Status
Available
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Series
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Collection
Publication
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (2012), 224 pages
Description
Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. Science Fiction. Historical Fiction. HTML: When Mira receives a cryptic postcard from her missing mother, she sets off with her father and brother to find her in Paris. Only Mira doesn't know she's looking in the wrong century. With an innocent touch to a gargoyle sculpture on the roof of Notre Dame, Mira is whisked into the past. There she learns her mother isn't just avoiding the family, she's in serious trouble. Following her mother's clues, Mira travels through time to help change history and bring her mother home. "Long after I finished this fast�??paced and compelling novel, I thought about Mira. Would I be as determined in pursuit of truth and tolerance? Would you?" �??Karen Cushman, Newberry Medal Winne… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member thebumblegirl
What a surprising little time-traveling gem! I did not expect this "diary" to go the way that it did! Marissa Moss really knows her readers and how to tell a story fluently in journal form.
I was a bit surprised at the fact that Moss had chosen to dive into the 19th century Paris, France,
The story begins with us getting to know Mira and her family, her mother has left them and they are dealing with why she would leave without any indication of her ever being unhappy and needing an outlet. Mira's father is so positive that her mother has left unwillingly and will be back as soon as she can. Her brother believes that she was having an affair and has gone to create a new life. Mira can't believe that her mother would ever leave such a loving and talented husband or a smart and promising son... but she thinks that if she had any reason to leave behind anything, it would be Mira.
And then they receive a postcard from Paris with a breezy message ending with "Love, Mom" - no one understands why she is there and why she sounds... happy?
Off to Paris they go!
Within a few hours of being in Paris, Mira time-travels back to 1881 and is off on her first adventure ever. While back-in-time, she meets a handsome boy who works with the famous artist, Degas. Thrown right into the middle of the artists world, Mira, who wishes to be an artist herself, observes her new world and doodles along the pages of her journal. Yes, the journals is filled with all kinds of drawings by her.
Mira also sees and finds things that she's never thought of being in the midst of.
Coming from a world that she always took advantage of and never had to think twice about, she is surprised by the intolerance of the Jewish people in France and soon discovers that there are deeper things going on within the society and government.
Readers will learn a lot about France's history and art history, while seeing a bit of a romance brew between Mira and Dega's assistant, Claude. The suspense of finding out what is going to happen, will Mira find her mother and how Mira will get back to her own time will keep you up for hours to finish this book!
I was a bit surprised at the fact that Moss had chosen to dive into the 19th century Paris, France,
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surrounded by French artists and well into France's politics too. As much as the time-traveling was the main concern of the main character, the story focuses on intolerance and political corruption. At times, in my opinion, a bit too mature for the lower ages of the middle grade crowd. The story begins with us getting to know Mira and her family, her mother has left them and they are dealing with why she would leave without any indication of her ever being unhappy and needing an outlet. Mira's father is so positive that her mother has left unwillingly and will be back as soon as she can. Her brother believes that she was having an affair and has gone to create a new life. Mira can't believe that her mother would ever leave such a loving and talented husband or a smart and promising son... but she thinks that if she had any reason to leave behind anything, it would be Mira.
And then they receive a postcard from Paris with a breezy message ending with "Love, Mom" - no one understands why she is there and why she sounds... happy?
Off to Paris they go!
Within a few hours of being in Paris, Mira time-travels back to 1881 and is off on her first adventure ever. While back-in-time, she meets a handsome boy who works with the famous artist, Degas. Thrown right into the middle of the artists world, Mira, who wishes to be an artist herself, observes her new world and doodles along the pages of her journal. Yes, the journals is filled with all kinds of drawings by her.
Mira also sees and finds things that she's never thought of being in the midst of.
Coming from a world that she always took advantage of and never had to think twice about, she is surprised by the intolerance of the Jewish people in France and soon discovers that there are deeper things going on within the society and government.
Readers will learn a lot about France's history and art history, while seeing a bit of a romance brew between Mira and Dega's assistant, Claude. The suspense of finding out what is going to happen, will Mira find her mother and how Mira will get back to her own time will keep you up for hours to finish this book!
