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The Tides of Time
Jaz is horrified to find that her mother is talking about starting a new family with the world's worst creep - Dave. What chance is there for a reconciliation between her mother and father with nerdy Dave around?
Then an accident plummets Jaz back to the 1880s, and what she discovers forces her to reassess her life and the people in it.
Then an accident plummets Jaz back to the 1880s, and what she discovers forces her to reassess her life and the people in it.
- GenresTime TravelFiction
218 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
35 people want to read
About the author
Zana Bell
11 books15 followersZana Bell grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe and studied English Literature at the University of Cape Town. After travelling for several years doing a wide range of jobs, she immigrated to New Zealand where she now lives with her family and cats in a small harbourside community.
She began writing, just for the fun of seeing whether she could actually complete a novel and immediately became hooked. Research is her primary love and writing gives her an excellent excuse to be obsessive or just plain nosey. She enjoys writing in a variety of genre but has a particular fondness for all things historical.
She began writing, just for the fun of seeing whether she could actually complete a novel and immediately became hooked. Research is her primary love and writing gives her an excellent excuse to be obsessive or just plain nosey. She enjoys writing in a variety of genre but has a particular fondness for all things historical.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 31, 2022
A story about Jaz, a 14/15 year old whose mother has just got a new guy so they've shifted to Wanganui to live with him. She doesn't fit in with any of the groups at school and she is determined to think Dave a nerd and hate him as she'd always hoped her parents would get back together although her Dad ran out on them.
Then she goes back in time to 1886 and meets Martha, and lives with her for a few months, learning how good things are in the future in terms of her own life, education, and opportunities, and how nice Dave is. Martha's Dad is handsome and charming but he never finishes anything, he leaves her to work the farm himself while he works as a boatbuilder or drinks with the boys, and he embarrasses her in public with his drunkenness. She and Martha become firm friends and carve it on the bottom of the table. Jaz also meets some of the local teenagers and they are nice. She really likes (and it is reciprocal) Duncan, who is a bit of a hooner in his boat and goes out on dangerous days (likened to boys of our age car racing). She and Martha build a boat and on their maiden voyage a storm comes up and she falls over; Martha thinks she has drowned but has really gone back to the future.
When Jaz awakes she discovers she was in a coma for two months and only has snatches of memory/dream of what happened. But it has influenced her - she is kinder to Dave, and makes efforts at making friends and improving her schoolwork so can become an architect. Then her Mum brings home the table with the carving under it and she (seems to) remember everything and finds out from a local historian what happened to Martha.
Martha took on board her ideas: became a doctor, suffragette, and lived with a man without marriage for many many years then returned there to die. The sad thing was that the triumph of their boat building was ruined by Jaz's 'drowning' and Martha never sailed again.
The story of Manaia follows through the book - the mountain rocks are meant to be a Maori chief, Manaia, who freaked out when his wife had an affair with another chief, and before he could kill them, they and their kids turned to stone. His lesson to her is to forgive and give family a chance.
There is also a commentary on bodies and the body beautiful across history: Jaz feels bad that her body has "fat thighs" (126) but learns from Martha that in the past bigger is beautiful so it is all random. She also learns how 20thC self-consciousness places restrictions on our bodies e.g. to free her voice for singing. At the same time though there is a dialogue about how Martha (tall, thin, woman of the past) works harder, is physically fitter; and Jaz decides needs to tone up, exercise her body when gets back, not lie around watching TV and eating chocolate.
The message of the novel is one of learning and hope: her pact with Martha is to make the most of what she has got and take advantage of her opportunities and make opportunities if she doesn't get given them. The novel ends with the thought that Martha did it so now it is up to her.
Then she goes back in time to 1886 and meets Martha, and lives with her for a few months, learning how good things are in the future in terms of her own life, education, and opportunities, and how nice Dave is. Martha's Dad is handsome and charming but he never finishes anything, he leaves her to work the farm himself while he works as a boatbuilder or drinks with the boys, and he embarrasses her in public with his drunkenness. She and Martha become firm friends and carve it on the bottom of the table. Jaz also meets some of the local teenagers and they are nice. She really likes (and it is reciprocal) Duncan, who is a bit of a hooner in his boat and goes out on dangerous days (likened to boys of our age car racing). She and Martha build a boat and on their maiden voyage a storm comes up and she falls over; Martha thinks she has drowned but has really gone back to the future.
