In A Pickle by Beth Overmyer (Children's, 9 years +, 8/10)

December 2012, Muse It Up 

88 pages, Ebook 

Review copy 

Summary from Muse It Up 

Charlie Pickle can't stay put in the year 1920, due to an annoying habit of time-traveling. On a trip back to 1910, he meets a man with a secret. Murder makes the headlines that day, and Charlie's new friend knows who the guilty party is. Now, not only does Charlie have bullies and murderers to contend with, he's got some history to fix

Nayuleska's thoughts 

I love books - especially those written by friends, as I usually know how hard they've worked. Having read some of Beth's other wips I was excited about In A Pickle. I wasn't disappointed. There were a fair amount of twists, one towards the end which I didn't see coming. I felt sorry for Charlie and was desperate for him to have people care about him. I liked the concept of how his time travelling affected history, and how he could go back and forth every other day. 

There are a few reasons this read gets 8/10. Mostly the language and concepts were appropriate for the time, but there were two which originated much later in history, which made them stand out in the story. The ending felt a little rushed, sometimes the chapters felt too short as if they should have carried on a bit more. I'd have liked to know why Charlie time travelled, plus the cover feels a bit too old for the intended age group.

You can find out more Beth's website.

Suggested read 

For more historical adventures try The Adventures of the New Cut Gang by Philip Pullman.