. The MCs, Alec and the sisters, Josie and Cassie are not the most extraordinary characters there are in Fiction, but they are unforgettable still. And thanks to the author's amazing talent, it was very easy to connect with them. Halfway through, I found myself connected aching for them. I didn't even see that coming. Like I said I never thought a Middle Grade book could stir such emotions from me.

I want to emphasize that I love the author's writing. It was simple yet very descriptive and vivid, it makes the characters and setting so alive and every scene believable. The plot is unique and well-developed. The little history, especially the thing about Psychic are fascinating subjects that was handled well. Same with the abuse. It was handled well too as wasn't romanticized and glossed.

Now why I didn't give it 5 Stars? At the end there were some points that are left still mysterious and unexplained. But I think the author left it that way so the younger readers don't get confused that much. Besides, the idea of time travelling and talking to someone you can't see are already enough confusing for younger minds. (though I don't really call what happened Time Travelling)

And yeah, the ending was bittersweet,

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. In one sentence I can say this book is very engaging, fascinating, magical, emotional and simply amazing. It transcends all my expectation.

I love a book that's filled with mystery and a little time travel! I read this with my son who is 11 and we were both captivated!! The main characters Josie Clifford and Alec Frost live in the same house, but 100 years apart. They are able to connect and become friends by using a spirit board that belongs to Josie's Mom. During their growing friendship, which I thought was beautifully written... very appropriate and not filled with sappiness, Alec discovers the Josie and her Sister have a horrible Mom. Alec gets down to business as he searches for clues to figure out what happened in this house to the girls.
Both of us really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of something I would have read in middle school, perfect age for innocent friendship that turns into a race against time to save the girl. I do agree with my son that reading about Josie's life back 100 years ago was very interesting and made you connect deeply with them. Even Alec was lovable as he was dealing with his own issues too with a newly broken up family.
I wouldn't change a thing, I think this book was wonderfully written and will capture the hearts of both young and old....I say this as I'm still holding on to the faces of these kiddos in my mind even after finishing the book days ago.

I like this kind of story very much, despite it being written for a younger audience and lacking a more philosphical depth. Nevertheless the unusual connection between “Past and Future” via a Ouija board is incredibly interesting as a premise alone. The protagonists soon meet the same essential questions I had from the moment I read the blurb (on netgalley. So many thanks for granting me the opportunity to read this beautiful book!). Of course the how first but that becomes irrelevant so quickly that an answer no longer matters. More pressing are the struggles what to keep from the people in the past and what (and how) to tell them in order to set events in motion that will have happened. Bit of the usual “time manipulation/travel mindf*ckery” here but not in a headache inducing way. The future (Alec) has an influence on the past (Josie) and vice versa. Mixed in with a bit of gothic charme, con artists and love affairs… Very up my street.

Alec and Josie are both twelve years old, but they are separated in time by one hundred years. Alec lives in the house Josie and her family lived in previously and when they discover they can communicate with each other they form a friendship. Both Alec and Josie learn about each other's family situations and their friendship changes their lives. This is a unique time travel story with magic and some suspense.

Alec Frost and Josie Clifford, along with her sister Cass, are best friends, but they have never seen each other in person. The girls live in the same house as Alec, but 100 years in the past. They all live at 444 Sparrow Street, but the girls are there in 1915 and Alec is in 2015. They communicate by using a spirit or talking board, which we today call a Ouija board. Josie’s mother is a psychic who conducts séances in her home.

The friendship develops over time and, as the kids get to know each other, Alec realizes that the girls might be in danger from their abusive mother.

The time travel aspect of this book was interesting because it was done in a completely new way. The kids didn’t step into a time machine or a portal or anything that’s been done before. They communicated with the talking board. Josie’s mother, Lavinia Clifford, is horrible to her children! When she discovers their communications with Alec, she uses it for her own gain, forcing Alec to tell her things about the future in exchange for communicating with Josie. Then, they find the phonograph and wax cylinders and are able to continue to communicate without the mother’s knowledge. Josie is also able to pass notes to Alec by hiding them places in the house where he might find them in the future. I thought that was really cool.

Cass has an odd doll named Mrs. Gubbins. One mystery of the novel is: who is she? How is it that she can communicate? Cass talks to the doll and the doll tells her things that no one the girl’s age can know. What happens to Mrs. Gubbins in Alec’s time? Does she communicate with him? We never really learn much about Mrs. Gubbins’ history, which was disappointing.

