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Time Guardians #1
The Unintentional Time Traveler
Fifteen-year-old Jack Bishop has mad skills with cars and engines, but knows he’ll never get a driver’s license because of his epilepsy. Agreeing to participate in an experimental clinical trial to find new treatments for his disease, he finds himself in a completely different body—that of a girl his age, Jacqueline, who defies the expectations of her era. Since his seizures usually give him spazzed out visions, Jack presumes this is a hallucination. Feeling fearless, he steals a horse, expecting that at any moment he’ll wake back up in the clinical trial lab. When that doesn’t happen, Jacqueline falls unexpectedly in love, even as the town in the past becomes swallowed in a fight for its survival. Jack/Jacqueline is caught between two lives and epochs, and must find a way to save everyone around him as well as himself. And all the while, he is losing time, even if he is getting out of algebra class.
267 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 24, 2014
9 people are currently reading
2069 people want to read
About the author
Everett Maroon
7 books68 followersEverett Maroon is a memoirist, pop culture commentator, and speculative fiction writer. He has a B.A. in English from Syracuse University and went through an English literature master’s program there. He is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association; Bumbling into Body Hair was a finalist in their 2010 literary contest for memoir. Everett writes about writing and living in the Northwest at trans/plant/portation. He has written for Bitch Magazine, GayYA.org, RH RealityCheck, Original Plumbing, and Remedy Quarterly. He has had short stories published by SPLIT Quarterly and Twisted Dreams Magazine, and has a short story, "Cursed" in The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard, from Topside Press. Bumbling into Body Hair is published by Booktrope Editions. His forthcoming young adult novel, The Unintentional Time Traveler, is forthcoming from Booktrope in the summer of 2013.
Everett lives in Walla Walla, Washington, with his partner and baby son. He is originally from Hightstown, New Jersey, graduating from McCorristin Catholic High School.
Everett lives in Walla Walla, Washington, with his partner and baby son. He is originally from Hightstown, New Jersey, graduating from McCorristin Catholic High School.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
January 17, 2017
The concept of this book is amazing. I really wish the execution had been better.
When teenager Jack Bishop agrees to participate in a medical study, he hopes that it will help with his epilepsy. He does not expect that the study will send him back in time, but that’s exactly what happens. During the study, the doctors induce a seizure, and Jack wakes up in 1926. To make things more bizarre, Jack isn’t in his own body. He’s in the body of a girl named Jacqueline. Can Jack/Jacqueline use their newfound time travel skills to save Jacqueline’s town and navigate the tricky relationships in both of their lives?
This book puts a unique spin on a time travel story. When Jack travels, he doesn’t take his body with him. He has to adapt to whatever body he finds himself inhabiting. This raises a lot of interesting questions. How much does a person’s body influence their personality? Could you still be yourself if your body was suddenly different? Would you be more comfortable in a different body? I love that the author doesn’t moralize or try to give concrete answers to these questions. He just allows Jack/Jacqueline to be themselves and explore their identity. Whatever happens happens.
The plot takes a while to get going, but once it does, I was totally hooked. There are so many twists that I didn’t see coming. The ending is nuts.
I enjoyed the action and the body-swapping, but I had a ton of issues with this book.
First, I was frustrated by how uncurious the characters are. If I woke up in 1926 inside someone else’s body, I’d have a lot of questions. I kept waiting for Jack/Jacqueline to ask my questions. When they finally got around to asking the important ones, the questions weren’t answered. I know that this book is the first in a series, but I think more answers could have been given. It’s frustrating to not fully understand what’s going on. I mostly want to know who is in Jack’s body when he isn’t using it. I spent the whole book waiting to find out, and I never did. There were a zillion opportunities for Jack to ask that question.
Also, Jacqueline disappears for a few years and then suddenly shows up again. Some people (including her mother) thought she was dead. When she unexpectedly comes home, nobody bothers asking where she was. Wouldn’t they be curious about this? I was.
Next, the instalove is strong in this one. Jack meets Jacqueline’s friend, Lucas, and immediately becomes obsessed. I don’t understand why. They kiss a few times, and then they’re in love. That must have been a mind-blowing kiss.
I think a few more rounds of editing would have done this book a lot of good. I sometimes had a hard time picturing the blocking of the scenes. There were a few times where I got confused about something and had to back up and reread. For example, there is a scene where Jack is in a tunnel and wishes he had a screwdriver. A few scenes later, he has a screwdriver. (I think?) Where did it come from? There’s another scene where part of a conversation is missing. In another scene, a horse disappears from one place and appears somewhere else. Editing could have fixed these inconsistencies.
Finally, I questioned the representation of mental illness. Jack’s doctor is sent to a mental hospital after he claims that he has sent his patients back in time. The hospital gives him medication that turns him from a highly educated person to a gameshow-obsessed man-child. Can medication do that? Would doctors allow that to happen to a patient? I’m not sure.
I don’t think I’m going to pick up the sequels, but the plot and exploration of gender were interesting to read.
When teenager Jack Bishop agrees to participate in a medical study, he hopes that it will help with his epilepsy. He does not expect that the study will send him back in time, but that’s exactly what happens. During the study, the doctors induce a seizure, and Jack wakes up in 1926. To make things more bizarre, Jack isn’t in his own body. He’s in the body of a girl named Jacqueline. Can Jack/Jacqueline use their newfound time travel skills to save Jacqueline’s town and navigate the tricky relationships in both of their lives?
This book puts a unique spin on a time travel story. When Jack travels, he doesn’t take his body with him. He has to adapt to whatever body he finds himself inhabiting. This raises a lot of interesting questions. How much does a person’s body influence their personality? Could you still be yourself if your body was suddenly different? Would you be more comfortable in a different body? I love that the author doesn’t moralize or try to give concrete answers to these questions. He just allows Jack/Jacqueline to be themselves and explore their identity. Whatever happens happens.
