Backtracked

by Pedro De Alcantara

Tommy Latrella is haunted by the ghost of his “perfect” older brother, who died on 9/11. Unable to live up to Jimmy’s memory, Tommy spends countless hours riding the subway and “tagging” the stations with graffiti. But when Tommy plays a dangerous prank in the Times Square station, the subway turns on him, and Tommy is hurtled back in time.

As Tommy travels, he experiences the hardships faced by the New Yorkers that preceded him, and gains perspective on his own comfortable life. But will he ever be able to get back to 2006? Tommy is desperate to mend his ways and get back home, but the trains may have other plans for him. . . .


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Time Travel, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Teen

272 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

My books include the children's novels "Befiddled" and "Backtracked" and works of non-fiction for adults, including "Indirect Procedures: A Musician's Guide to the Alexander Technique" and "The Alexander Technique: A Skill for Life" (published by Crowood). I travel the world giving seminars and master classes for all creative people. I'm currently finishing two new books -- a new novel for young readers titled "The Divine Computer" and a book for musicians titled "Integrated Practice." I'm also putting together a selection of my original improvisations and compositions for performance and recording.

Reviews

[Nelson Olivo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tommy Latrella an outlier who made people want to be different. Tommy latrella faced a huge tragedy when he losses his older brother Jimmy. Jimmy died a hero on 9/11. After Jimmy's death Tommy feels and deals with the guilt of his death. Tommy wishes it would have been him that died instead of is brother,but he knows deep inside his older brother would have regrets. Tommy feels motivated and wants to be a hero just as his brother Jimmy once was and decides to join the army and fight for his country. Before this Tommy sold newspapers in the subway throughout NYC. My favorite part was when Tommy jump out a plane felt all the air pushed against his face. The lesson that can be learned from this book is to always have hope, and thats theirs always a future for someone. I recommend this book to people who like to be motivate and people believe in hope!

[Deannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tommy Latrella is haunted by the ghost of his perfect older brother who died on 9/11. Unable to live up to Jimmy’s memory, Tommy spends countless hours riding the subway and “tagging” the stations with graffiti. But when Tommy plays a dangerous prank in the Times Square station, the subway turns on him, and Tommy is hurtled back in time.As Tommy travels, he experiences the hardships faced by the New Yorkers that preceded him, and gains perspective on his own comfortable life. But will he ever be able to get back to 2006.Tommy is desperate to mend his ways and get back home, but the trains may have other plans for him.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a teenager and absolutely loved it, but had forgotten the title for years until I finally just now found it!!! This book gave me probably my first memory of reading where I finished and immediately wanted to contact the author just to give him praise for his work! I was so invested in this story as if I’d time traveled myself into its pages that when it was over I was blown away that a book could have such an impact. Thanks to this author for giving me one of my first experiences of realizing how much I love reading.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rivetting! Couldn't put it down. Will probably read again!

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read 2011

[Adam Cavalier · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book “Backtracked” by Pedro De Alcantara had me very curious when I read the quote on the back of the book. “By the day I was born, on April 3, 1990. I had already lived several lives. But I didn’t learn about them until Tuesday, February 28, 2006. This is how it happened,” This quote made me think this book would be about time travel. I had to find out for myself. And I was right. The book did involve time travel in a specific way.

The book starts off with a boy named Tommy Latrella. Tommy is being haunted by his older brother who died in 9/11 because Tommy has not lived up to his expectations. Sometimes, Tommy likes to take the subway as far as he can go and come back. One time when he went, he screamed saying there was a bomb on the subway. It scared everyone and they all started going crazy. Something happened and Tommy was sent back in time to 1918.Tommy finds a home with immigrants and begins to feel at home there. The subway crash happens and he is brought to 1932 which is around the great depression. Where will he go after this? The main character is Tommy. He is time traveling though all of these events in the 1900’s which will end up giving him a valuable lesson. So now it is Tommy versus society while going through time in the 1900’s and dealing with the bad times. I don't know if there is a certain theme to get out of this book. But if there was one I think it would say something like “Be thankful for who you are and what you have.” also, “Live life to the fullest,”

