The Rhythm of Time (The Rhythm of Time #1)

Musician Questlove and author Cosby collaborate on a speculative adventure steeped with 1990s references and time-travel logistics. In contemporary Philly, hip-hop enthusiast Rahim Reynolds, a seventh grader, yearns to become a famous rapper, but his history professor father’s anti-technology stance stands in the way of his laying down or uploading tracks. His homeschooled best friend Kasia Collins, meanwhile, lives in a wildly automated household next door, and is a gifted builder and hacker in her own right. When Kasia gives Rahim a vintage-style phone that she’s created—and routed through several top-secret government satellites—using it teleports Rahim back to June 1997, three years before his long-disbanded favorite band, Four the Hard Way, broke up. As Kasia works to bring Rahim back to their present, attempting to stay a step ahead of government agents, Rahim ignores her warnings to avoid interactions in 1997, befriending his father as a young man and imperiling his timeline—and the future. Layering references to popular culture with speculative surrealism, the creators conjure an engaging love letter to the ’90s that gives way to a heartwarming story of love and support. Characters read as Black. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 10–up. (Apr.)