Odette Speex

Prima ballerina Odette Speex and her scientist brother, Odell, live in a near-future America where the Revolutionary War never got off the ground, and society hasn’t progressed much past the 18th century. Odette’s focus is on her dancing and on dodging the advances of Charles Drake, the Earl of Westchester; when Odell begs for her help correcting a mistake, she learns that the world as she knows it is a lie. Odell invented a time machine, but was tricked into taking Drake back to England in the mid-18th century. Drake’s disruptions brought all progressive thought to halt and allowed the nobility to keep its stranglehold on society. Odette must venture back in time to stop Drake and restore the original time line. Debut author Lively capably juggles numerous characters, time lines, and conspiracies in this first book in the Time Traitors series (a sequel, Twin Speex, is also available). The science behind the time travel and the unexpected problems that occur are intriguing, and while the pacing can be a bit slow, Lively delivers an exciting romp through time. Ages 12–up. (BookLife)