Highly imaginative, fast-paced and a bit disorienting, Sorrell's (First Shot
) rich novel centers on a gangly, inquisitive seventh-grader who believes she is living the wrong life. Jessica Sternhagen doesn't connect with anyone in her boring town except Dale, who is equally an outsider. When Jessica stumbles into a mysterious bookstore, the clerk hands her a novel entitled Her Lif
, a page-by-page account of Jessica's own uninspired history. But Her Lif
is an erratum, a printer's error, which should have been Her Life
. As Jessica and Dale embark on one chaotic escapade after another, dodging an unscrupulous vacuum salesman who hopes to take over the world, the entire book becomes filled with errata—and each of their decisions changes its outcome. Jessica must save the universe by altering present events to change the past. Sorrell presents a stew of hearty concepts, including string theory, alternate dimensions and mind control. Readers with a taste for science or science fiction will be especially intrigued, and while some ideas may be beyond other members of the audience, they will nevertheless savor the nonstop action. Ages 9–11. (Oct.)