When Jaz awakes she discovers she was in a coma for two months and only has snatches of memory/dream of what happened. But it has influenced her - she is kinder to Dave, and makes efforts at making friends and improving her schoolwork so can become an architect. Then her Mum brings home the table with the carving under it and she (seems to) remember everything and finds out from a local historian what happened to Martha.
Martha took on board her ideas: became a doctor, suffragette, and lived with a man without marriage for many many years then returned there to die. The sad thing was that the triumph of their boat building was ruined by Jaz's 'drowning' and Martha never sailed again.
The story of Manaia follows through the book - the mountain rocks are meant to be a Maori chief, Manaia, who freaked out when his wife had an affair with another chief, and before he could kill them, they and their kids turned to stone. His lesson to her is to forgive and give family a chance.
There is also a commentary on bodies and the body beautiful across history: Jaz feels bad that her body has "fat thighs" (126) but learns from Martha that in the past bigger is beautiful so it is all random. She also learns how 20thC self-consciousness places restrictions on our bodies e.g. to free her voice for singing. At the same time though there is a dialogue about how Martha (tall, thin, woman of the past) works harder, is physically fitter; and Jaz decides needs to tone up, exercise her body when gets back, not lie around watching TV and eating chocolate.
The message of the novel is one of learning and hope: her pact with Martha is to make the most of what she has got and take advantage of her opportunities and make opportunities if she doesn't get given them. The novel ends with the thought that Martha did it so now it is up to her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2025
Found this book in the Copland Hut and couldn’t put it down so had to take it I’m sorry.
It’s a scholastic book made for kids/teens set in the 1990s. The character travels back in time to the same nz town in the 1880s. It’s really interesting to see what life may have been like in New Zealand way back then. Awesome that some of the events and the descriptions of the area were grounded in truth. I’m unsure if this is white washing or not (they say history is written by the victors) but the characters of the 1880s were horrified by the industrialisation of the 1990s and claiming they had moved to NZ to not make the same mistakes as in Britain. Where did we go wrong!? The word Māori is written without a macron so, again, not sure how accurate the history is but wonderful to hear about the Māori myth of Mt Manaia and the stability of this mountain throughout the book and for the main character. Made me appreciate mountains!
It was heartbreaking to read about the comparison between the 1880s being quieter, full of native bush and wildlife, and slower living and then comparing it to the 1990s in the book and then to my own life and NZ in 2025.
I did feel the book was prompting women to ‘be whatever they want to be’ which is a bit old fashioned now that women these days out number men at university. It was a really cool book and I did not expect it to be so meaningful. I am really fascinated by NZ fiction/ history and to read this after the denniston rose book (set in denniston Nz around 1860) was interesting as there were similarities: the drinking culture was rife and the people were self sufficient. It appears it will never be a good time for women. Made me want to go back in time and climb mountains under a full moon. I hate my phone!
It’s a scholastic book made for kids/teens set in the 1990s. The character travels back in time to the same nz town in the 1880s. It’s really interesting to see what life may have been like in New Zealand way back then. Awesome that some of the events and the descriptions of the area were grounded in truth. I’m unsure if this is white washing or not (they say history is written by the victors) but the characters of the 1880s were horrified by the industrialisation of the 1990s and claiming they had moved to NZ to not make the same mistakes as in Britain. Where did we go wrong!? The word Māori is written without a macron so, again, not sure how accurate the history is but wonderful to hear about the Māori myth of Mt Manaia and the stability of this mountain throughout the book and for the main character. Made me appreciate mountains!
It was heartbreaking to read about the comparison between the 1880s being quieter, full of native bush and wildlife, and slower living and then comparing it to the 1990s in the book and then to my own life and NZ in 2025.
I did feel the book was prompting women to ‘be whatever they want to be’ which is a bit old fashioned now that women these days out number men at university. It was a really cool book and I did not expect it to be so meaningful. I am really fascinated by NZ fiction/ history and to read this after the denniston rose book (set in denniston Nz around 1860) was interesting as there were similarities: the drinking culture was rife and the people were self sufficient. It appears it will never be a good time for women. Made me want to go back in time and climb mountains under a full moon. I hate my phone!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews