The Traveler in Time

Tegan O'Malley

by Larry D. Names

If you could travel back in time, where and when would you go? Imagine that you can pass through doorways to the past, but there is only one catch. In the long-ago, you must find a different gateway that opens to your own time.

Tegan O’Malley accidentally calls a stranger to the present, and when she does, she learns she is not the only person in her family who has a gift. While all these new found machinations swirl around her, Tegan has to deal with her everyday life. Before she knows it, the two spheres of her existence become intertwined with those of her best friend Toni and her nemesis Jason.

While on a 4-H trip to some historic sites in the East, Tegan opens a time door in an old Philadelphia cemetery. Jason rushes through the door, and Tegan and Toni have to follow to bring him back. This proves to be no easy task, one that can only be accomplished with the aid of several very historic figures—and Tegan’s father.

252 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2012

About the author

Larry Names is a prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction books. He is a recognized authority on the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Green Bay Packers. Names has had 43 titles published to date, 26 of them novels, and the remainder non-fiction all dealing with sports teams or sports figures. He resides in central Wisconsin with his wife Peg on a family farm that has been in his wife’s family since 1854. They have two children: Torry and Tegan; four children from his first marriage: Sigrid, Paul, Kristin, and Sonje plus a football team of grandchildren; cats: Teti and Cleo; and are caretakers to their daughter and son-in-laws horses: an escape-artist horse Lucky Moondancer, Amerrah, Mikah, Windy and Mae. The author was born in Mishawaka, Indiana in the shadow of the Golden Dome, the University of Notre Dame. He is an avid researcher and traveler. Besides being a passionate history buff, he is also an informed and enthusiastic sports fan and memorabilia collector.
Names researches his novels and non-fiction extensively. As he puts it, "I can’t write about a place I haven’t seen or touched." He and his family have averaged two months of travel a year since he took up writing full-time in 1976; often logging 30,000 miles annually. The settings for his books range from Mexico to New York to California and almost every place in between.
For more information about Larry Names and his books, go to https://www.larrynames.com/
“Like” Larry Names on his Facebook Fan page at: https://www.facebook.com/LarryNames/

Reviews

[Dennis Rose]

For me, time travel and 4-H is a winning combination. I watch and read everything time travel. As a child, I loved 4-H and the only reason I got out of it was because I burned myself with a soldering iron. I think it was a mistake, I should have stayed with it because 4-H builds character and teaches kids how to have fun while accomplishing something positive. Larry Names exemplifies that in Tegan O'Malley The Traveler in Time.

Larry's novel is expertly sprinkled with small illustrations that add a valuable dimention to the story of Tegan, her dad Peter and her friend Toni and Jason, a thorn in her side. They travel by bus with a group of 4-H ers from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to learn more about the history of America in the making. But Tegan is not your typical traveling teen, she is special in more ways than one.

Imagine traveling back in time. How cool would it be to experience the Battle of Valley Forge or to meet Betsy Ross, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson during the time the Declaration of Independence was signed? Larry, thanks for the journey. Larry Names knows how to paint a vivid word picture. One of the reasons people read is because they yearn to be transported to other places and times. My feet froze as I stood next to Tegan at Valley Forge. I sat at the table with Betsy Ross, Tegan an Toni as they ate boiled potatoes and carrots in a cream sauce.

The book's 6 by 9 format makes for an easy read. The front and back covers were perfect, only I had a problem reading the back cover blurb (I am color blind so reds and greens are tough for me). The illustrations were spot on. The font choice worked for me. Larry, I hope you'll continue this time travel series and I look forward to Tegan's future adventures. Write on, brother!

[Linda]

Solid 3.5 stars (and I might have rounded up except for some missed typos). I'm still trying to decide what age group this book is aimed at because it seemed more advanced (based on vocabulary used) than I thought it should be. All that being said I enjoyed the plot line and found the characters to be very likeable. The time travel was fun and informative. This book is recommended for anyone who enjoys a historical aspect to their stories.

[Savannah]

I received this book through the Goodreads First Reads Program. I loved the Historical lessons through-out this book on Tegans adventures through time. This is a great book for children/young adults who love a good adventurous read. Tegan reminded me a little of myself as I was growing up. I enjoyed it very much and will be looking forward to the adventures Names adds to this series!

[Csimplot Simplot]

Excellent book!!!