I can’t relate to any characters in this book. Unlike Tommy, I try to live life to the fullest. I am also very thankful for what I have unlike Tommy. So we are totally different. I liked this book. It always kept me intrigued because the book was always going somewhere. I felt it was a little fast paced and that is good for a time travel book. I think for a kids book ,the periods of time might be a little to bland for people and would want to read something more interesting. I think they pushed the time to far.
I would recommend this book for mostly 7th to 10th graders. The books story isn’t that great but the adventure Tommy goes through can be exciting to read about. I have never read a book like this one. It involves the story itself by using times from the past. I have never read any other books by this author but I would like to give his other books a try.

[Braylen Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book “Backtracked” talks about a boy named Tommy and his parents wanted him to live to the same expectations as his older brother Jimmy, but Tommy could not do that and he was being haunted by his brother Jimmy. “Tommy loved to go on the subway anywhere as far as he could and then come back, at times he would yell that there was a bomb on the train and everybody on it would go crazy”. One time Tommy went on the train and it started shaking and he started to freak out and when it stopped he got out and he had noticed that he was in 1918.

“Tommy goes back into the subway and when he tries to go back to his time and he goes through time and ends up in the 1930’s”.Tommy finds immigrants and he lives with them so that he could actually have a home. “Tommy ends up in the middle of a war and he gets drafted in and he has to fight for his life on the field”,and when the war is finished he has to find his way back to the present even if it meant going through each year by a time until he found the right time period.

Tommy’s life is like the life of another book I read called “Dragon’s Eye” and the boy’s name was also named Tommy and he had a sister named Anne and their parents had been run over by a train and they had to find a new home and the two siblings were being haunted by their parents.

This story is about a boy and it doesn't have a lot of love in it, and girls would most likely not be more interested in this because girls would be more interested in love stories. I give this book a 4 out of 5 because I liked how Tommy isn't able to do what his parents want him to do but he eventually does something right after the big journey that he had gone through. If you are a person who loves books where people go on big adventures and has action then you will like this book.

[Karen Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

"By the day I was born, on April 3, 1990, I had already lived several lives. But I didn't learn about them until Tuesday, February 28, 2006." >
Tommy Latrella can't do anything right. Scratch that -- he can't measure up to his older brother Jimmy. Jimmy was a young firefighter who died trying to rescue trapped people in the Twin Towers on 9/11, and he is the permanent family hero. Tommy, on the other hand, has a lot of potential and absolutely zero motivation to do anything other than ride the subways from Brooklyn into the other boroughs of New York City and occasionally slap some graffiti on walls and beams. After a prank that goes wrong in the Times Square station, Tommy is thrown back in time, to 1918, where he is rescued from jail by Italian immigrants who need laborers to build the subways. He is given a home in a Lower East Side tenement, finds friends, and then loses everything once again in a subway crash... which throws him into 1938. In the depths of the Depression, there is starvation, homelessness, and no jobs in New York City... unless you're willing to work for the bootleggers and the Mafia. A third ill-fated trip on the Third Avenue El (elevated train) throws him into 1942 and the middle of World War II, where he joins the Army and has to think about not only himself and his friends, but now his country as well. Living through historical times gives Tommy a lot to think about... but will he ever be able to get home and try to make different choices in 2006? Lots of good historical details: same places, different times in history, and if you've been there it wil be all the more interesting! Some language, best for 7th grade and up.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Backtracked, by Pedro De Alcantara, takes place in New York and follows a boy named Tommy Latrella. Tommy lost his brother Jimmy in the 9/11 attack, who died a hero. Tommy was never like his brother Jimmy he could never live up to his family's expectations, so Tommy becomes rebellious. Tommy skips school, basketball practice,and when he does go to school he always gets into trouble. Everywhere Tommy goes he is being degraded by his brother's shadow. One day, Tommy decided to leave but with a bang, so he planned to pull a prank in the subway. However that prank didn't work out the way he planned and the subway turns on him and throws him back in time.

