What do you think?
Rate this book
Arriving Through Time
Lizzie Alexander is your average sixteen year old high school student living in Jacksonville, Florida. But Lizzie’s life is about to get a lot more complicated as she and her friends stumble upon something that pushes them to the brink...and through time.
How do we become the person that we are meant to be? Is it just destiny or do the choices we make determine who we become in the future? What if you could change the past? Would you risk changing your future too or would you even want to?
Will Lizzie and her friends survive the past and find out the truth before time runs out?
A YA time travel novella that will not leave you disappointed!
How do we become the person that we are meant to be? Is it just destiny or do the choices we make determine who we become in the future? What if you could change the past? Would you risk changing your future too or would you even want to?
Will Lizzie and her friends survive the past and find out the truth before time runs out?
A YA time travel novella that will not leave you disappointed!
129 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2020
1 person is currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Heather L. Barksdale
2 books38 followersHeather L. Barksdale is a physical therapist, researcher, professor, military brat, book reviewer and novelist. She has traveled throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia seeking adventures with her husband. She is an avid fan of historical fiction and calls upon her adventures as inspiration for her stories. She and her husband share their home in Jacksonville, Florida where she enjoys snuggling her furbabies and rooting for the Jaguars.
https://linktr.ee/heatherlbarksdale
https://linktr.ee/heatherlbarksdale
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 31, 2020
Arriving through Time by Heather L. Barksdale is a Young Adult time travel novel. Lizzie has been through a family tragedy and is having a tough time, but she is supported by her two best friends, Sam and Jeremy. They are currently navigating high school life and dealing with bullies Gary and Tiffany. Then a class project has Lizzie wondering about her ancestors, and a school trip ends with the three friends hurtling through time, along with their bullies and Lizzie’s secret crush. Although at first it appears to be a freak occurrence, the time travel seems very designed, as all of the teens begin to meet long dead ancestors.
What I loved about this story is that it combined time travel fiction and genealogy, two of my favorite pastimes, and it did this in a clever way. A class project and a DNA test have brought questions about Lizzie’s ancestors to the surface, and unexpected time travel gives her a chance to get answers. This book reminds us that our ancestors were living, breathing, people, not just names on a family tree. They blazed the way for us, good and bad, and everything they did enabled us to be alive today. We also learn something along the way as we visit people and places that are important to American history.
I loved the way time took the six travelers to locations that were pertinent to all of them and their ancestors and gave them both answers and surprises. I find that in my own genealogy research.
If you are a fan of young adult novels, time travel, genealogy, and/or historical fiction, you will enjoy this book. I received a free copy of this book from the author. My review is voluntary.
What I loved about this story is that it combined time travel fiction and genealogy, two of my favorite pastimes, and it did this in a clever way. A class project and a DNA test have brought questions about Lizzie’s ancestors to the surface, and unexpected time travel gives her a chance to get answers. This book reminds us that our ancestors were living, breathing, people, not just names on a family tree. They blazed the way for us, good and bad, and everything they did enabled us to be alive today. We also learn something along the way as we visit people and places that are important to American history.
I loved the way time took the six travelers to locations that were pertinent to all of them and their ancestors and gave them both answers and surprises. I find that in my own genealogy research.
If you are a fan of young adult novels, time travel, genealogy, and/or historical fiction, you will enjoy this book. I received a free copy of this book from the author. My review is voluntary.
December 28, 2020
Arriving through time is a time-travelling story of six teenagers, fighting through their high school demons. They witness the history, and to comprehend what these events signify. And it also changes their perspectives.
Heather Barksdale, arriving through time, is an absolute delight to read. Imagine, as a teenager, one gets the choice to revisit history and witness the events we have learnt in our books. It will change the perspective of the individual.
The story is about six students of a high school who travel together in an unwilling event. They somehow stumble across a time portal or a wormhole that takes them through historical events, which also is related to each one of them. By the end, each of these students knows a little more about themselves and their families.
Lizzie is the main character, and she narrates the story in a conversation style. She’s a strong girl, despite her family issues and grief, she stays strong at the face of a problem or a bully.
The author has captured the concept of inquisitive adolescence where they hear about the family and like to know deeply about their roots and their eventual transformation to the present-day family.
Fun-loving tale of six teenagers is an entertainer from the start to finish. The book doesn’t lose its momentum. It presented the well-known events with intrigue.
The book deals with a contemporary teenage issue and presented a subtle solution to the problem.