The plot takes a while to get going, but once it does, I was totally hooked. There are so many twists that I didn’t see coming. The ending is nuts.
I enjoyed the action and the body-swapping, but I had a ton of issues with this book.
First, I was frustrated by how uncurious the characters are. If I woke up in 1926 inside someone else’s body, I’d have a lot of questions. I kept waiting for Jack/Jacqueline to ask my questions. When they finally got around to asking the important ones, the questions weren’t answered. I know that this book is the first in a series, but I think more answers could have been given. It’s frustrating to not fully understand what’s going on. I mostly want to know who is in Jack’s body when he isn’t using it. I spent the whole book waiting to find out, and I never did. There were a zillion opportunities for Jack to ask that question.
Also, Jacqueline disappears for a few years and then suddenly shows up again. Some people (including her mother) thought she was dead. When she unexpectedly comes home, nobody bothers asking where she was. Wouldn’t they be curious about this? I was.
Next, the instalove is strong in this one. Jack meets Jacqueline’s friend, Lucas, and immediately becomes obsessed. I don’t understand why. They kiss a few times, and then they’re in love. That must have been a mind-blowing kiss.
I think a few more rounds of editing would have done this book a lot of good. I sometimes had a hard time picturing the blocking of the scenes. There were a few times where I got confused about something and had to back up and reread. For example, there is a scene where Jack is in a tunnel and wishes he had a screwdriver. A few scenes later, he has a screwdriver. (I think?) Where did it come from? There’s another scene where part of a conversation is missing. In another scene, a horse disappears from one place and appears somewhere else. Editing could have fixed these inconsistencies.
Finally, I questioned the representation of mental illness. Jack’s doctor is sent to a mental hospital after he claims that he has sent his patients back in time. The hospital gives him medication that turns him from a highly educated person to a gameshow-obsessed man-child. Can medication do that? Would doctors allow that to happen to a patient? I’m not sure.
I don’t think I’m going to pick up the sequels, but the plot and exploration of gender were interesting to read.
October 13, 2022
4 stars
This was a fun book to read. Short in pages, but big in theme. Nothing heavy, really simple, but moving well oiled plot.
Jack has epilepsy. He is put in a clinical study to try to find the cause and eliminate his seizures. During his procedure Jack begins to have visions. As time goes on Jack realizes he is being transported back in time and into the body of a girl, Jacqueline.
This is an easy read - short and entertaining. Time travel at it's best. No heavy formulas to concern you - just a great little story. Reminds me a bit of Quantum Leap - the TV series.
This was a fun book to read. Short in pages, but big in theme. Nothing heavy, really simple, but moving well oiled plot.
Jack has epilepsy. He is put in a clinical study to try to find the cause and eliminate his seizures. During his procedure Jack begins to have visions. As time goes on Jack realizes he is being transported back in time and into the body of a girl, Jacqueline.
This is an easy read - short and entertaining. Time travel at it's best. No heavy formulas to concern you - just a great little story. Reminds me a bit of Quantum Leap - the TV series.
November 26, 2016
This book offers an action-packed and exciting adventure with time travel and a complex exploration of gender identity. Looking forward to book 2!
For the in-depth review, visit my blog:Read Diverse Books
For the in-depth review, visit my blog:Read Diverse Books
January 20, 2014
The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon is a soon to be released young adult novel introducing Jack, a self-deprecating and entertainingly sarcastic fifteen year old boy with a knack for automotive repair and self-acceptance beyond his age. He suffers from epileptic seizures that have him despairing that he’ll ever be allowed to drive or live without padding on all the hard surfaces in his home. By the time we catch up with him, Jack has suffered through numerous attempts to medicate his condition. When his mother enrolls him in a clinical study for children with epilepsy, he’s not thrilled or optimistic that anything life-changing will come of it. Boy, is he wrong.
Using an engaging and entertaining narrative voice, Maroon draws us in quickly and takes us on a journey into the past. What seem to be hallucinations caused by the epilepsy study are actually trips back in time. Our hero drops into the middle of a story pitting a power-hungry con-man and his gullible followers against a small but dedicated resistance. Our hero’s efforts to assist in that resistance are inconveniently interrupted by unpredictable time shifts. Though it’s not a joy-ride, it isn’t without it’s pleasant -- if initially confusing -- moments of romantic and sexual awakening.
A couple of chapters in, I had a hard time putting this book down. As with any good speculative fiction, this story sent me down a lot of mental side paths. I already think about gender and identity quite a bit and this story added a few new twists. For example, how much of our identity is dependent on our current physical bodies? Do our identities change along with our bodies or do we transcend the physical? How flexible is identity and gender? Though the topic of time travel has been explored countless times in sci/fi and fantasy, I enjoyed Maroon’s new take on it and I’m eager to read more from him on the topic.
Gender and sexuality are essential features of the storyline but Maroon handles them with a light touch, letting the characters explain and demonstrate their importance, rather than lecturing the reader. This approach is matter of fact and refreshing. From my perspective as a fiction writer, I have been thinking a lot about how to treat gender, identity and sexuality in ways that don’t sensationalize or beat the reader over the head with moralizing and lecturing. I’ve found it a bit challenging, as enamored as I am of talking about gender until the cows come home. Maroon’s approach is to let gender and sexuality take their place with other characteristics such as height, hair color and favorite color and with about as much drama as one might encounter when looking in the mirror and discovering a new freckle. Shifts of gender are a curious addition to Jack’s reality but not one that throws him off the rails for long.