The girls are never allowed to leave their home. Their abusive mother keeps them out of school and inside all the time. She locks Cass in a cabinet as punishment, or locks the girls in their room. There are other incidents of cruelty that could be disturbing to young readers. These incidents are treated as part of the story and are essential to show that the girls are in danger in their own home. These things could bring up bad feelings in readers though. I would suggest maybe offering some resources at the end of the book for kids who may find themselves in similar situations.

Alec has made a couple friends in his new home and one, Danny, is very helpful to him. They conduct their own research into the history of the house, visiting the library and the local graveyard for answers. Alec is not sure if he wants to find the graves of his friends from 100 years before though.

Alec’s mother thinks he is having troubles due to her divorce and sends him to a counselor. When she eventually does learn the truth though, it’s surprising that she believes Alec. But, she does and she supports him, which is refreshing, especially after seeing how poorly the girls’ mother treats them.

I thought the main characters were all well developed. The book itself can be described as part mystery, part paranormal, part time travel, part historical fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it and rate it as one of my top two books of 2018 so far. I did wish the ending had been a little different. I wanted Alec to be more eager to find out what happened and go visit the address. I wanted there to be a ton of letters telling him all about Josie’s life. I guess I was hoping that the book would not end. I wanted there to be more.

There is a good word of advice at the end that warns of the dangers of using Ouija boards. I was glad to see that. It’s not really something to play with and kids might be tempted after reading this novel.

Overall, I give this book my highest rating. You will love it.

If the first paragraph summary does not intrigue you... I do not know what will. I was hooked. The plot of the novel was so original and creative throughout the novel. I have never read a novel with such a premise.

The story is told with alternate points of view from our two main characters, Josie and Alec. There are some dark topics in the book's plot that I would not recommend for young children, but as an adult I appreciated. I would suggest a parent read this novel before deciding to let their child read it. The book covers spirits, abuse, divorce, and the use of an Ouija board. I think the author did a well job of handling these dark topics without glamorizing them or glorifying them. 

I was a little let down from the ending.. I wanted a little more. I think I would have honestly preferred a cliffhanger instead, so I could let my brain run wild with all the possibilities. Surprising I know, like who wants a cliffhanger?! Overall I highly recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys middle grade. I think this book is highly under-hyped. It deserves so much more!

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book. I am so glad I got to read this delightful story.

Time travel has always fascinated me and I have loved shows like Quantum Leap, the Sandra Bullock movie "Lake House" and the book "The Time Traveller's Wife." There was much to love about this story as Alec and his friend Sammy in 2015 seek to stay in contact with Josie and Cass in 1915. Their connection does start with a conversation or ouija board, but the author tells kids at the end to leave these devices to fiction and I really appreciate that. There is much to learn about being a good sister and a friend through some tough circumstances from this book. Would make a fascinating read aloud. Recommended!

Josie, Cassie and Alec all live at 444 Sparrow Street and sleep in the same room but have never seen each other in person. Why? Because Josie and Cassie are in the year 1915 and Alec is in 2015. Somehow, despite being a hundred years apart, the two girls and Alec can speak to each other through a talking board.

Alec Frost is a kind 12-year-old boy who finally got his wish of living away from the city by moving to a small town with his mum. The only downside is that his father will not be joining them. His parents are getting a divorce and while it does have some effect on him, he handles the situations really well.

Josie Clifford is the same age as Alec - just a hundred years before - and she did not believe it possible to talk to someone from the future despite her mother, Lavina Clifford, being known for her abilities to talk to the dead. Josie is a clever and polite young lady, but thanks to her mothers fear or dislike of people and the outside world, she is not allowed to go to school. Being trapped in a house with a mother with no time for her children, a handful of servants, her little sister, Cassie, and their tutor, Emily Jasper. 

Cassie is a spirited child with a heart of gold but a knack for getting herself into trouble. She also has the habit of saying strange things on behalf of Mrs Gubbins, her dirty and tatty looking doll. Cassie wants nothing more than her mother's love and is denied it. Luckily for both of the Clifford girls, Emily is there and she cares about both of the girls more than most tutors would. 

I love how the book started - both groups thinking the other were ghosts. It was an interesting, entertaining, heartwarming and heartbreaking story all at once. The plot was brilliant and I enjoyed the mystery elements that were an underlying feature to be wrapped up at the end. The writing style appropriate for younger readers but still engaging enough for older audiences and I enjoyed the layout of the story with the alternating points of view and time periods. Both Alec and Josie were lovely characters to read the story through and most of the characters in the book were well developed and just complex enough for their role in the story.