Alcantara's style of taking historic events and entwining them with fiction is perfect. How he uses the subway to turn back time and thus came up with the title of the book, Backtracked. I also found his use of imagery to be insightful. "A blue-eyed fireman in uniform, looking at the camera and smiling. Underneath his photo, the caption: American Hero.September 11,2011. Four ninety-nine, no sales tax. That was the price of my dead brother" (Alcantara 5). Tommy sees his brother to be something that can just be bought at such a low price. I also like how the structure of the book is constructed, each chapter is about 10 or less pages. Each chapter gives a small amount, whereas a huge chapter would have huge amounts of information to comprehend.

Overall I thought that this was a great book to read, I really enjoyed it. I loved how the subway was able to send Tommy back in time. I would definitely recommend it to others if, they have an interest in history and in fiction.

[Elizabeth K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this a lot of credit for being extremely earnest in its love of the New York City transit system. Brooklyn teen Tommy Latrella is in a perpetual state of acting out in an effort to get out from under his big brother's (a fireman who was killed on 9/11) shadow. While cutting school, he stumbles into a time travel portal in Grand Central Terminal, and begins a series of time travel adventures through the Italian immigrant experience in New York City. This is a mostly fun book and Tommy develops as an interesting character, but it was often hard to shake the feeling that the author started with a (very sincere) desire to write about very specific things in the history of New York and in many cases had to shoehorn the plot along with great force in order to keep things moving. I was also somewhat irrationally distracted by an error related to one of the character's name.

Grade: B-
Recommended: As far as time travel goes, it's not bad and not outstanding, either. It's probably more interesting if you are very familiar with New York and like subway trivia, as it is fun to track all the action.

2009/44

[Teen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fifteen-year-old Tommy Latrella can't live up to the memory of his hero older brother, who died as a firefighter on 9/11. So Tommy becomes a graffiti artist and rides all over New York City on the subway, tagging as he goes. When he plays a dangerous prank in the Times Square station, the subway system transports him to1918, to the Lower East Side. He manages to get a job as a poor laborer digging new subway tunnels, and after months of that work Tommy is involved an historic subway crash that doesn’t kill him but instead transports him to NYC in 1932, in the middle of the Depression. Desperate to make money and tired of begging for food, Tommy begins working for the Mafia. As mobsters chase him through the subway system he time travels again, this time into 1942 and World War II. Will he ever make it back to his comfortable home in 2006?

I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story, but I didn’t think the character of Tommy was very interesting or believable. It’s more appropriate for middle school than high school. NW/BRO

[Dixie Keyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, published in 2009, was a suspenseful time travel, historically-relevant thriller! If time were in charge of me and sent me backward, then forward through time at moments of extreme danger near the subways of New York, I don't think I could have imagined it better than Alcantara (the author) did.

I especially love the emotion displayed by the main character, Tommy, along with the details of his Italian heritage and how he learned to speak Italian starting on his first time trip back to 1918. The imagery and the language the author used were effective in allowing readers to really feel and see what the early America was like, what Hooverville was like, and what a soldier preparing for WW2 was like....

This should be in all middle school/junior high bookshelves and libraries! A great read!

[Jax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time travelling is always a fun concept to read about and this book was no exception. I liked how the protagonist's character developed and grew as the story deepened. It just shows how human nature is malleable and can be changed into a more humble and ideal personality. The mini conflicts the main character goes through are always interesting to see how the character would react in a new time period. However, I felt that the book's other themes, like accepting a deceased and gloried brother, was lacking and not as thorough as they could have been. Nonetheless, I commend the author's very exciting writing that definitely got me into the story as well as the historical events related with the time travelling. This is a great read if you want to learn more about New York's history.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book randomly on MackinVIA, the school district's e-reader.

I liked the story. A rather spoiled young man learns what true hardship is when he accidentally time travels. He goes from disagreeable to a young man of integrity who has learned the value of hard work.

I was irked, though, by the lack of explanation about the time travel. Why was he time traveling? Did it have anything to do with the man he met at the beginning of the tale? Why did he keep moving forward? I felt the story lacked science, almost earning it a "fantasy" rating rather than a science fiction, my traditional genre for time traveling stories.

I don't know which students I'd recommend this one to. However, I do have a couple of adult science fiction friends who may be interested.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book, though it isn't necessarily a science fiction novel. It is more like a coming of age story, which uses time travel in order to help the main character gain closure and also mature. I was surprised that the level of growth which Tommy went through, after being stuck in the past for several months, (or years) Anyway, this book surprised me with it's detailed descriptions of immigrant life in New York long ago. There were also several dramatic twists and turns. Overall, I would recommend this to someone who is interested in history, New York, and to some extent time travel.

[Yvonne Powderly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of suspense, time-travel and history.

While cutting school, Tommy stumbles into a time travel portal in Grand Central Terminal, and begins a series of time travel adventures through the Italian immigrant experience in New York City. As far as time travel goes this is a good book and Tommy develops as an interesting character. It's probably more interesting if you are very familiar with New York and like subway trivia, as it is fun to track all the action.

Read the book and see where he ends up, who he meets, how he gets back and how he grows throughout the novel.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Backtracked was a good book. I generally liked it, but I was a little confused by some of Laterella's(the main character) decisions. Also I was confused with who some of the characters were at some points. Laterella goes to three different time periods in this book, and he meets new people in each era, so there are a lot of characters . I would have liked for there to be an epilogue telling what happened to some of the characters that we met during any of the three eras. Overall it was a good book, and I loved the plot.

[MJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Backtracked by Pedro de Alcantara +2 of 5
Fiction, Historical Fiction, Time Travel
Tommy Latrella is failing classes and having family problems ever since his older brother died a hero in 9/11. He gets bumped back in time when Italian immigrants were at the bottom of the totem pole, then comes forward, and forward and finally arrives home wiser and ready to work. I liked this well enough to finish it because I liked Tommy.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

YA selection. I didn't like the beginning. Tommy, the main character, is running haphazardly around, skipping school, riding the subway, and spreading graffiti through out his Brooklyn neighborhood. As weird as it may sound, the good part started with the time travel. Tommy ends up in other time periods in American history. I found the "historical fiction" section of this book most interesting.

[Tyler Sheen · Rating 4 out of 5]

backtracked by Pedro De Alcantara is one of the best books i've read in a long time. its about this kid Tommy Latrella who is haunted by his "perfect" older brother who died on 9/11. Tommy travels through time meeting lots of new people and saying goodbye to many. Tommy rode the subway countless times trying to get back to his family. I rate this book 4 out of 5 because it is a fantastic book and I loved reading it.

[InYourFaceNewYorker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and interesting read about a kid who travels through different eras of NYC history. One complaint I have, however, is that there wasn't enough of a sense of urgency of the kid wanting to go home in the beginning. Overall, it was an interesting look at NYC and its subway system as a character, but the human characters themselves weren't as real as they could have been.

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picture an "older" Magic Treehouse book, or Dan Gutman baseball card trick through time.
Add to that a kid who lives in the shadow of his older brother killed 9/11.
And you get the Italian immigrant story in NY to boot.

[Sarabeth T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it gave u different perspectives of history.... the main character had no control of what occurred but in the end it was all meant for something and he learned along the way.... I enjoyed every chapter

[scc101 · Rating 2 out of 5]

WHAT I LIKED:
This is a different way to get young adults connected to history. I think it may hook some students.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
I suppose it wasn't that I didn't like something in the book itself; it's more like I don't really enjoy historical fiction.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love time travel and I'm from New York so I had lots of reasons to enjoy this book and I did enjoy it.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually don't like time travel books,but i really liked it because it hooked me on the first page.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good YA book. a bit heavy on the "lesson" at the end, and maybe loses a little steam partway through.. but still fun.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually, I really enjoyed this one. It might have been a bit predictable, but I enjoyed the flavor and the history.

[Akilah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise, but this book would've been a lot better if I cared at all about the main character and the people he met instead of just wondering how/why he'd get back home.

[Nancy Lockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to recommend to a guy.. Good amt of suspense.. Time travel. history, etc.... On reflecting, I think I'll go back and increase my star number. :))