The Unintentional Time Traveler is great fun, an adventure story carried along by humor and grace, love and courage. Jack is not your typical teenaged boy, even without the epilepsy and time traveling. He’s generous and honorable and accepts his fate with a grace beyond his years. There’s a lot we can learn from this kid.
Whether you are a fan of sci/fi, of young adult fiction, or you’re interested in fiction delving into topics of gender, sexuality, identity and gender non-conformity, this is a great addition to your collection. The Unintentional Time Traveler is book one in the Time Guardians series and will be available from Booktrope Editions, on February 24, 2014 in paperback and electronic formats.
Using an engaging and entertaining narrative voice, Maroon draws us in quickly and takes us on a journey into the past. What seem to be hallucinations caused by the epilepsy study are actually trips back in time. Our hero drops into the middle of a story pitting a power-hungry con-man and his gullible followers against a small but dedicated resistance. Our hero’s efforts to assist in that resistance are inconveniently interrupted by unpredictable time shifts. Though it’s not a joy-ride, it isn’t without it’s pleasant -- if initially confusing -- moments of romantic and sexual awakening.
A couple of chapters in, I had a hard time putting this book down. As with any good speculative fiction, this story sent me down a lot of mental side paths. I already think about gender and identity quite a bit and this story added a few new twists. For example, how much of our identity is dependent on our current physical bodies? Do our identities change along with our bodies or do we transcend the physical? How flexible is identity and gender? Though the topic of time travel has been explored countless times in sci/fi and fantasy, I enjoyed Maroon’s new take on it and I’m eager to read more from him on the topic.
Gender and sexuality are essential features of the storyline but Maroon handles them with a light touch, letting the characters explain and demonstrate their importance, rather than lecturing the reader. This approach is matter of fact and refreshing. From my perspective as a fiction writer, I have been thinking a lot about how to treat gender, identity and sexuality in ways that don’t sensationalize or beat the reader over the head with moralizing and lecturing. I’ve found it a bit challenging, as enamored as I am of talking about gender until the cows come home. Maroon’s approach is to let gender and sexuality take their place with other characteristics such as height, hair color and favorite color and with about as much drama as one might encounter when looking in the mirror and discovering a new freckle. Shifts of gender are a curious addition to Jack’s reality but not one that throws him off the rails for long.
The Unintentional Time Traveler is great fun, an adventure story carried along by humor and grace, love and courage. Jack is not your typical teenaged boy, even without the epilepsy and time traveling. He’s generous and honorable and accepts his fate with a grace beyond his years. There’s a lot we can learn from this kid.
Whether you are a fan of sci/fi, of young adult fiction, or you’re interested in fiction delving into topics of gender, sexuality, identity and gender non-conformity, this is a great addition to your collection. The Unintentional Time Traveler is book one in the Time Guardians series and will be available from Booktrope Editions, on February 24, 2014 in paperback and electronic formats.
June 29, 2014
This is a book in which time travel is done right. As much as I love Jack, I love Jac even more. a story of a boy with epilepsy dissolves into a story of someone displaced in time and space, trying to get back to his own world. But once the world around him starts to fall apart, the ties Jack has to reality begin to fall apart, honestly, by the time I finished this book, I couldn't tell which head was the one he really started in, even though it's explicitly stated it's Jack - but then, he could just be remembering things, or imagining them.
I love books that make you think when you c lose the back cover. The Unintentional Time Traveler brings up all kinds of questions, from 'Who are we really?' to questions of one's self and identity, the matter of a soul's gender and place, the effects of time... A boy transplanted into a girl's body, building a life in both times, places and bodies can only work in a well-written book - and this is one of those books.
I could bring up all kinds of arguments for transgenderism and non-conformist sexualities represented and alluded to, intentionally or not, but that would make this an English essay, and I hate having good books torn apart.
Summaey: I just plain loved this book.
5.5/5
I love books that make you think when you c lose the back cover. The Unintentional Time Traveler brings up all kinds of questions, from 'Who are we really?' to questions of one's self and identity, the matter of a soul's gender and place, the effects of time... A boy transplanted into a girl's body, building a life in both times, places and bodies can only work in a well-written book - and this is one of those books.
I could bring up all kinds of arguments for transgenderism and non-conformist sexualities represented and alluded to, intentionally or not, but that would make this an English essay, and I hate having good books torn apart.
Summaey: I just plain loved this book.
5.5/5
March 6, 2014
Time travel through neural synapse firings. Interesting! Engaging writing, enjoyed the read.
Starts off following Jack, whose epilepsy serves as a conduit for his initial trips through time. Just when the time traveling aspect gets interesting, the story begins to explore gender identity, via the various bodies the self travels into. The story picked up in speed after a few trips back, and more of the time traveling aspect was revealed.
I'm interested to see what happens in #2! And to find out what has happened to Jack, and more importantly, Jack's body, and also to see explained what happened to the characters before Jacks hops, ie what was the story with Jac, and what happened to her consciousness? Actually, what happens to the consciousness of all the bodies hopped into! In Quantum Leap, they went into the white room ;-). What happens to them in the Time Guardians?
Starts off following Jack, whose epilepsy serves as a conduit for his initial trips through time. Just when the time traveling aspect gets interesting, the story begins to explore gender identity, via the various bodies the self travels into. The story picked up in speed after a few trips back, and more of the time traveling aspect was revealed.
I'm interested to see what happens in #2! And to find out what has happened to Jack, and more importantly, Jack's body, and also to see explained what happened to the characters before Jacks hops, ie what was the story with Jac, and what happened to her consciousness? Actually, what happens to the consciousness of all the bodies hopped into! In Quantum Leap, they went into the white room ;-). What happens to them in the Time Guardians?
November 9, 2014
Half-baked.
