Friends Forever: The Time Spell by Judi Curtin (Children's, 8 years +, 9/10E)

April 2011, Puffin Books

240 pages, Paperback

Review copy

Themes: history, Titanic, life for different classes in 20th century, childhood boredom, adventure, boats, being disbelieved, fear of never returning home, friends making a difference, survival, satisfaction, a very special white cat, some humour, tissues needed. 

Summary from Puffin

Can true friendship survive the test of time? 

It all started when Lauren got a cat. No ordinary cat! Saturn has long white hair, eyes that don't match and... it seems...strange powers. One minute she's cuddling Saturn, the next thing she knows she's not just miles but YEARS away from home. It's 1912, she ends up on board a ship - and THEN discovers it's the Titanic! It was like some crazy dream, except the new friends she made were real...

Nayuleska's reasons for loving Lauren...she thinks about how people in the past were just like us - people who loved and lost. Unlike Lauren boredom isn't in my vocabulary. 

Is there another character who deserves a special mention? Saturn. Cats are special, and Saturn is extra special, even if he does cause a lot of worry for Lauren. I wonder if she'll have more adventures with him...

How evil/nasty is the enemy? Both now and in the past some people don't look favourably on others who are less fortunate. Those people should have kept a closer eye out for icebergs...

Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? Yes - I was toally wrong in my guess about the ending, which was brilliantly written. 

My favourite part was when....Lauren and Mary sleep in the same room, as it connects them on a deep emotional level. 

This time travel read where a young girl learns how fortunate she is gets 9/10E from me.

 When I first picked the book up off one of many reading piles, I couldn't figure out why it was so popular. So I Googled Judi, and realised that I'd recently read one of her books, Eva's Holiday which will be reviewed soon.

You can find out more about Judi's books on her website.

Suggested read

For another thrilling time travel where a young girl affects the course of history, read The Queen Must Die by K A S Quinn (Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E)