A Tale of Time City

Vivian Smith, a young evacuee from the London blitz, is being sent to stay with her mother's Cousin Marty. But Vivian is met by a young boy named Jonathan, not Cousin Marty, who kidnaps her and takes her to Time City, a place that exists in space and time outside history. Jonathan, the son of one of Time City's prominent families, and his cousin Sam have brought Vivian there because they think she can save the city from its predicted destruction. But the two have made a mistake: V.S., as they call her, is not who they thought. Now the three of them must save the city from ruin and figure out how to return return V.S. to the ""Twenty Century.'' Although the book is slightly confusing at the beginning, with its time travels to various ``unstable'' periods of history, Jones (author of Howl's Moving Castle and Warlock at the Wheel) has written a powerfully moving story about children who are, quite literally, racing through time to save their world. Ages 12-up. (October)