November 5, 2020
I enjoyed this unusual time travel book
June 4, 2016
The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon is the story of teenage Jack Bishop, whose epilepsy ends up with him put into an experimental program to try to cure him. Unexpectedly (to say the least), this causes him to travel back in time and find himself in the body of 1920s teenage girl, Jaqueline. But as Jack repeatedly jumps between time periods, losing stretches of time along the way, things get complicated in both the past, with a prohibition-era self-proclaimed prophet ruling the town by violence, and in the present (or is it?), as his actions cause rippling repercussions...
Overall, I found this a delightful read with a great narrator and a strong theme of identity. Moving between time periods (both in the "past", and by the way losing time caused him to have to resettle in his life without knowing what's gone on in it) and bodies brings up a strong theme about how identity itself is experiential. The situations you live through in both different time periods and different bodies: both affect your identity. Jack's narrative voice grows and evolves throughout as a result of this variety of experiences.
There's a lot of disconnect and skipping in the book. Both as Jack and as Jac, the protagonist finds that he 'returns' to whichever time to find that life has literally gone on without him. The changes in the world and technology aside, he comes back to Jack (for example) to find that he's gone through puberty, or got a girlfriend, or got a job. All of which he didn't remember, because the Jack who did it wasn't him—or was, but was living life as a Jack who was separate in time. The story starts out fairly straightforward and linear and gets more disconnected and jagged the longer Jack spends in a different time and body, or the more Jack goes back to reset things. I liked this quite a bit because the disconnect is deliberate and plays well into the sense of being about an experience, learning things by living them, not by understanding how they've developed.
The only way I was drawn out of the story is that at several key decision points (both in the romance and in the plot), we don't see Jack's POV on why he's making a decision to act. We just see the dialogue around it, or a skip to it happening. We're in Jack's POV throughout the story and hear a constant entertaining self-deprecating dialogue, so these moments really stood out to me. We're experiencing so many discoveries along with Jack that not seeing the mental decisions to take those steps makes it feel very blank in comparison to what we're reading the rest of the time. I feel it may be deliberate, to play around with the concept of disconnect/skipping/experience, but since we're solidly in a time/setting/body and are seeing thoughts leading up to that and right after the relevant story-driving decisions are made, the lack of seeing Jack make those steps felt odd to me.
Overall, a fun adventure with great characters and a solid theme. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next Time Guardians book will have to offer.
Overall, I found this a delightful read with a great narrator and a strong theme of identity. Moving between time periods (both in the "past", and by the way losing time caused him to have to resettle in his life without knowing what's gone on in it) and bodies brings up a strong theme about how identity itself is experiential. The situations you live through in both different time periods and different bodies: both affect your identity. Jack's narrative voice grows and evolves throughout as a result of this variety of experiences.
There's a lot of disconnect and skipping in the book. Both as Jack and as Jac, the protagonist finds that he 'returns' to whichever time to find that life has literally gone on without him. The changes in the world and technology aside, he comes back to Jack (for example) to find that he's gone through puberty, or got a girlfriend, or got a job. All of which he didn't remember, because the Jack who did it wasn't him—or was, but was living life as a Jack who was separate in time. The story starts out fairly straightforward and linear and gets more disconnected and jagged the longer Jack spends in a different time and body, or the more Jack goes back to reset things. I liked this quite a bit because the disconnect is deliberate and plays well into the sense of being about an experience, learning things by living them, not by understanding how they've developed.
The only way I was drawn out of the story is that at several key decision points (both in the romance and in the plot), we don't see Jack's POV on why he's making a decision to act. We just see the dialogue around it, or a skip to it happening. We're in Jack's POV throughout the story and hear a constant entertaining self-deprecating dialogue, so these moments really stood out to me. We're experiencing so many discoveries along with Jack that not seeing the mental decisions to take those steps makes it feel very blank in comparison to what we're reading the rest of the time. I feel it may be deliberate, to play around with the concept of disconnect/skipping/experience, but since we're solidly in a time/setting/body and are seeing thoughts leading up to that and right after the relevant story-driving decisions are made, the lack of seeing Jack make those steps felt odd to me.
Overall, a fun adventure with great characters and a solid theme. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next Time Guardians book will have to offer.
June 4, 2016
I feel kind of awful not giving this a better rating, but for me 3 stars is a good book, and I would say that's where it sat for me.
The problems I had were mainly with the writing itself. Many events felt rushed, and many times the emotions didn't resonate with me. After everything Jack / Jacqueline had been through, and devoting so much time trying to figure out the myriad of mysteries, the end felt too rushed and sudden. This is book 1 of 3, so I have to wonder if some things will be explained later. I'm not the sort of sci-fi / fantasy fan who needs the Midi-chlorians explanation, but there are a few things I'd really love to find out. All in all, I think with some heavy editing and polish this book could have easily been a 4 or 5 stars for me.
As for the positives - this was a very interesting, unique story, and I appreciated that the time travel involved was unlike anything I'd read before. I went in thinking this was about a transgender character in a more explicit way than they are written in the story, and I think it definitely falls under that umbrella as the main character and the story explores gender identity. Jack is born a cis-gender male, but when he time travels into the body of a cis-gender woman named Jacqueline without knowing how to leave, he is forced to adjust. At first he dislikes it, but then when he returns to his body as Jack he feels some repulsion. In the end it seems as though Jack / Jacqueline have accepted and become comfortable in both bodies, as both genders. And in fact, toward the end of the book the character doesn't refer to themselves as Jack, they think, "Jack's body" instead of "my body". I liked reading about both lives as Jack / Jacqueline hopped back and forth, and I enjoyed most of the side characters.
I do have a few questions I'd love to see answered in a future book(s)...