I could not be happier with this book and I believe it will be one of my favourite reads of 2018!

This book was a really cute read! I'm really glad that I read it. Josie Clifford and Alec Frost live in the same house, 100 years apart, and forge a friendship by using a talking board. This was really interesting in the way that it was set up because it wasn't really a time travel book, but it had a similar quality to it, as these two friends were able to communicate even with time separating them.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints between the past (Josie) and the present (Alec). I really liked this setup and I liked being able to get glimpses into both of their lives. However, I felt that the balance between the two viewpoints was tipped in favor of Josie. We really got to see more of her world, and the people in her life much more than Alec, which made his chapters a little more one dimensional and not as deep.

There are some tough concepts in this book, mostly the abuse that Josie and her younger sister Cass suffer at the hands of their mother, but I think it is well done and it is never glamorized or romanticized. In fact, Alec is completely shocked when he finds out, and decides to do everything in his power to try to help them.

I was a little surprised that there wasn't more conflict at the end of the novel, but this didn't detract from the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to any one who enjoys middle grade novels.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to know the people who lived in your house before you did? Especially if your house is over 100 years old? This book might get your juices flowing. The Boy From Tomorrow is a delightful book. Children of all ages will love exploring and getting to know the past with Alec while rooting for Josie and Cass to thrive in the midst of their uncontrollable living situation.
This book has adventure, human relationship teaching moments and a loveable, (and hateful) cast mixed into a story to make you dream you had some way to connect with the people who lived in your home too.
The author, Camille DeAngelis has a smooth, relatable style of writing. One that makes you feel as if you are living with Josie and Cass in the 1915’s. Her story moves in and out of the past but not distractingly like some books I’ve read in the last few months. The makes for an ease that lets your soul wander into the story.
I suggest that you buy this book for your child when it is released May 8th, 2018 or preorder it. It’s that good.
I received this book from Amberjack Publishing via NetGalley in lieu of my honest opinion.

I wasn’t sure about this book. I thought it would be like every other time travel book but I was quite wrong. I’m so glad I read it

This is from an advance review copy for which I thank the publisher.

I loved this novel! Josephine and Cassandra are sisters living in Edwardstown, New York State, in 1915. Their mother is a medium who may or may not be genuine, but she is also a cruel and vengeful schemer who thinks nothing of forcing her younger daughter, Cassie, to eat a whole pudding that she naughtily sampled, even if it makes her sick. She thinks nothing of confining the rebellious Cassie to a cupboard for an entire day for speaking back to her, not even lettign ehr out for a bathroom visit. The two daughters are kept cut-off from society and are essentially prisoners.

A century away from this drama, Alec, who happens to be pretty much the same age as Josie, together with his divorced mother, moves into that same address, and through an antique Ouija board which Alec discovers in the house, he somehow miraculously makes contact with Josie, and they become friends. Unfortunately, Josie's mother learns of her Ouija board assignations and seeks to tap Alec's future information for her own ends, holding Josie hostage to force him to meet her demands.

The story is told in third person (thank you, Camille DeAngelis, you are a goddess amongst YA and middle-grade authors!), and it alternates from Alec's perspective to Josie's, and back again with each chapter and without losing moment or engagement. Despite its length, it makes for a fast and easy read, brings the reader in from the start, and holds them captive rather like poor Cassie and Josie are captive, but by a lot more pleasant means! I really enjoyed this book it was original entertaining, and a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend it.

One hundred years apart, living in the same house, Alec meets Josie and her sister Cass through a talking (Ouija) board. What develops is a friendship spanning a century, and beyond a lifetime.

Josie and her little sister Cass live in 1915 with their mother, a famed medium. Josie has her doubts about her mother's powers. If she can truly speak to the dead, why has she never been able to speak to the her father? Despite her doubts, Josie is drawn to her mother's forbidden reading room. While playing with her mother's talking board, an elegant gift from the medium's best client, Josie, Cass, and their tutor Emily, make contact with Alec. After convincing the girls he is not a spirit but a boy from the future, a fast friendship develops. However, the more Alec learns about Josie and Cass, and their mother, the more concerned he becomes for their safety. From a century away, Alec works to help Josie and Cass. He faces the difficult decision of just how much of the future to share with them, and conflict with himself about whether he really wants to find out the truth of what fate may have befallen Josie and Cass.