My rating for the book is 4 stars.
Thank You, Heather Barksdale, for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Heather Barksdale, arriving through time, is an absolute delight to read. Imagine, as a teenager, one gets the choice to revisit history and witness the events we have learnt in our books. It will change the perspective of the individual.
The story is about six students of a high school who travel together in an unwilling event. They somehow stumble across a time portal or a wormhole that takes them through historical events, which also is related to each one of them. By the end, each of these students knows a little more about themselves and their families.
Lizzie is the main character, and she narrates the story in a conversation style. She’s a strong girl, despite her family issues and grief, she stays strong at the face of a problem or a bully.
The author has captured the concept of inquisitive adolescence where they hear about the family and like to know deeply about their roots and their eventual transformation to the present-day family.
Fun-loving tale of six teenagers is an entertainer from the start to finish. The book doesn’t lose its momentum. It presented the well-known events with intrigue.
The book deals with a contemporary teenage issue and presented a subtle solution to the problem.
My rating for the book is 4 stars.
Thank You, Heather Barksdale, for the copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
April 22, 2022
I received a copy of Arriving Through Time in exchange for an honest review. You can read the full review at https://jenniferdebie.com/book-review...
When Arriving Through Time's protagonist Lizzie Alexander and her classmates fall down a hole on a school fieldtrip, it’s not wonderland they land in. Rather, they find themselves in first one perilous time and place and then another, and then several more after that. Clocking in at just under 130 pages, Arriving Through Time lives somewhere in the sweet spot between novella and novel length, and because of that has to move at a pretty rapid pace as these teens fall through era after era, chasing family secrets that shake their ideas of self, and upend the personal histories they’ve clung to all their lives.
Barksdale has to keep her story running full tilt to cover all of the ground she wants to cover with these characters, and does so with finesse. At the end of the day, this is a fun, fast, YA read about the histories we’re told, and those we discover for ourselves, and in that, Barksdale definitely has an interesting story to tell.
When Arriving Through Time's protagonist Lizzie Alexander and her classmates fall down a hole on a school fieldtrip, it’s not wonderland they land in. Rather, they find themselves in first one perilous time and place and then another, and then several more after that. Clocking in at just under 130 pages, Arriving Through Time lives somewhere in the sweet spot between novella and novel length, and because of that has to move at a pretty rapid pace as these teens fall through era after era, chasing family secrets that shake their ideas of self, and upend the personal histories they’ve clung to all their lives.
Barksdale has to keep her story running full tilt to cover all of the ground she wants to cover with these characters, and does so with finesse. At the end of the day, this is a fun, fast, YA read about the histories we’re told, and those we discover for ourselves, and in that, Barksdale definitely has an interesting story to tell.
September 7, 2020
Arriving through Time is a well-written and endearing story about a group of teenagers who travel on an adventurous ‘trip’ together. The author follows Lizzie, a really great and relatable character, weaves in her background, then shows how her close and ‘new’ friendships develop before they all begin their journey arriving through time to specific past events that each have a special meaning to them. I, too, wish the characters had spent more time in each place/era they ventured to, but it was a fast-moving and very enjoyable book, terrific for teenagers through adults.
September 28, 2020
This story is quite well-done, with its simplistic descriptions and fitting terms for the past settings that are covered within the book's events. I liked Gary in that even though he used to be an inconsiderate bully, his concern for his ancestor causing him to care for his friends makes him a relatable character.
September 1, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. Being able to go back in time and witness events in the past is sure to be an amazing adventure. I only wish the author made some of the past events longer. I wanted more time in each place. Other than that I thought this was a great book! Hope to see more of these in the future.
March 12, 2021
An ensemble cast falls through the Fountain of Youth only to be trapped in another time. They have no idea how to get home or how to stop the travel, but they do know one thing: they have to survive some of history’s most dangerous events.
Arriving Through Time is a young adult novel with a female lead. One thing I loved about this cast was that each character had a lot of imperfections. She’s on this crazy journey with her school bully and his girlfriend, her two best friends that each have their own issues, and the hottest guy in their high school. The character development is great and each one of these cast members does grow and change over the course of the story.
Heather turns the genre on its head with the romantic interest. While you might expect the hot guy to be the love interest, the main character is actually way too busy surviving seemingly impossible tasks to worry about boys. Unlike the bizarre forced love interests that we see in other high-action YA novels, the romantic interest in Arriving Through Time is subtle and a slow build. They don’t make out while running away from the bad guys, but they do grow a little closer over the course of the book. I feel that this is more realistic and a complete relief coming from a YA novel.