The problems I had were mainly with the writing itself. Many events felt rushed, and many times the emotions didn't resonate with me. After everything Jack / Jacqueline had been through, and devoting so much time trying to figure out the myriad of mysteries, the end felt too rushed and sudden. This is book 1 of 3, so I have to wonder if some things will be explained later. I'm not the sort of sci-fi / fantasy fan who needs the Midi-chlorians explanation, but there are a few things I'd really love to find out. All in all, I think with some heavy editing and polish this book could have easily been a 4 or 5 stars for me.
As for the positives - this was a very interesting, unique story, and I appreciated that the time travel involved was unlike anything I'd read before. I went in thinking this was about a transgender character in a more explicit way than they are written in the story, and I think it definitely falls under that umbrella as the main character and the story explores gender identity. Jack is born a cis-gender male, but when he time travels into the body of a cis-gender woman named Jacqueline without knowing how to leave, he is forced to adjust. At first he dislikes it, but then when he returns to his body as Jack he feels some repulsion. In the end it seems as though Jack / Jacqueline have accepted and become comfortable in both bodies, as both genders. And in fact, toward the end of the book the character doesn't refer to themselves as Jack, they think, "Jack's body" instead of "my body". I liked reading about both lives as Jack / Jacqueline hopped back and forth, and I enjoyed most of the side characters.
I do have a few questions I'd love to see answered in a future book(s)...
October 20, 2015
The Unintentional Time Traveler is a fast-paced piece of YA fiction with a few interesting twists on genre and character tropes that kept me interested and wanting to read more. The characters are well-drawn and complex: no easy trope-role-filling here. There’s a tendency, I think, in time travel novels to give short shrift to one set of characters or the other: either the present-day characters are given more weight than the past/future cast, or vice versa. Maroon very capably avoids that imbalance, giving us two sets of interesting supporting characters to get to know, each with character arcs and subplots that affect the main plot. He also doesn’t skimp on Jack’s personal exploration: how being in Jacqueline’s body causes him to reassess what he’s always known about himself, how it alters his relationships with his friends Jay and Jeannine in the present. The book is a time-travel novel genre-wise, but it is moreso a journey of discovery.
The time-travel itself is of the “take over a past person’s body” type rather than the physical transportation of the main character to another time period. Tying Jack’s time-jumps into his life-long epilepsy engages the reader not only in the mystery (how is this happening?) but also in the character’s fate (will Jack’s epilepsy be cured, or are the time jumps making it worse?), adding a level of concern that many time travel novels lack. I also liked the aspect that present-day Jack unpredictably “loses time” when he jumps into Jacqueline’s body; it adds another layer of tension to the travel, and also adds another mystery to the mix: how much time has passed and what will be different this time? I won’t pretend to be able to explicate the way Maroon’s cross-body cross-time travel works, but I will say that in context, in the midst of the book, it made sense to me. And really, isn’t that what we want from our genre reading – internal consistency?
Plot-wise, the set-up introduced in the back cover copy would be propelling enough, but Maroon keeps Jack/Jaqueline and us guessing as to what will happen next, and how it all comes together.
The time-travel itself is of the “take over a past person’s body” type rather than the physical transportation of the main character to another time period. Tying Jack’s time-jumps into his life-long epilepsy engages the reader not only in the mystery (how is this happening?) but also in the character’s fate (will Jack’s epilepsy be cured, or are the time jumps making it worse?), adding a level of concern that many time travel novels lack. I also liked the aspect that present-day Jack unpredictably “loses time” when he jumps into Jacqueline’s body; it adds another layer of tension to the travel, and also adds another mystery to the mix: how much time has passed and what will be different this time? I won’t pretend to be able to explicate the way Maroon’s cross-body cross-time travel works, but I will say that in context, in the midst of the book, it made sense to me. And really, isn’t that what we want from our genre reading – internal consistency?
Plot-wise, the set-up introduced in the back cover copy would be propelling enough, but Maroon keeps Jack/Jaqueline and us guessing as to what will happen next, and how it all comes together.
January 14, 2016
I think the main problem I had with this book, was that it fails to linger in the moment. Perhaps it's just me, but my favorite thing in a story is when the author lingers, gives you a feel for the world. The story itself wasn't bad, but I think a serious problem this book has is that it rushes through almost every single moment. In some ways that is a good thing, it gives a feeling of being caught up in time... but on the other hand I think it could just benefit from just slowing down once in awhile. The ending of the book especially suffers from this horribly, along with the reveal of Jack's Guardian, who essentially answers almost none of the reader's questions. Likewise the villain himself is defeated, but we never truly learn much of his motivations, or really get to see the events leading up to his defeat.
I think I also would have liked to have seen more of the psychological effects of time travel and body swapping has on our hero. We see very clearly that this has not done well for Jack's doctor, but we never really see a terribly huge impact on Jack. He adapts quickly to being essentially shoved into a girl body, and while I imagine there are people that would be okay with that, I don't think even under the best circumstances it would necessarily go that easily.
That said, I did enjoy the book, I enjoyed a lot of the ideas that it put forth, and tore through it quite quickly. Again, my main problem is almost that the book just did not take the time to linger in the moment.
I think I also would have liked to have seen more of the psychological effects of time travel and body swapping has on our hero. We see very clearly that this has not done well for Jack's doctor, but we never really see a terribly huge impact on Jack. He adapts quickly to being essentially shoved into a girl body, and while I imagine there are people that would be okay with that, I don't think even under the best circumstances it would necessarily go that easily.
That said, I did enjoy the book, I enjoyed a lot of the ideas that it put forth, and tore through it quite quickly. Again, my main problem is almost that the book just did not take the time to linger in the moment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2025
Hmmm, where do I start with my review of this book and especially how do I rate it?
