ALA Booklist (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Newbery winner Kelly gives us a time-travel book that stays grounded, despite the subject matter, and draws on the power of human connection through time and space. Ridge is a teenage genius and the world's first time traveler ly, he wasn't supposed to use the device, and now he's stuck in 1999. Michael Rosario is a 12-year-old boy who is also stuck, in a way: his family struggles financially, something he blames himself for; as Y2K approaches, his anxiety leads him to doomsday prepping in a less-than-legal way; and his only friend is his babysitter, whom he has a huge crush on. Ridge may be trapped in time, but Michael is trapped in his own head, and when the two meet, Michael must either betray his new friend's trust or finally push aside his own fears and learn what it means to "do better tomorrow." This quiet book with a solid emotional core will be a treat for readers who love stories about found family and bravery, as well as those who would empathize with Michael's anxieties about the unknown future.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

When a mysterious teenager named Ridge appears at Michael Rosario’s apartment complex on Michael’s 12th birthday in 1999, Michael believes there’s “something off” about him. Ridge soon reveals he’s from 2199 and, after being goaded by his brothers, used the recently developed, controversial Spatial Teleportation Module to travel back to 1999, his “favorite year in history.” Shy, awkward, and compassionate Michael, who is half Filipino and assumed half white, and only has two friends—his 15-year-old babysitter and crush Gibby, who cues as white, and “brown weathered” Mr. Mosely, the complex’s 62-year-old maintenance man—has been secretly, obsessively stockpiling (and shoplifting) supplies for himself and his loving, hard-working single mother in preparation for the assumed disaster of Y2K. Michael realizes Ridge can tell him if Y2K was indeed a worldwide crisis, but Ridge refuses. As Michael and Gibby indulge Ridge’s fascination with shopping malls and 1999 objects, he develops a previously unknown self-confidence that is well rendered and endearing. Interspersed audio transcripts and textbook excerpts from 2199 provide background for Ridge, and an epilogue reveals a delicious, thought-provoking twist on a question posed early on by Kelly (Those Kids from Fawn Creek): would the disruption of time influence past, present, or future events? Ages 8–12. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2024)

Gr 3–5— Kelly returns with another solid middle grade novel exploring themes of time travel and personal responsibility. In 1999, anxiety-ridden 12-year-old Michael, in the throes of prepping for a potential disaster thanks to Y2K, happens upon a teen named Ridge, who is strangely dressed and speaks in unfamiliar phrases. Ridge has traveled back in time from 2199 thanks to his mother's scientific work and a dare from his siblings. Although the opportunity to know any and all future outcomes is irresistible to Michael, he understands he must help Ridge get home. Small bumps in logic and pacing are this story's only issues. The loss of a kindly mentor throws a wrench into the rhythm, with the urgency of Ridge's return set aside for a stretch that feels longer than the number of pages it takes to read. However, Kelly has deftly assembled a community of empathetically rendered characters, making this an enjoyable, uplifting reading experience. The elements of sci-fi will be enough to sate fans of the genre while remaining approachable for all audiences. VERDICT A lovable cast buoys this time travel drama by one of the most reliable authors in children's literature.— Alexandra Quay