Time out of Time: Book One: Beyond the Door - Hardcover

McQuerry, Maureen Doyle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1419710168 ISBN 13: 9781419710162

Publisher: Amulet Books, 2014

Synopsis

Beyond the Door, the first in the Time Out of Time duet from Maureen Doyle McQuerry, weaves a compelling coming-of-age story with fantasy and mythology. With his love of learning and the game of Scrabble, Timothy James feels like the only person who understands him is his older sister, Sarah, and he’s fairly certain nothing interesting will ever happen to him. But one night, while his parents and sister are away, the door opens, and mythical creatures appear in his own living room! Soon, a mystery of unparalleled proportions begins to unfold, revealing an age-old battle of Light against Dark, and Timothy must embark on a quest to prevent the Dark from controlling the future and changing the past. But he can’t complete the quest alone. Timothy has to team up with his sister and the school bully, Jessica, to face an ancient evil, and in the process, this unlikely trio discover they are each more than meets the eye.

Praise for Time Out of Time
STARRED REVIEW
"McQuerry’s compelling narrative races forward, immersing the reader in its lyrical mysteries."
--Booklist, starred review

"McQuerry smoothly blends adventure, coming-of-age, and mystery with a mythological world where special academic and problem-solving talents
are required assets rather than nerd-bait for bullies. The characters are charming, and the quirky, supernatural good guys are compassionate and forgiving."
--VOYA

"A promising start to a fantasy series mines the rich ore of Celtic mythology and propels a young boy into cosmic battle."
--Kirkus Reviews

"A sense of wonder and worry permeates the narrative, evocative of The Dark Is Rising or the work of Neil Gaiman, and the cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for more."
--Publishers Weekly

"Fantasy addicts will find plenty to like in Beyond the Door, and it is beautifully designed with Ogham code (early Irish alphabet) at the bottom of the pages for kids to decipher while they are waiting for the next instalment."
--School Library Journal
 

About this title

About the Author:

Maureen Doyle McQuerry is an award-winning poet, author, and teacher. She has taught for 20 years, specializing in young adult literature and writing. She has published two nonfiction books and numerous poems, and was the 2000 McAuliffe Fellow for Washington State. She is the author of The Peculiars. She lives in Richland, Washington.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 4–6—When Timothy leaves the door open one night, strange and menacing creatures enter the house. Suddenly his elderly babysitter has morphed into the tall and beautiful goddess Cerridwyn, the park bike paths have turned into forests with portways into another time, the trees are walking, the birds and animals are talking, and middle-school bully Jessica is helping Timothy and his older sister, Sarah, fight off the evil agents of the Dark. McQuerry's slightly dated hero seems as if he, too, is out of another time. Described as a nerd, Timothy likes to spend time at the library and has an annoying habit of analyzing the Scrabble score of any word in his mind instead of dealing with urgent and potentially life-threatening confrontations. (But he doesn't appear to know that the game has only one Z tile!) The story is a little confusing and a bit hokey, mixing obscure Celtic mythology, the King Arthur story, Morris dancers, a Travelers's Market, and magical beasties. The action often stops for backstory infodumps, and there is a disconcerting six-month or so lag between Part 1 and Part 2. And cruelly, McQuerry ends on an absolute cliff-hanger, with Sarah now unwillingly experiencing life as an ermine and Timothy racing to her rescue on the back of his giant magical wolf-taxi. Still, fantasy addicts will find plenty to like in Beyond the Door, and it is beautifully designed with Ogham code (early Irish alphabet) at the bottom of the pages for kids to decipher while they are waiting for the next instalment.—Jane Barrer, United Nations International School, New York City

About this edition

• Publisher: Amulet Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1419710168
• ISBN 13: 9781419710162
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384