Frankly, this is not a book I would have chosen for myself. I'm not a fan of young adult or historical, but I could use the book for one of my challenges and that's why I picked it. So it's my own fault, and not the author's, that I was bored during the first forty percent of the story. But I kept listening and found the second half much more interesting.....
Jack suffers from epileptic seizures and while participating in a medical study, he inadvertently becomes a time traveler. As I said, the first chapters left me bored, but the more Jack jumped in time, the more people, places and experiences crossed Jack's path, the more exciting it became. At times it was confusing, but gradually a big picture formed. The ending left me a little unsatisfied, not everything is answered. A look at the author's page suggests that a sequel was planned/written, but unfortunately never published. Too bad, because I'm curious enough that I would have given the sequel a chance.
3.5 stars
Frankly, this is not a book I would have chosen for myself. I'm not a fan of young adult or historical, but I could use the book for one of my challenges and that's why I picked it. So it's my own fault, and not the author's, that I was bored during the first forty percent of the story. But I kept listening and found the second half much more interesting.....
Jack suffers from epileptic seizures and while participating in a medical study, he inadvertently becomes a time traveler. As I said, the first chapters left me bored, but the more Jack jumped in time, the more people, places and experiences crossed Jack's path, the more exciting it became. At times it was confusing, but gradually a big picture formed. The ending left me a little unsatisfied, not everything is answered. A look at the author's page suggests that a sequel was planned/written, but unfortunately never published. Too bad, because I'm curious enough that I would have given the sequel a chance.
3.5 stars
August 22, 2018
I've been enjoying reading books with time travel recently. The title of this book is a giveaway.
One word that can describe this book to me is: confusing.😖
The concept of time travel but just the consciousness doing that is very weird. The world building is lacking on a lot of places. Plot holes are abundant here.
We have Jack, a time traveler. But the only thing that travels back in time is his consciousness. And he ends up in different bodies. Most of the time on a girl's body.
The concept is unique but it feels like stories unevenly patched up together. I really did not enjoy it. But I felt connected at some parts that's why I still gave a passable 3⭐.
One word that can describe this book to me is: confusing.😖
The concept of time travel but just the consciousness doing that is very weird. The world building is lacking on a lot of places. Plot holes are abundant here.
We have Jack, a time traveler. But the only thing that travels back in time is his consciousness. And he ends up in different bodies. Most of the time on a girl's body.
The concept is unique but it feels like stories unevenly patched up together. I really did not enjoy it. But I felt connected at some parts that's why I still gave a passable 3⭐.
January 20, 2014
I knew this book – Everett’s first foray into long fiction – would be well-written but I had some hesitation about the genre (I’m not a huge sci-fi fan.) I read this book in less than two days. Jack, the protagonist, jumps back and forth between his body and Jacqueline’s. He must learn to juggle two lives and integrate his identities. The Unintentional Time Traveler is, at various points, sweet, exciting, anxiety-inducing, and funny. In this, the first of the Time Guardians series, Everett brings up themes of family, history, and identity. Can’t wait for the next installment of this.
October 7, 2017
I was super excited about this initially but had a really hard time following the story and understanding what was going on. A lot of jumps (not just through time) that were hard to follow. Characterization was meh, no one really stuck out or read complexly enough to feel totally real. Writing was pretty basic. Not a HORRIBLE book, and an interesting concept, but just not quite up to par. Possibly good for younger readers?
March 19, 2014
Loved this book...a compelling journey through time and space with interesting, witty characters. I found the tone similar to John Green which is good for the author given Green's popularity. I recommend this to fans of Green or anyone who wants a descriptive adventure. I can't wait to read the sequels!
May 8, 2016
The first part of the book was tedious and then it got to the part about time travel which was a lot different from the many other time travel books that I have read and not in a good way!
April 8, 2017
Well done. Loved the time travel. And OMG the main character, such a cute journey to finding out who she was.
September 14, 2022
Proceed With Caution:
This book contains violence, blood, death, fire, institutionalizing, medication, seizures, and mentions of slavery.
The Basics:
The Unintentional Time Traveler is narrated by fifteen-year-old Jack who is struggling with epilepsy. His mother gets him into a new medical trial, which has the unexpected side effect of Jack jumping back to the 1920s and entering the body of a girl named Jacqueline. This happens multiple times, and Jack finds himself caring for the people in Jac's life and wants to save them from an evil man claiming to be a prophet.
My Thoughts:
I was really excited to read The Unintentional Time Traveler because it has such a great premise. I am a huge time travel fan, and making it queer just makes me even more interested! Unfortunately, the story is full of holes so I couldn't get into it as much as I would have liked.
I loved the way time travel worked in The Unintentional Time Traveler. Well, we don't quite know how it works precisely, but it has to do with brain waves and your consciousness jumping through time and inhabiting another body. It's also genetic, which is cool. However, we never learn what happens to the "real" Jac when Jackson is inside her body. We also don't know what's going on with him in the present, although it's clear that he does go on with life until he jumps back. These are important details to be privy to, and they are both brought up but never answered!
As for the plot, it was alright. The evil fake prophet taking over a small town was interesting, but not much came of it. And I didn't feel a connection to anything going on, because I didn't get why Jack was so invested. He jumps into Jac's life a couple of times for a short duration and suddenly he doesn't want to leave, he wants to save everyone, and he's in love with a boy named Lucas. There was no development at all. Just zero to sixty on all fronts!
The ending was extremely underwhelming. There's all this build up to Jack stopping the evil Dr. Traver, and then nothing. Well, we see what happens but it just kind of ends. We don't get to see how it effected the other characters and that town. Jack also finds his Guardian and asks the questions that I've been wondering and their response is "There are answers." But we don't get the answers! It felt incomplete rather than ambiguous.
I was just disappointed in The Unintentional Time Traveler. There's a lot of good stuff here, but it glossed over or completely left out a lot of important world building and character development.
Read more at Pinkadot Pages.
This book contains violence, blood, death, fire, institutionalizing, medication, seizures, and mentions of slavery.
The Basics:
The Unintentional Time Traveler is narrated by fifteen-year-old Jack who is struggling with epilepsy. His mother gets him into a new medical trial, which has the unexpected side effect of Jack jumping back to the 1920s and entering the body of a girl named Jacqueline. This happens multiple times, and Jack finds himself caring for the people in Jac's life and wants to save them from an evil man claiming to be a prophet.
My Thoughts:
I was really excited to read The Unintentional Time Traveler because it has such a great premise. I am a huge time travel fan, and making it queer just makes me even more interested! Unfortunately, the story is full of holes so I couldn't get into it as much as I would have liked.
I loved the way time travel worked in The Unintentional Time Traveler. Well, we don't quite know how it works precisely, but it has to do with brain waves and your consciousness jumping through time and inhabiting another body. It's also genetic, which is cool. However, we never learn what happens to the "real" Jac when Jackson is inside her body. We also don't know what's going on with him in the present, although it's clear that he does go on with life until he jumps back. These are important details to be privy to, and they are both brought up but never answered!
As for the plot, it was alright. The evil fake prophet taking over a small town was interesting, but not much came of it. And I didn't feel a connection to anything going on, because I didn't get why Jack was so invested. He jumps into Jac's life a couple of times for a short duration and suddenly he doesn't want to leave, he wants to save everyone, and he's in love with a boy named Lucas. There was no development at all. Just zero to sixty on all fronts!
The ending was extremely underwhelming. There's all this build up to Jack stopping the evil Dr. Traver, and then nothing. Well, we see what happens but it just kind of ends. We don't get to see how it effected the other characters and that town. Jack also finds his Guardian and asks the questions that I've been wondering and their response is "There are answers." But we don't get the answers! It felt incomplete rather than ambiguous.
I was just disappointed in The Unintentional Time Traveler. There's a lot of good stuff here, but it glossed over or completely left out a lot of important world building and character development.
Read more at Pinkadot Pages.
May 4, 2017
Jack starts to travel back in time during his seizures. It takes a few times before he realizes what is going on. Each time he is in the past for a longer period. He gets dropped into a body of a girl in the 1920s named Jacqueline. It is very Quantum Leap.
The town Jacqueline lives in is being terrorized by a local minister. Jack is being dropped into different points in time to try to save the town. But everything he does changes the timeline.
I enjoyed this book but it frustrated me. It left me with several questions. Years will pass while Jack is in the past but he is not in a coma. He is going on with his life in the present day. How? Does anyone notice that he is not quite himself? The same things happen with Jacqueline in the past. Who is in their bodies when Jack/Jacqueline isn't? Is Jacqueline in Jack? Are they just switching places? Hopefully this will be addressed in future installments of the story. This is book one of a series.
The author is transgender. Had I not known that going into the book, I might have missed the exploration of gender and sexuality that happens in the story. When Jack first finds himself in a female body he is very uncomfortable. Over time he no longer has an issue with it. Jacqueline is not considered to be a conventionally feminine woman of her time but she is still a more feminine person than Jack is in the future. Jacqueline has a relationship with a man named Lucas that starts when Jack is in her body. When he jumps back into his own body he misses Lucas and worries about him. That relationship fuels his desire to learn to master time travel to get back and help Jacqueline. The author never comes out and says what gender or sexual orientation anyone is considered. They just are who they are and love who they love. It is so matter of fact that that is the reason why I might have missed the complexity if I wasn't specifically looking at the gender dynamics.
This is a fun time travel mystery. Read it if you like historical fiction with some suspense.
This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
February 15, 2018
I started two book challenges at the beginning of 2018.
The goodreads how many books can you read in a year, and a 52 book challenge from #Bookfirst.
One of the challenges was: A book written by a trans author so after consulting Dr. Google I came up with this one.
I am a big fan of time travel. Quantum Leap is one of my all time favourite shows, and Back to the Future one of my most watched films.
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Which makes me sound a bit glib. Jack lives in America in the 1980s begins a radical new treatment for his epilepsy. An unusual side effect of the treatment is that he travels to 1920s, and becomes Jac, a female.
This is a YA book, and as it was aimed at teenagers Jack/Jac didn't behave how anyone else might behave. One of the first things he does is skip school. There is no trying to change major events in history, or looking up his family. Although he does run into some of them along the way.
Jac falls in love with Lucas, which confuses Jack. For me this was a character driven book. Jack/Jac is transplanted from male to female, then back to male, and he has a hard time adjusting. He/she is accepting of lots of things. Lucas is disabled by Jac/Jack falls head over heels in love with him.
Its funny, with side swipes at mental health, disability, gender, sex and neo liberals which made me laugh. Got the feeling their might be a second book and I for one will definitely be reading it.
The goodreads how many books can you read in a year, and a 52 book challenge from #Bookfirst.
One of the challenges was: A book written by a trans author so after consulting Dr. Google I came up with this one.
I am a big fan of time travel. Quantum Leap is one of my all time favourite shows, and Back to the Future one of my most watched films.
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Which makes me sound a bit glib. Jack lives in America in the 1980s begins a radical new treatment for his epilepsy. An unusual side effect of the treatment is that he travels to 1920s, and becomes Jac, a female.
This is a YA book, and as it was aimed at teenagers Jack/Jac didn't behave how anyone else might behave. One of the first things he does is skip school. There is no trying to change major events in history, or looking up his family. Although he does run into some of them along the way.
Jac falls in love with Lucas, which confuses Jack. For me this was a character driven book. Jack/Jac is transplanted from male to female, then back to male, and he has a hard time adjusting. He/she is accepting of lots of things. Lucas is disabled by Jac/Jack falls head over heels in love with him.
