Fast Backward - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1633936147 ISBN 13: 9781633936140

Publisher: Koehler Books

Synopsis

Fifteen-year-old Bobby Hastings witnesses an atomic explosion near a top secret New Mexico army base in July of 1945. Terrified, he soon heads off on his bike for home, only to encounter something that rivals the blast for drama. A girl his age stands naked at the side of the lonely desert road: underweight, unwell, and speaking with a German accent. In the coming days, she unveils an impossible story about time travel and a heartbreaking outcome of the war. She begs people to believe her warning and prevent the awful future she claims to know too well. But even if they do believe her, and the story is true, the biggest question remains: can history be undone?

About this title

About the Author:

David Patneaude is the popular author of nine novels and one collection of stories for young (and not so young) readers. His first novel, Someone Was Watching, was published in 1993. It went on to be named to eight state young readers' lists and win awards in South Dakota and Utah. It was the runner-up to The Giver for the 1995-96 Rebecca Caudill Award in Illinois. The Texas Library Association named it to its ten-year "Best of the Best" Texas Lone Star Reading List in 2005. It became an audio book and was published in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. In 2002 Dreamchaser Entertainment produced it as a movie of the same name. David's other books have been nominated to dozens of young readers' lists and have been recognized by various organizations and reviewers. They've been honored by the New York Public Library, the Society of School Librarians International, the Winnetka (Illinois) Public Library's "One Book, Two Villages" program, the Seattle and King County Public Libraries' "Global Reading Challenge" programs, and the Washington State Public Library. Over the years, he's visited hundreds of schools and appeared at numerous conferences for both young readers and friends of young readers to talk about writing and reading and his books. When he's not at a school or library or conference, or in a coffee shop writing, or out on the trail thinking about writing, he's home in Woodinville, Washington with his wife Judy, a middle school librarian. Fast Backward is his tenth novel.

Review:

"David Patneaude has done it again with this explosive anti-war book to end all anti-war books. It is a terrific read from the first word to last." --Roland Smith, Author of Peak, Zach's Lie, and Cryptid Hunters

"Patneaude peels back the layers of history to glimpse the future--but is it bright or dark? A superb, enduring book, with lots of timely reverb." --Conrad Wesselhoeft, Author of the acclaimed novels Adios Nirvana and Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly

"Riveting! One of the best time travel stories I've read in a long time." --Dori Hillestad Butler, Edgar Award-winning author of the King and Kayla, Buddy Files, and Haunted Library series

"Fast Backward is not only a page-turning, heart-stopping glimpse into an alternate outcome to WWII, it is a thought-provoking take on choices being made in contemporary times. Cocoa is an unforgettable character, fighting hard against the current of history." --;Kirby Larson, award-winning children's author, including Audacity Jones to the Rescue, Audacity Jones Steals the Show (2018 Edgar Award Nominee), Dash (Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award), Duke, Hattie Ever After, and Hattie Big Sky (Newbery Honor)

"One July morning in 1945, 15-year-old paperboy Bobby Hastings witnesses an atomic bomb explosion and rescues a naked 16-year-girl beside the road. And that's just for openers. The girl claims to be from the future. Says we didn't win World War II after all. Predicts utter doom and destruction if the United States government doesn't take action immediately. Fast Backward is a high-stakes, tense tale about two gritty young people from different centuries who take on the impossible challenge of saving the world. David Patneaude's fast moving story involves a striking cast of characters, events, and surprises that keep the pages turning. Don't start Fast Backward until you have plenty of time. You won't want to put it down." --;David Harrison, award-winning author; Poet Laureate, Drury University (Missouri)

"Fast Backward is a high-stakes thrill ride! I've long thought that we need more World War 2 stories and alternate history in young adult fiction, and this is both. Fans of The Man in the High Castle or Michael Grant's Front Lines series will love Fast Backward!" --Mike Mullin, award-winning author of the Ashfall series

"Imaginative, thought-provoking, and compelling, Fast Backward draws you in to a fascinating what-if: What might have happened if the Nazis got the bomb in time to win the war? And what if a traveler from the future gave us the chance to avert that disaster? Hurtling head-first into this challenge are lively, likeable Bobby and Cocoa, the intriguing girl who materializes out of thin desert air. But why should anyone believe two teenagers?" --;Dori Jones Yang, journalist and author of Daughter of Xanadu and The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball

"David Patneaude's frightening 'What if?' alternative history will have young readers turning pages to find out what happens next and also turning to history books to educate themselves about the horrors of World War II. What an accomplishment!" --;Carl Deuker, award-winning author of Heart of a Champion, Swagger, and Gutless

About this edition

• Publisher: Koehler Books
• ISBN 10: 1633936147
• ISBN 13: 9781633936140
• Binding: Paperback