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LibraryThing member mountie9
The Good Stuff
The covers are adorable and I bet many will pick this up based on that alone
Storyline is fast paced and funny at times
Honestly I would love to have her gift. To be able to experience Paris with artists both in the past and present would be a mind blowing
Kids will learn a little
Some lovely illustrations checkered throughout
Really appreciated Mira's thoughts and feelings on being Jewish and the atrocities committed against her people all throughout history - done very age appropriate and some lesser known pieces of history (Dreyfus affair) highlighted
The Not So Good Stuff
This is hard to explain but Mira doesn't come across as an authentic voice for her age. Her expressions are more that of an adult (I was a mature child for my age and not even I spoke that way) She doesn't come across as a tween/teen
Jumps around a lot and doesn't make a lot of sense (again I am speaking more of towards who the intended audience is - many will go huh and just give up)
Mira is alright but there really isn't a lot of character development so I never really felt really invested in what happens to her
Instalove - not a big fan of girls falling instantly in love with a person
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"Lose the book," I begged. "You're making us look like dumb tourists."
"We are dumb tourists, and this book is useful."
"Like the word "interesting" which basically means "I don't like it but don't want to hurt anybody's feelings."
"Intolerance will breed more intolerance, which will breed violence."
Who Should/Shouldn't Read
This will be a tough sell as the book is marketed towards a MG girl but the language and Mira's actions don't fit that category
A mature MG with a love of art will enjoy this
3 Dewey's
I received this from Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review - sorry guys I have to be honest about what I felt (Can you tell I have guilt issues - always feel bad when I don't love a story) Again Author please remember I have no talent whatsoever as a storyteller so I am not judging you or your talents
The covers are adorable and I bet many will pick this up based on that alone
Storyline is fast paced and funny at times
Honestly I would love to have her gift. To be able to experience Paris with artists both in the past and present would be a mind blowing
Kids will learn a little
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about art, history antisemitism in an age appropriate way - in other words not as boring as in history classes (trust me - when I was that age I had crappy art and history teachers - thank goodness when I hit high school I had much better teachers - that's right Mr Shore you rocked!)Some lovely illustrations checkered throughout
Really appreciated Mira's thoughts and feelings on being Jewish and the atrocities committed against her people all throughout history - done very age appropriate and some lesser known pieces of history (Dreyfus affair) highlighted
The Not So Good Stuff
This is hard to explain but Mira doesn't come across as an authentic voice for her age. Her expressions are more that of an adult (I was a mature child for my age and not even I spoke that way) She doesn't come across as a tween/teen
Jumps around a lot and doesn't make a lot of sense (again I am speaking more of towards who the intended audience is - many will go huh and just give up)
Mira is alright but there really isn't a lot of character development so I never really felt really invested in what happens to her
Instalove - not a big fan of girls falling instantly in love with a person
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"Lose the book," I begged. "You're making us look like dumb tourists."
"We are dumb tourists, and this book is useful."
"Like the word "interesting" which basically means "I don't like it but don't want to hurt anybody's feelings."
"Intolerance will breed more intolerance, which will breed violence."
Who Should/Shouldn't Read
This will be a tough sell as the book is marketed towards a MG girl but the language and Mira's actions don't fit that category
A mature MG with a love of art will enjoy this
3 Dewey's
I received this from Sourcebooks in exchange for an honest review - sorry guys I have to be honest about what I felt (Can you tell I have guilt issues - always feel bad when I don't love a story) Again Author please remember I have no talent whatsoever as a storyteller so I am not judging you or your talents
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LibraryThing member JSIS-Reviews
I recommend this book for people who like time travel mysteries. Very informative about the history of Paris, the Dreyfus case, and (in my opinion) a real page turner.
LibraryThing member agrudzien
Mira's mom goes missing and the family is not sure where she's gone until they receive a postcard from France. So the family heads to Paris, where Mira discovers she can travel back through time. She arrives at the end of 19th century to find that her mother is there as well. The two of them must
This was an interesting idea, but I didn't really like the book. A little bit of travel, history, and mystery, but I didn't like the "lost" feeling I had throughout - I know Mira was lost as well, but I didn't like not knowing enough (and it not really getting resolved).
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try to fix a mistake made by the French army that will affect the future. Mira tries to help as much as she can while learning the rules of her time-traveling gift. This was an interesting idea, but I didn't really like the book. A little bit of travel, history, and mystery, but I didn't like the "lost" feeling I had throughout - I know Mira was lost as well, but I didn't like not knowing enough (and it not really getting resolved).
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ISBN
1402266065 / 9781402266065
UPC
760789236570