Time Writer

by Dani Camarena, Robin DeWitt (Illustrator), Patricia Dewitt-Grush (Illustrator)

Twelve-year-old author-in-training and gadget-making enthusiast, Issy Garcia, dreams of bringing her steampunk inventions to life. If only she could convince her scientist parents to share space with her in their backyard barn lab. But they won't let Issy near their precious "real science" experiments. That is until they end up stuck in one. When a mysterious storm hovers over her family's new home in Cornville, Arizona, and rogue lightning streaks through the house, Issy's parents go missing. In the hunt for answers, she discovers Mamá and Papá stuck inside her latest story's world and the truth of their experiments - tachyons and time study. Clues and ingenuity lead to her parents' trail landing Issy in an alternate 1886 New York City filled with bizarre costumes, steam-powered machines, and automatons. Convinced her writing created this mess, Issy is determined to rescue her parents and shut down the time loop. Not an easy task with Time Pirates hunting her for unknown reasons. She must navigate the streets of New York with clever street orphan Mekasha and calculate a way to get everyone back home. Or be lost to her family forever, trapped in a world of steam and odd tech.

264 pages, Paperback

Published May 18, 2023

Reviews

[Kim Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I love time-travel stories and a book about a writer was an extra plus for me. (And that cover is so enticing) The fact that it involved time-travel to an alternate NYC in 1886 that was steampunk, was a bonus I was not expecting. It was an adventure, sometimes hairy, but with a lot of love and friendship and caring.
Another thing I loved about this book was the illustrations peppered throughout, they really bought the story to life. More books need to do this!
I enjoyed it a lot and am glad I found it.

[Keri McWhorter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations and blurb attracted me to this book. Loved the storyline and the characters. This was fun to follow and so creative. I passed it on to my 12-year-old son and he really enjoyed it. He asked if this author had any more books out that he could read.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Great elements of science, family, friendship building and so much more.