The characters are so realistic and well-developed, and the contrast between the time periods vividly portrayed. The addition of Mrs. Gubbins, Cass's doll who only talks to her, was unsettling even to me as an adult (in a good scary-movie kind of way). She's very interesting - I really wanted to know more about who or what Mrs. Gubbins actually was... but she's really left quite the mystery. Cass often relays information to those around her as "Mrs. Gubbins says...." and Mrs. Gubbins says some vague but strange things about witches and bad men and predictions about the future - things no seven year old would know. And Cass often has to apologize for relaying information Mrs. Gubbins says she shouldn't have shared. She definitely adds a shivers-up-your-spine factor, but I liked her.

The book is appropriately targeted to middle grade audiences. I think it might be a little scary for younger kids, especially because of some of the cruelty of the girls' mother - nothing graphic, just unsettling. The book does talk about the medium having spirit guides from ages past, and them speaking through her. The only thing the talking board is used for is speaking to Alec, and for kids today who are not familiar with the idea of a Ouija board, parents may want to explain what a Ouija board really is. The author actually puts a rather stern warning at the end that speaking to living people across time is not the purpose of a typical "talking board" and more or less that one should be extremely cautious of the real deal. So, ultimately, some parental guidance suggested, but no major red flags.

As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and recommend it to any lovers of historical fiction and any adult who enjoys young adult books. For young adults, I think this is engrossing historical fiction in a time when historical fiction is less and less interesting to kids.

Historical sci-fi seems to be a thing now, and this book is one of the better versions! Alec and his mom move into a lovely old Victorian after his parents' divorce. Feeling lonely, Alec tries out a 'spirit board', contacting Josie and Cass, who also live in his house, but in 1915. Alec and Josie become fast friends through this strange communication across time, and Alec comes to realise that although the girls may live in the past, his actions may be needed to save them from becoming spirits too soon.
I definitely cried a few times reading this, but it was worth it.

The magic of possibilities, the mystery of an old home with stories to tell. A young girl who was twelve years old in 1915 and a twelve year old boy in 2015 share their stories through time and form a friendship that will forever change them both.

Josie and Alec were born a century apart, but the house at 444 Sparrow Street would help them transcend time to form a bond that would teach them both about life, grasping at what you want and taking a chance on believing in the unbelievable. It all started with a magic spirit board, found by Alec in the old house he had just moved into. That board would connect him to Josie and the opportunity to change her life for the better, even at the risk of them never connecting again.

THE BOY FROM TOMORROW by Camille DeAngelis is a beautiful opportunity for young readers to feel the magic that words create as they are transported to another time and place. Simple and warm, this tale gives young readers a chance to exercise their limitless imaginations as they witness a budding friendship between two children who should never have met.

What a marvelous opportunity to fall in love with books and reading! Camille DeAngelis’s tale is one that is ageless as we witness the helplessness of children caught up in abuse who are aided by a boy determined to help them, even if their future is his past. In a world of technology, it is refreshing to watch a young boy use old-fashioned detective work and the resources of a library to uncover the fate of the girls he met through time and possibly the magic of a child’s favorite doll.

With an ending that is almost bittersweet, we see the chance for a new beginning for both Josie and Alec, even a century apart in time! Can we ever give our children enough magic to feed their imaginations or enough opportunities to witness and trust in innocent kindnesses?

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Amberjack Publishing!

Publisher: Amberjack Publishing (May 6, 2018)
Publication Date: May 6, 2018
Genre: Middlegrade/YA Fantasy
Print Length: 268 Pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News: http://tometender.blogspot.com

Imagine making a new friend who lives in the same house as you, but is a hundred years away from you. This is the plot of this book.

In 2015, Alec Frost, 12 years old, moves into a old house, and while exploring it, discovers a ouija board. He starts using it and who answers him? Josie Clifford, also 12, with her sister Cass, who live in the exact same house, but in 1915.

I absolutely love friendship stories, and this one had a twist I knew I would love it very much. It was so beautiful and at the same time so painful to read about Josie, Cass and Alec becoming friends, even though they are not alive at the same time. Knowing the only thing they could offer the other were words. But it was so well done. They help each other with their problems and I think it was really the right time for them to “meet”.

I didn’t want the book to end, for their story to end, I had tears running down my face with all these feelings I was having, but I am so glad I read it. I loved watching them learning more from the past/future from the other. It was really precious.

I loved The Boy from Tomorrow! I was easily able to suspend my disbelief and become engrossed in the likeable characters and their problems. The "evil" character was not one dimensional. I loved the way the story ended. Not all questions were answered but the reader is given clues to the answers as the story ends. I couold not put this book down. If I taught middle grades ELA, this is definitely a book I would add to my classroom library. I think it could be a great read aloud in 3rd or 4th grade. Just a wonderful story!

Three children live in the same house, their bedroom is the same room, and they are 100 years apart. Josie, Cassie and Alec are the children who live at 444 Sparrow Street. However, Josie and Cassie live in 1915 while Alec lives in 2015. Yet somehow, they are able to communicate through a Ouiji board in real time. What unravels is a story not so much about spirits or time travel, but rather about children who reach across the span of time to help each other when they need it the most.

This story is about love; love between sisters, love between a mother and her child, love between children and their governess, and love between friends who have never met. It is also a story about a mother who is not equipped to love her children, no matter how good they are and the fallout that can ensue when they are forced to live with each other.

This is a great story for young adults because it tells about a friendship that can cross time itself and how siblings can save each other when they need it. It is a magical story with dolls that can talk and boards that work like telephones. It also shows the love that adults can have for children, even if they are not their own, and what can happen when that love is so powerful it can protect when danger presents itself.

This story is a great read and hard to put down once you start. There are some disturbing details in the story (mild physical abuse), but that is necessary to fully understand what the girls go through and why Alec has such a profound effect on their lives.

I LOVED this story! It's a heartwarming story of two 22 year olds from two different time periods whomshare the same room in a home. I love the time travel experience and I thinkmkids will love the transition as they read!

Camille DeAngelis’ The Boy from Tomorrow is a tale of two children living at 444 Sparrow Street in the fictional town of Edwardstown in the Adirondacks exactly one century apart. Twelve-year-old Alec Frost’s fragile mother is still reeling from her husband’s leaving her for a young blonde, and he has no friends after leaving New York City. Josie Clifford, only slightly younger and tutored at home with her mischievous 6-year-old sister Cassie, is very rarely allowed to venture from home in 1915 by her cold, selfish mother, Lavinia Clifford, a well-known spiritualist medium of the day; consequently, Josie’s tutor, kindly Emily Jasper, is the girl’s only friend. Josie and Alec encounter each other thanks to a splendid, one-of-kind Ouija board (then known as “spirit boards” or “talking boards”), one of the tools of Lavinia’s trade. Both commiserate over their difficult families and delight in discovering the day-to-day life of 1915 and 2015.

DeAngelis weaves a pretty good narrative, alternating between Josie’s timeline and Alec’s, with plenty of suspense and unforeseen twists. The very last chapter was a bit weak, although not enough to ruin the pleasure of this middle-grade marvel with a wonderful message. Adults will, of course, understand DeAngelis’ novel at a different level than will children, but both will be glad they read The Boy from Tomorrow.

Lastly, the pen-and-ink drawings by Agnieska Grochalska perfectly complement both ends of the narrative.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

My many thanks to Camille DeAngelis and Amberjack Publishing for providing me ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a house, a space of some hundred years, a boy, two girls, the uncertainty and mystery that is time.

Five lovely stars for this one.

I didn't know what to expect when I begin, but the moment I read the words 'time travel' I downloaded it without even reading the blurb completely. It was my first middle-grade book after HP series and I loved every bit of it. The book is as mysterious as it is endearing. Your heart is gripped by the constant flow of emotions that keeps oscillating from joy to sadness and then to child like wonder and back again.. I believe the book successively transcends the target audience and you will find yourself engaged as soon as you begin reading.

The author did a splendid work of making the characters memorable, little Cassie was too cute to put into words, little Josie and Alec were adorable and Mrs. Clifford was a thing of nightmare.

The book is still available on Net Galley for FREE, I strongly urge you to download it and have the pleasure of reading a really good book!

[Spoilers Ahead]


I was so afraid that the grave would be of Cassie and I have no doubt in my mind if they did not have the connection to the future it could have been.

I ship Alec and Josie - I wanted them to meet and have a chance. The ending made me cry. I don't hate the ending but...but..

Oh well, Mrs.Grubbins NEED a book of her own. I need to need who she was/is and where she is and whether she found a listening ear like Cassie.

Such a sweet middle grade novel, with two timelines, and an adorable friendship. I think this book will appeal to many age ranges, but I would caution my more sensitive students because there is some child abuse in this novel. Overall, I would definitely add this to my classroom library- very unique story which is refreshing in the world of middle grade.