Such a superb book! I didn't think I would like it but I was sucked in within the first few pages. By chapter 2, I was hooked! The story is about a young boy named Oscar who gets separated from his father during the Great Depression. His father builds model train tracks and Oscar discovers that the tracks are secret time-travel portals.

I know it sounds far fetched but Rosemary Wells does such a great job with it. The story goes from 1929 to 1931 to 1941 to 1926 and back to 1931. There is a incredible list of characters from history including Joan Crawford, Alfred Hitchcock, Joe Kennedy and a very young JFK. The main character, Oscar, is quite lovable and you root for him throughout the story. Wells did such a great job getting the reader to sympathize with Oscar. There are lots of references to math and literature which kept me very happy.

This book just goes to show, that no matter how great a concept you have for a story, good writing is truly the key to capture the reader's imagination and keep their interest throughout the novel.