Girl Out of Time

Science-minded eighth grader Anna Armstrong has always longed to explore space. She believes her dreams are forfeit when her parents’ deaths force her to leave Boston to live with her uncle Jack on his farm in Smartt, Ind. But it turns out that Uncle Jack doesn’t simply grow crops. He also employs an international team of researchers dedicated to combatting climate change and soil erosion, stoking Anna’s curiosity. Eventually, Anna starts experiencing supernatural phenomena such as bizarre noises and lights coming from the sky, heralding the arrival of Mara Banjoko Lee, a time traveler from the future. Mara persuades Anna to become her partner in closing wormholes that have begun popping up across Smartt and tracking down the mysterious shadow creature that’s lurking around town. Driven by a mutual love of technology, Anna and Mara bring out the best in each other, placing friendship at the center of their adventure and elevating their rapidly paced narrative with rich internality. Boyer forefronts imaginative inventions such as antigravity boots and cloaking devices, and astute meditations on fate and environmentalism, to devise a dynamic speculative romp that is both thoughtful and timely. Most characters are coded as white. Ages 13–17. (Mar.)