Kirkus Reviews

Why does time fly when you're having fun? Time thieves!San Francisco seventh-grader Taj Carter is an expert time waster and an excellent planner of fun times. He and his friends have an epic summer planned—but when he wakes up on what should be the first day of summer, it's the first day of school! Everyone is acting strangely…and then gym class freezes, and a bus plows through the gymnasium wall. Eon, a burly Time Tracer in a gray business suit, tells Taj that summer fun times were stolen and the only way to get them back is to join him. Eon works for Father Time at the Universal Time Agency, which fights the time thieves, 600 separate species of insectile monsters that each feeds off a different type of fun time. Taj's whole community is in danger, and only Taj can return their time to them…but there is a powerful enemy out there guiding the thieves. Can Taj and the agents stop him in…time? Both producers for the media organization the Story Pirates, Bondor-Stone and White aim for an older audience than their tales about Shivers the pirate…and end up with a bit of a mess. The premise isn't a bad one, but the metaphysics are so poorly communicated that readers will question the many inconsistencies throughout. Characterization suffers as well, failing to explain arguably the most important question, which is, why is Taj the chosen one? The book seems to adhere to the white default.An easily avoided waste of time. (Fantasy. 7-10)

ALA Booklist (Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Time flies when you're having fun, and Taj Carter is planning the most fun summer ever. So fun, in fact, that he doesn't even remember all the high jinks he and his friends Jen and Lucas got up to between seventh and eighth grades. He's not the only one who feels weird eryone is missing time. The whole summer flew by overnight, and clocks everywhere have gone on the fritz. The culprits, Taj and his friends discover, are time thieves: creepy creatures like Time Flies, Weekend Guzzlers, and Travel Bugs. Can Taj save all the good times and fun summers of the world? Or is he doomed to lose out on the awesomeness for the rest of his life? Coauthors Bondor-Stone and White, who have worked together before on the Shivers series, blaze new trails with this original concept. Every child having fun always wants more time, and the monsters created here explain where it all goes. A fun, exciting romp for any reader.

School Library Journal (Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Gr 4-6 Taj Carter has the unique ability to create fun times for all those around him. He's the class clown and the life of every party. He's the kid determined to make this summer the "Best Summer Ever." But Taj wakes up the day after the last day of school only to find that it is the dreaded first day of school. For Taj, his friends, and his family, the summer has simply disappeared. More accurately, Taj discovers, their summers have been stolen. Now Taj must help an agency of Time Tracers retrieve the lost summers from a nasty buglike race of Time Thieves before time as Taj knows it implodes. Bondor-Stone and White have crafted a highly entertaining tale. The narrative is light and enjoyable. The villains are straightforwardly evil, and the protagonist is a cool every-kid. The mechanics of the Time Thieves and why/how they steal time are pretty vague, so a generous suspension of disbelief is required. VERDICT A fast-paced and fun, light read for those who crave sci-fi romps. Kasey Panighetti, Indianapolis Public Library