The Time Capsule

by Lurlene McDaniel

In first grade, twins Alexis and Adam wrote down what they wanted to be when they grew up and put it in their teacher’s time capsule. Now entering their senior year in high school, they are surprised to find out what they Alexis wanted to “help people” and Adam wanted to be a fireman. But that was before Adam got sick and their family fell apart. Adam’s leukemia is now in remission but, sadly, so is the twins’ family. Their mother and father are always working—not only don’t they have time for Alexis and Adam, they don’t have time for each other. Alexis can’t even convince them to take a weekend off for one last family vacation to Disney World.No one is prepared when Adam gets sick again, but this time Alexis is not alone. Adam’s illness reunites the family. And Alexis discovers that the time capsule predictions weren’t so far off the mark.From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Young Adult Contemporary, Teen

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2003

About the author

Lurlene McDaniel (born c. 1948) is an author who has written over 50 young adult books. She is well known for writing about characters struggling with chronic and terminal illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and organ failure.


Other places to find her are...
https://www.facebook.com/lurlenemcdan...
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/aut...
http://www.youtube.com/user/LurleneMc

Reviews

[Mari Mankle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve read this book - not because it’s an incredible book, but because it’s baked in nostalgia.

I found the mass market copy of this book at a library sale when I was in middle school. I had no idea what it was about, but the cover looked fun and I’ve always loved the idea of time capsules. Then I read it and felt like my heart was being ripped out.

Reading this again as an adult, it’s still sad. But it’s not gut-wrenching like it used to be. I’ve been through some difficult life experiences and have felt grief deeply now, so these characters honestly fell a little flat for me. The story was rushed and it really relies on emotional pulls to make the story come together.

That being said, I think this is an incredibly relatable book. Grief hurts. Illness sucks. Family is hard. Relationships are complicated. And what it really boils down to: Don’t wait for tomorrow to live the life you’ve always wanted.

I may read this book again in the future. I always seem to come back to it (and it’s a quick read!). But I’m content knowing how this book impacted me then and how I’ve grown in the wake of first stumbling upon its pages.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book at 9 last night thinking that I would read a little bit and then go to sleep but I couldn't put it down... this was such a captivating story and you fall in love with all the characters. I would read this book over and over again to remind myself of the the strength in family... please please read this.

[Choua Vue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that growing up with someone you were so close with will hurt when one of you passes away and that it's not easy to forgive your family, friends, or anybody who has kept the secret, of that person dying, away from you.... this book as well was also sad....

Actually all of Lurlene McDaniel's books were sad and also inspiring....

[Kendall M · Rating 3 out of 5]

This author did a great job with the climax of the story! She didn't make you suspect a thing until later in the story, and i loved that. I gave this book three stars because she did a good job leaving you wondering after every time you put the book down. I think McDaniel could have done a better job pulling you in to the story. All in all she did a pretty good job.

[Mary Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was amazing! I loved reading it. I thought the characters and plot were very well written. This was a heartwarming and sad book. Had me in tears at the end.

[Kaleena · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far Alexis and Adam go to a class reunion and they see what they wrote in their time capsules. Alexis wanted to help people and Adam wanted to be a fireman. I wonder what Alexis meant when she said help people. Adam had cancer when he was younger. That's sad and I wonder if it will come back. Their family is falling apart and they never talk about it and Alexis wants to do something about it. That is good that she wants to help her family. She asks if they can all go to Disney World together and they don't get to but her father is paying for her, Adam, and their friends to go. That would be fun to go to Disney with my friends. Alexis also saw her father with another woman at a restaurant. I wonder if he is having an affair.

[Ravnit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't typically read sad romantic books, but reading this was enjoyable in it's own way because I didn't expect the plot to unfold in this way.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome quick read

[D.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story. A tear-jerker for sure.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m 25 years old and I have been rereading this book every year since I pick it up in the 6th grade and let me tell you I cry like a baby every time.. This is my all time favorite book

[Robin Lyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is deceiving and you know the sad story isn't going to end well.

[Doxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read and I really can't wait for the next book!

[JeniReadABook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like all of McDaniel's books, The Time Capsule was about a family who has to struggle with a loved one's terminal disease. It shows, from the inside, how the friends and family deal with the very real possibility of loosing their loved one, as well as the day to day struggles that must be faced. McDaniel also usually writes about young people, so you get the whole "coming of age" obstacles, as well as the life and death struggle. I've always enjoyed the way McDaniel writes and how adept she is at showing you this world from a unique perspective.

I've always found the idea of twins who seem to have some kind of ESP with one another to be pretty intriguing. When I saw that one of my favorite authors had written a book with a little bit of that mysterious twin power I was excited to see where she'd take it. Although, overall, I liked the book and thought that it was worth the read, I was disappointed that twin aspect wasn't as big a part of the story as I had expected, and that when the "twin power" was mentioned it was done so in an almost silly and kind of cliché' way. I would have liked to see her do more with it, but I still enjoyed the book and can recommend any of McDaniel's books if you've never tried her out.

http://jenireadabook.blogspot.com/201...

[Ashlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

if your in the mood to cry and really think about rour life then you should read this book

this book is about two brother and sisters and there twins. adam got sick with cancer when he was about 9 years old but he recovered from it. but it tore their family apart and and ally and adam never saw there parents anymore because they were always busy. ally wasa always thinking about trying to get there family close again but it never really worked until adam unexpectedly got sick again and he had cancer. no one knew it but adam and when adam passed out at his girlfirends house every one was stunned. ally is worried tthat adam wont gradualte because he will die before gradustion day.

ally is also worried about other things in the book like she is the top debater on adams debate team.

she has a boyfriend named sawer who coforts her and loves her alot

her best friend has a crush on her brother adam and adam is going out with a girl that ally hates

ally has to figure out how to get her family back together and to try to contole herself from being over pretective of her brother

this is a really good book if you like to cry but if youre not in the mood for crying i wouldnt read it.

[Halley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lurlene McDaniel..... has a very, very specific style in all of her books. She loves this plot of 'kid has cancer, kid gets better, kid gets worse, kid dies'. And I know when I say it that way, it sounds bad. But don't take it that way, because it's not what I mean. It's just very interesting as a reader, and thinking in the way of a writer.... because I know for myself I like to experiment with my writing a little bit. Wouldn't one get a little bit..... I don't know, tired of writing one way?

Sorry, sorry. We're talking about The Time Capsule here. Well, I really did like this book. I loved her characters; as usual, she was able to connect to the reader through the characters, making it enjoyable to read. That was really what I loved most about this book. Lurlene also writes about death very well.... but I didn't feel it as much as I did in A Rose for Melinda, one of her other books. Over all, I liked it.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars, and I feel disloyal and mean for the rating. I loooooved Lurlene McDaniel's books when I was a kid-- I spent every dime my parents gave me on her books at the Scholastic book fair every year from 3rd to 6th grade. I felt like Dawn Rochelle and Sandy were my friends because I read all of those books at least a half dozen times each. I read everything she wrote through the early nineties. This book, though still a bit of her typical-kid-with-terminal-illness plotline throughout, left me pretty cold and not giving much of a shit about the underdeveloped characters. I don't know if she's lost her magic, or if I've lost my superfandom as an adult instead of a 9 year old who loved a good sob story, but this was a dud. Read the Dawn Rochelle books if you want to see McDaniel at her best (I hope I would still love those even if I read them now, and if I wouldn't, I don't want to know). This one is simply not very good.

[Huda Al-Anbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning:personal story ahead
I was a junior when this book came out six or seven years ago,it was on demand in my local library,and I was not able to borrow a copy,and as I remember,I could not afford to buy myself a new copy-8.95 was a HUGE amount of money back then-. On one boring afternoon,I suddenly remembered this book,with my iPad in hand,I purchased it from the iBooks store for 7.99$.I don't usually purchase anything from there.

The book was written for a much younger audience than me obviously,but I enjoyed it.The plot was contestant,there were no loop holes,or dramatic exaggerations. Although the Tessa\Adam love thingie bothered me,was it really necessary?. The ending was appropriate "who gets diamond studs when they graduate high school??<

Good and short book to read

[Mitzy Rodriguez]

When I first started reading this book I found myself thinking about the theorist Erikson who stated that the last stage of life was to reflect on our lives and either be satisfied or unsatisfied with where we are now. The main characters, teenage twins, go back to their first grade class which they have been graduated from for 11 years. They go to see what they have put in the time capsule, what they wanted at that stage of life. Alexis said she wanted to help people, whereas Adam said he wanted to be a fireman. Alexis is a bit upset her plans for the future where a bit vague. In a sudden turn of events it turns out Alexis was not wrong in writing down she wanted to help people. Her kind heart reaches out to the readers’, as mentioned in other books written by Lurlene McDaniel, there is not a step in the book where the reader feels like he or she is not a part of the book.

[Zach Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet and poignant book. I haven’t read anything of Lurlene McDaniel’s since I was in middle school, about eight years ago, but coming back to these novels … there is a sweet sadness to them.

I love the relationship between Alexis and Adam, even when they were newborns. To see that kind of sibling relationship … actually means a lot to me. That’s something I’ll never have.

After reading John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars”, I’ve started thinking twice about books that deal with terminal illnesses and death, and, for better or worse, Lurlene McDaniel was my first exposure to that. I’m unsure how to feel about her writing. I think there are times when she goes for the “perfect martyr cancer kid” trope, but there are also times where she doesn’t pull punches.

This has always been one of my favorites of hers. I’m glad I picked it up again.

[alex]

see my review for Till Death Do Us Part

[Brittany.t · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really good. The things I like most about this book is that it has drama. Also that it is intense about how he got cancer when he was little then he got it again. The saddest part about this book as that he got Cancer again when he was a senior and his girlfriend dumped him cause she couldn't handle it. Thats what I thought was sad about this book. The thing that was most interesting about was that his parents use to fight all the time and now they don't cause he has cancer. So that was my opinion on the book The Time Capsule.

[RSter · Rating 1 out of 5]

To be fair, I only made it two chapters into The Time Capsule before deciding to put it down. Therefore my review may not be the most comprehensive of all those for this book. I will say I have enjoyed McDaniel's books in the past. Her Pink Angels novels captivated me in middle school. Nevertheless, I was unimpressed with her writing in The Time Capsule. The writing was very straightforward and the dialog felt forced, not accurate to actual incoming seniors in high school. Maybe this book is meant for a much younger audience, I just felt disappointed in the writing itself.

[Megan Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet novel about love for family and friends and reconnecting, even if you've drifted apart. It really drives home how transient life is, and how you should cherish what time you have together, since you never know for sure how long you've got. It's also about giving to others, even strangers, to try to brighten their lives even a little--you never know what they're going through.

4/5 on here, 9/10 for myself

[Megan S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four stars because I think that would have been really fun to have a time capsule. I would like to read more books like this when they come out and I find them. You would have great memories when you are from childhood to senior year or whenever you want to look at it. You could put anything in it. The characters were really nice and good description of what they are doing. I really liked this book.

[Breann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another book from Lurlene McDaniel about a teen that falls ill and somehow brings about a positive influence....

I read this a while ago and liked it because although Adam's illness is obviously devastating, it brings his whole family closer together and helps his twin sister conquer her fears and become a stronger person. It's emotional story, so if you're in the mood to sit down and cry over a quick and easy read, give this a try.

I liked it, I bet you will too! :)

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quarter of the way through the book and so far, so good. It is definitely a young adult read but it has a very solid plot. Not too much dialogue or description. Very good at expressing a young girls desperate desire to bring her drifting family back together before her and her brother move on to college. Interesting enough to make me carry it in my purse and read as often as I have time for.

[Areeba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again McDaniel brings the most realistic issues to light in form of a story that in simplest of words wold leave an everlasting impression on the reader. Adam and Alexis have been womb-mates, walked to kindergarten together hand in hand and hoped the same for their high school graduation; so when the twins are pulled apart third time, things began to worsen but bringing the family back together again.

A must-read book drenched with simplest of life stories.

[Phases of Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book , i really want to buy it. This book starts out with twins, the girl twin is telling the story. She is trying to get her parents to get closer to them since they're seniors now and are going to leave soon, and since her parents haven't been home together even since her twin brother has been to the hospital with an illness. The good thing about the book is that its not to heavy, its realistic, and totally worthwhile. I totally want to make a time capsule.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another YA novel that I love, because it deals with real issues, and it deals with a real topic that most authors either blow out of the water, or make light of. The way that Lurlene writes about Adam and his cancer is great, in a way that gently prods you to think about what you would do if your twin had cancer; and what you would do if he also had a secret.

[Ashlyn Lopez]

The story "The Time Capsule" is about these two twins; a boy and a girl. The boy gets cancer when he is young but as he gets older he goes into remission . Then this teacher writes a letter to these two to go to this "reunion" with their classmates when they are younger. But after the reunion the boy gets cancer again and eventually dies. The girl and him were really close before passed away.