Its funny, with side swipes at mental health, disability, gender, sex and neo liberals which made me laugh. Got the feeling their might be a second book and I for one will definitely be reading it.
June 23, 2014
This is one of those books that you start reading, waiting for something, and everything comes different.
The obvious: Jack is a 15 year old boy who suffers from epilepsy, as well as his mother. However, the drugs appear to do it with different desired effect.
His mother is told by his neurologist, there is a new research for people who have this disease. Something related to change brain waves. Jack is enrolled in this study. From there his life is not the same.
More than researching his brainwaves through the research of Dr. Dorfman, Jack starts to see a totally different environment. The first thing he notices, besides the totally weird scenario, is why the hell is he shoeing moccasins!
The most interesting of all? Jack is not himself in this new body, but a GIRL!
The book is amazing. Sci-Fi mixed with mystery. The reader keeps reading wondering how Jack/Jacqueline will help the people (they) love. Details and more details are to be answered.
Keep calm! There will be a lot of more to be revealed.
A book for all ages.
5 STARS
The obvious: Jack is a 15 year old boy who suffers from epilepsy, as well as his mother. However, the drugs appear to do it with different desired effect.
His mother is told by his neurologist, there is a new research for people who have this disease. Something related to change brain waves. Jack is enrolled in this study. From there his life is not the same.
More than researching his brainwaves through the research of Dr. Dorfman, Jack starts to see a totally different environment. The first thing he notices, besides the totally weird scenario, is why the hell is he shoeing moccasins!
The most interesting of all? Jack is not himself in this new body, but a GIRL!
The book is amazing. Sci-Fi mixed with mystery. The reader keeps reading wondering how Jack/Jacqueline will help the people (they) love. Details and more details are to be answered.
Keep calm! There will be a lot of more to be revealed.
A book for all ages.
5 STARS
July 4, 2016
This is one of my favourite old science fiction scenarios done well, the leaper. Jack Bishop is a boy in the 1980s with epilepsy, yet when he has episodes he finds himself in the body of Jacqueline, a girl from the 1920s. But when he returns to his original body he discovers his life has gone on without him.
Within this McGuffin there are a lot of questions raised about identity, responsibility and who we really are. Yet, for all the moralising the answers are not always the easiest ones.
My only slight criticism with the book is that there is never a real sense of danger or the horrors of the period, it is more like a boys own adventure. However, it has enough to recommend it for me to overlook this.
Within this McGuffin there are a lot of questions raised about identity, responsibility and who we really are. Yet, for all the moralising the answers are not always the easiest ones.
My only slight criticism with the book is that there is never a real sense of danger or the horrors of the period, it is more like a boys own adventure. However, it has enough to recommend it for me to overlook this.
September 16, 2016
Better than the Ruby Red trilogy.
The premise was very intriguing so I had to order this book from the US since it's not available in my country. I wasn't disappointed, although it took me a while to get into it.
The story works very well in itself but is also expanded by LGBT aspects that make it even more interesting. A boy in a girls body in boys clothes has to hear comments about wearing boys clothes, or someone asks why he, a woman, is allowed to talk to a man in a certain manner. It's ironic yet it also shows the absurdity of enforced gender roles, the absurdity judging someone merely by their biology.
Some important questions remain unanswered but the core plot comes to a satisfying conclusion. I'd be happy to read more Time Guardians books.
The premise was very intriguing so I had to order this book from the US since it's not available in my country. I wasn't disappointed, although it took me a while to get into it.
The story works very well in itself but is also expanded by LGBT aspects that make it even more interesting. A boy in a girls body in boys clothes has to hear comments about wearing boys clothes, or someone asks why he, a woman, is allowed to talk to a man in a certain manner. It's ironic yet it also shows the absurdity of enforced gender roles, the absurdity judging someone merely by their biology.
Some important questions remain unanswered but the core plot comes to a satisfying conclusion. I'd be happy to read more Time Guardians books.
December 27, 2015
Interesting in theory, but the grammar and pacing need a lot of work. Made the effort to write people of various ethnicities and disabilities, but representation seems shaky at times, especially in handling mental illness.
Does have a fun narrator, though. And our main character's experiences as both male and female are interesting.
A potentially interesting read for those interested in representations of gender, people with epilepsy, or time travel fans. If not invested in at least one of those, I'd give this a miss.
Does have a fun narrator, though. And our main character's experiences as both male and female are interesting.
A potentially interesting read for those interested in representations of gender, people with epilepsy, or time travel fans. If not invested in at least one of those, I'd give this a miss.
February 4, 2017
This is a great, maybe even brilliant idea, that didn't pan out as well as I'd hoped. More questions raised by the plot needed to be answered before the end, despite this being the first book in a series. Many events felt rushed, and some felt under-developed and unbelievable to me, the major one being the romance between Jacqueline and Lucas. I enjoyed the non-judgmental exploration of gender identity, but I wished it has been more fleshed out.
December 28, 2014
Seriously, gripping and enticing narrative style with plenty of well-written details that add to the time travel story. The most enjoyable and suspenseful time travel story! If you like the themes in this, I recommend that you check out Window of Time, Time Patrol, & The Time Machine. I will definitely be reading more from this author. :-)
July 21, 2015
A truly awesome read ... the time travelling aspects were well handled and the 'voice' of the MC (Jack/Jacqueline) really impacted me. I loved this tale. A warning to M-M romance fans - this is not your regular read but be open to being surprised.
April 22, 2018
I really love the story line (reminiscent of the Butterfly Effect, the movie) even though it dragged at times. I especially love the very well thought out ending. The conclusion of the book made me long for more.
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