quippe | Entries tagged with ross welford

The Blurb On The Back:

When eleven-year-old Georgie befriends an eccentric retired scientist, she becomes the test subject for a thrilling new experiment: a virtual-reality 3D version of the future.

But then a deadly disease threatens the life of every dog in the country and Georgie’s beloved dog, Mr Mash, gets sick. And that’s only the start of her troubles.

Soon, Georgie and Mr Mash must embark on a desperate quest: to save every dog on earth, and maybe even all of humanity ...

... without actually leaving the room.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ross Welford’s delightful SF book for children aged 9+ revisits the idea of time travel that he first wrote about in the excellent TIME TRAVELLING WITH A HAMSTER but this time takes a dog-mad protagonist to a grim future. The world building is great, Welford makes some excellent points about privilege and refugees courtesy of the ever optimistic Ramzy and Dr Pretorius is an interesting morally ambivalent character. This book is worth your time.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

I suppose if you’d asked me before, I’d have said a time machine might look something like a submarine? Or perhaps a space rocket.

Instead, I’m looking at a laptop and a tin tub from a garden centre.

This is my dad’s time machine.

And it’s about to change the world.

Well, mine, at any rate.

Al Chaudhury has a chance to save his dad’s life – but to do it he must travel to 1984 …

This astonishing and original novel will make you laugh, cry and wonder – and wish you could turn back time, to start reading it all over again.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ross Welford’s debut novel for children aged 9+ is a sensitively written and intricately plotted science fiction story about grief, acceptance and second chances. Al is a resourceful lead character who’s easy to sympathise with – bullied by both Carly and her on/off boyfriend and isolated, he misses his dad and doesn’t have much in common with the sport-loving Steve. I completely believed in his reactions as he comes to terms with the reality of time travel and its effects and I loved the relationship that develops between him and his dad when they’re both kids (especially the fact that they’re both misfits) almost as much as I loved the relationship between Al and his grandfather. Welford isn’t afraid to tackle race either – this is a great book for those keen to read more diverse books and he makes a point of highlighting both the cultural differences of Al and his family and the things that make them the same as any other family. Although this is a strong debut, it’s not perfect – I found some of the time travel a little convoluted, which meant that the pace dropped off in some scenes. I also found Carly to be a bit too stereotypical and wished that there had been more interaction between her and Al beyond what was needed to keep the plot moving. That said, I did enjoy this book – it’s a clever page turner and I will definitely check out what Welford writes next.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.