review; a tale of time city

A Tale Of Time City
by Diana Wynne Jones

London, 1939. Vivian Smith thinks she is being evacuated to the countryside, because of the war. But she is being kidnapped – out of her own time. Her kidnappers are Jonathan and Sam, two boys her own age, from a place called Time City, designed especially to oversee history. But now history is going critical, and Jonathan and Sam are convinced that Time City’s impending doom can only be averted by a twentieth-century girl named Vivian Smith. Too bad they have the wrong girl…

Review:

A girl being plucked out of time and thrust into an adventure, jumping about history as it goes wibbly-wobbly around her – it sounds like an episode of Doctor Who when I think about it now. The first time I read it, I remember being in awe about the different time zones and the descriptions of Time City.

Nothing has really changed in the two times I have read it since. Jones has created a diverse and rich world into which I can lose myself. Her characters are realistic and charming in their own ways. Vivian is a clever and resourceful eleven-year-old, naturally terrified and upset to be yanked out of her time and into a new and dangerous place, yearning to go home. Jonathan is a smart and arrogant twelve-year-old who is soon brought back to earth as he realizes his mistakes could have cost too much. Sam is annoying but intelligent eight-year-old. They are children who think they can handle all the trouble they fall into, as children are wont to, and whom adults underestimate and disbelieve, as adults are often wont to as well.

The fantasy and sci-fi aspects aside, the novel’s descriptions of friendships and familial relationships is another reason I keep going back to it. There is no romance element that takes away from the character development, the characters act their ages, and it is refreshingly easy to read and get lost in the pages.

I still wish there were a sequel, as I did the first time I read it.