ALA Booklist
(Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)
Delia knows the kiwi bird she's following doesn't belong in New England, but when it leads her to a mysterious gate in the wilderness, suddenly the bird isn't the most unusual thing in her afternoon. Behind the gate is a miraculous museum that connects researchers to every place and every time. Not only is Delia's beloved uncle its director, but she's been picked to try out for their intern program. Loux's loopy, swooping full-color artwork adds a bold, cartoonish flair to the time-travel tale, and as the group of six kids, all aspiring interns, learn how to work together on various missions to several time periods, he throws in plenty of comical visual references to bygone eras, such as the gym teacher who's always dressed in a suit of armor. Charming Delia is a relatable protagonist with believable triumphs and falters, and her ultimate transformation into an able leader is cheer worthy. Comical antics, cinematic pacing, heartwarming friendship, and a fast-moving, wacky plot should make this a real hit among middle-grade fans of adventure comics.
Publishers Weekly
(Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
In a time-bending series opener that mixes adventure, goofiness, and whimsy, Loux (SideScrollers) introduces Delia Bean, a science-minded loner whose family is spending the summer at her uncle-s estate. After arriving, Delia unexpectedly finds herself competing for an internship at the Time Museum-run by her Uncle Lyndon-which disregards the rules of time and space and features artifacts from across the planet-s existence. As she meets and trains with her fellow competitors, who include a girl from 23rd-century Japan and boys from prehistoric and Roman eras, Delia and her new friends realize that despite centuries of difference, they have much in common. However, these friendships become increasingly strained as they enter the final trials of the competition while having mysterious run-ins with a time traveler known as the Grey Earl. Loux uses vibrant colors and airy linework to sustain a sense of adventure, and his character sketches clearly communicate his protagonists- emotions. Though the tale is action-packed and entertaining as Delia and friends zip across millennia, the characters- personalities aren-t all fully developed. Even so, there-s plenty here to keep readers looking forward to future volumes. Ages 10-14. (Feb.)
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews
Both deadly dangers and exciting research opportunities await science-mad Delia Bean once she stumbles into a museum with portals to any time and place on Earth.Time and space open up for Delia after she discovers that her beloved uncle Lyndon is in fact a time traveler from 51st-century Hoboken and in charge of the Earth Time Museum—a truly massive institution charged with preserving our entire planet's past and future. Invited to try out for a museum internship, Delia plunges into a whirlwind course of study and training with five other young competitors from various eras, then joins them in three on-site tests: a Cretaceous scavenger hunt; a trip to the ancient library of Alexandria to pick its most wondrous holding ("a Homeric book of practical jokes!" "That's a contender!"); and finally an expedition 1,000 years into the future to help deal with a worrisome plague of anachronistic "time discrepancies." Loux uses only minimal variations in hue to signal his mostly light-skinned cast's diverse origins, but his fluid lines and bright colors make the action (of which there is plenty) easy to follow. By the end his young ensemble, having weathered challenges ranging from their own rivalries to T. Rexes and a time rift that threatens to annihilate London, is a bonded team ready and eager for new adventures. A first rate kickoff: fresh, fast, and funny. (Graphic science fiction. 10-13)
Kirkus Reviews
(Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Both deadly dangers and exciting research opportunities await science-mad Delia Bean once she stumbles into a museum with portals to any time and place on Earth.Time and space open up for Delia after she discovers that her beloved uncle Lyndon is in fact a time traveler from 51st-century Hoboken and in charge of the Earth Time Museum—a truly massive institution charged with preserving our entire planet's past and future. Invited to try out for a museum internship, Delia plunges into a whirlwind course of study and training with five other young competitors from various eras, then joins them in three on-site tests: a Cretaceous scavenger hunt; a trip to the ancient library of Alexandria to pick its most wondrous holding ("a Homeric book of practical jokes!" "That's a contender!"); and finally an expedition 1,000 years into the future to help deal with a worrisome plague of anachronistic "time discrepancies." Loux uses only minimal variations in hue to signal his mostly light-skinned cast's diverse origins, but his fluid lines and bright colors make the action (of which there is plenty) easy to follow. By the end his young ensemble, having weathered challenges ranging from their own rivalries to T. Rexes and a time rift that threatens to annihilate London, is a bonded team ready and eager for new adventures. A first rate kickoff: fresh, fast, and funny. (Graphic science fiction. 10-13)