The plot was also very interesting to me. I’m a huge history nerd, so it was exciting to see the characters be thrust into different historical settings. Clues like the way people were dressed, their way of speaking, and the situations the characters found themselves in were all very interesting. The main character, Lizzie, has feared being compared to Lizzie Borden for most of her life (due to an unfortunate common relative) and when she meets Ms. Borden, she’s all but horrified. A lot happens and I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s an enjoyable ride. Especially if you are familiar with the historical time periods (which you probably will be.)
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a pretty short read and only took me a few days, and the fast-paced plot made it go by quickly. I hope that Heather will revisit this series so that we will be able to see more of Lizzie, Sam, and Jeremy (yes, and even Gary and Marcus and Tiffany…) in the future. If you’re looking to take a trip into the past, check out Arriving Through Time.
Arriving Through Time is a young adult novel with a female lead. One thing I loved about this cast was that each character had a lot of imperfections. She’s on this crazy journey with her school bully and his girlfriend, her two best friends that each have their own issues, and the hottest guy in their high school. The character development is great and each one of these cast members does grow and change over the course of the story.
Heather turns the genre on its head with the romantic interest. While you might expect the hot guy to be the love interest, the main character is actually way too busy surviving seemingly impossible tasks to worry about boys. Unlike the bizarre forced love interests that we see in other high-action YA novels, the romantic interest in Arriving Through Time is subtle and a slow build. They don’t make out while running away from the bad guys, but they do grow a little closer over the course of the book. I feel that this is more realistic and a complete relief coming from a YA novel.
The plot was also very interesting to me. I’m a huge history nerd, so it was exciting to see the characters be thrust into different historical settings. Clues like the way people were dressed, their way of speaking, and the situations the characters found themselves in were all very interesting. The main character, Lizzie, has feared being compared to Lizzie Borden for most of her life (due to an unfortunate common relative) and when she meets Ms. Borden, she’s all but horrified. A lot happens and I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s an enjoyable ride. Especially if you are familiar with the historical time periods (which you probably will be.)
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was a pretty short read and only took me a few days, and the fast-paced plot made it go by quickly. I hope that Heather will revisit this series so that we will be able to see more of Lizzie, Sam, and Jeremy (yes, and even Gary and Marcus and Tiffany…) in the future. If you’re looking to take a trip into the past, check out Arriving Through Time.
April 2, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Heather Barksdale’s novelette, Arriving Through Time. I found it to be delightful, imaginative, quite original, and not without a measure of seriousness, as it also deals with death and the darker sides of human nature. The story is told from the perspective of the very personable and engaging lead character, Elizabeth Rose Alexander, who goes by “Lizzie.” Lizzie has had an eventful family life, including the untimely passing of her father, but is otherwise a normal teenager attending high school in Jacksonville, Florida. An assignment in AP History on genealogy and family history, a field trip to the nearby Fountain of Youth historical attraction, and the inadvertent discovery of a mysterious cave, set the stage for Lizzie and five of her classmates to be propelled on an extraordinary journey through time that is full of meaning and surprises. I would recommend picking up a copy of Arriving Through Time. It’s a fun read!
March 27, 2023
I wasn’t sure initially about this book as it wasn’t my usual reading material but I am trying to read out of my comfort zone and I am glad I did. It’s about six teenagers who find a portal that pushes them through time.
It has some great descriptions and some excellent dialogue as Lizze narrates the story. The author really brings to life the time travel and brings together the senses of readers as if they are there too with the teenagers which is not easy to do.
You read the book thinking it is all about time travel but, in my opinion, it has an overarching theme of the friendships that we form in childhood. Well worth a read.
It has some great descriptions and some excellent dialogue as Lizze narrates the story. The author really brings to life the time travel and brings together the senses of readers as if they are there too with the teenagers which is not easy to do.
You read the book thinking it is all about time travel but, in my opinion, it has an overarching theme of the friendships that we form in childhood. Well worth a read.
November 18, 2025
Lizzie and her best friends are about to embark on a strange journey. Along with a few other high school classmates, they are thrown back in time and wind up in dangerous situations while meeting a few of their long-lost ancestors. Revelations are made along the way and questions arise as to how and why certain events unfolded as they did. The wild ride makes for a fast-paced and entertaining read for any fan of teen and young adult books.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews