Time Meddlers

by Deborah Jackson

Overview

One of Canada's top scientists has discovered the secret to time travel. But something has gone horribly wrong . . . .

On the first day of school, in a new city, Sarah Sachs experiences the shock of her life when she sees a car drive right through a strange boy. Did she really see it, or was it a figment of her imagination?

The boy? Matt Barnes, son of the world-famous physicist, Dr. Nathan Barnes.

The figment? Not so imaginary. A powerful new technology that could be behind Dr. Barnes's disappearance.

Sarah becomes swept up in Matt Barnes's life as she helps him search for his father. They uncover an unusual device in a secret laboratory--a device that throws them far from the modern city of Ottawa into the forest-matted land of the 1600's. In this strange New World, they must contend with wild animals and somehow survive a war between the Algonquin and Iroquois nations. But eventually they'll have to make a decision that might change the world as we know it. Should they meddle with time?

"Combining time travel technology, history and mystery, Time Meddlers is an enthralling science fiction story that transports readers from present day Ottawa back in time to the 1600s....Suspense, humour and memorable characters make this exciting adventure a page turner."
-Diana Mumford, Canadian Teacher Magazine
"Recommended. The characters are very real, and the situations make the book quite a page turner. Can time travel change history? . . . Includes a glossary of Native tribes and terms, and a set of questions for reading groups."
- Children's Literature

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798215714867
Publisher:	Deborah Jackson
Publication date:	04/09/2023
Series:	Time Meddlers , #1
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.66(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Deborah Jackson received a science degree from the University of Ottawa in 1986, graduated from The Writing School in Ottawa in 2001, and is the author of several science fiction and historical fiction novels. She often gives school presentations throughout Ontario as well as developing and teaching writing courses at the Shenkman Arts Centre. Deborah is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and Speculative Fiction Canada. Her novels include: Ice Tomb, an adult science fiction thriller, and the Time Meddlers series for children, ages 9 - 14: Time Meddlers, Time Meddlers Undercover, and Time Meddlers on the Nile. Articles about Deborah and reviews of her books have appeared in The Ottawa Citizen, MORE Magazine, The RT Bookclub Magazine, Canadian Teacher Magazine, SF Site, Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine and many more.

Read an Excerpt

As Sarah walked, stewing over her miserable life, a flicker of movement across the street caught her eye. A boy was walking parallel to her with hunched shoulders and a twisted grimace on his face. He was kicking snow and punching shadows. He seemed oblivious to the frolicking kids, or to her. His eyes focused on the snow like it was an enemy.

Sarah looked away from him, but every now and then she'd look up and find they were keeping pace with each other. The boy seemed typical of kids from this northern town--bulky parka, Maple Leaf toque and a cold-flushed face under the snowflakes--yet he was different. He was distant from the others--an outsider, like her. She couldn't stop watching him.

Finally they reached an intersection and he turned in her direction. It looked like he was about to cross the street. Yet he didn't look up, didn't pay attention to the traffic lights, didn't even glance down the street; he just kept walking.

Sarah saw the red Explorer racing down the icy street. She screamed, "Hey, kid. Look out!" Her stomach clenched and dropped as if weighted by heavy ball bearings. The SUV jammed its brakes, skidded from side to side on the slick asphalt and went right through the kid. The boy kept walking, untouched.

Sarah stood there in shock, immobile. The boy walked past her, meeting her eyes for a split second.

"Wh-who-what are you?" she asked.

He shrugged, smiled and kept walking.

Sarah sank down in the snow bank and watched him continue up the street and into the yard of the red brick school. She shook her head. Had she really seen what she had just seen? The Explorer slammed to a stop, twisted halfway across the road, and thedriver jumped out of the car. He looked back at the intersection, one hand poised in midair and the other scratching his head.

"He should be dead," he muttered. "Thank goodness, thank goodness."

Sarah blinked. Snowflakes whipped into her face and pasted to her eyelashes.

"I must have missed him, hadn't I?" he called over to her.

She nodded, but as she turned away from the driver she whispered, "You hit him dead on."