Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure

Molly Moon #3

by Georgia Byng

Molly Moon meets . . . Molly Moon? In this third book in the wildly popular New York Times bestselling series, mesmerizing orphan Molly Moon and her fabulous pug, Petula, are off to India, where they discover a new twist in the potential power of time travel! With the book available in trade paperback for the first time, readers can experience Molly’s adventure in an edition perfectly suited for time travel.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Time Travel, Young Adult, Adventure

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Lady Georgia Mary Caroline Byng, (b. 1965), is a British author of children's books and a former actress. Her first writing was for a comic strip, and her first published book was The Sock Monsters. Byng's best known work is Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism and its sequels, about a girl who finds a book about hypnotism and learns how to hypnotize people. Georgia's first published item was a comic strip for kids from the age of five to seven.

Reviews

[Mailis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Warning!- if you have an headache or are just tired do not read this book. It whirls and loops your brain into knots...i found couple of ideas of time travel philosophy endearing and i cannot imagine writing this kind of book without lots and lots of plotting lines written down...so hands down to the author...but if now after sighing happily after finally finishing the book, im not quite ready to call the author Georgia Boring, i was indeed close to that couple of times while reading. This being a children's book, and me not being at that age sadly anymore, i still found it difficult to follow the 100 different simultaneous and other time traveling episodes...so i can imagine the poor children racking their brains to follow this and that, so maybe its meant to be taken at face value, but my poor brain tried to put a lock on logic of it all, and oh boy...exhausted...

[Cassandra Hamm · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. A bit confusing with all the time travel but still a fun Molly Moon adventure. I’m very glad Petula is okay.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had started with the first book in this series, but our oldest said that her teacher had read an earlier Molly Moon book to the class and wanted to move to this one next. I will likely go back to the first stories, but probably not for awhile because this book took a long, long time to read aloud with our girls. It has almost 400 pages and few pictures. The story is confusing, with multiple versions of Molly and Petula and lots of time travel. It was difficult to keep the story straight, especially since we could only read a chapter or two at a time, but it was a fascinating tale.

I would recommend this for older children (teens and adults, too!), as there are some parts that are not really appropriate for younger audiences (like when a maniacal madman of a maharaja named Waqt slit the throat of a goat in a sacrificial rite - p. 220, Chapter 22.) Waqt also wants to kill Molly and Petula and transposes the first letter of words as he speaks, which is humorous, but distracting for reading aloud.

Hindu philosophy is woven throughout the story, which I found to be absolutely enchanting. And I rather enjoyed the history lesson, both about 1870 and present-day India, as well as Molly time traveled to the beginning of time.

notable quotes:
"She looked at her friends and it struck her how important it was for people to have happy times - for postive feelings of happy times will stay in a person's heart and mind forever."

"But Rocky, you have to admit," said Molly, "there is something - some power in the world, and a lot of mystery. Maybe that is God."

"Molly shook her head. Her experiences had taught her that everything that happens to you in life makes you who you are. If something horrible happens to you, that will change you; if something lovely happens to you, that will change you too. You might go through something scary-the frightening memories of that will always be inside you. Always somewhere. You might have a fantastic experience and that will always be inside you, filling you with confidence. Always."

"There's no time like the present,
No present like time.
And life can be over in the space of a rhyme.
There's no gift like friendship
And no love like mine.
Give me your love to treasure through time." (Rocky's song)

"Molly smiled. She loved her friends and her life, too. From now on, whether she was at the beginning of time or the end of time or slap-bang in the middle of it, she would make the most of every moment."

new words: pillion, bollard

[Ms. Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read MOLLY MOON'S HYPNOTIC TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURE, because I loved the first two books in the series. For me, the first two books were clever fun reads. The covers in this series appeal to many and this third one is no different. Bright colors and a cute illustration of Petula (this time big and little Petulas!).

In the first two books, Molly Moon learns to a)hypnotize others to do what she wants and b)stop time. Molly adds to her abilities when in MOLLY MOON'S TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURE she learns to time travel. It all starts when Petula and then Molly are kidnapped by an evil rajah from 1870 India. He's upset that she ruined his plot to control world leaders (this happens in MOLLY MOON STOPS THE WORLD). He believes if he can grab Molly as a baby and raise her, then the events will be changed since she won't grow up in the orphanage. Want happens is a lot of confusing mess of events with five Molly's at different ages, two Petulas (big and little Petula), Rocky, a street urchin from 1870's India all traveling back and forth in time.

The feel of this story is the same as the first two Molly Moon books. I loved the silliness and the utter chaos of the story. At the same time, I would get confused by all the craziness as to what exactly was going on. It was almost just too much to keep straight. Some might give up on this book, because they couldn't figure out what was happening. I would strongly suggest reading the first two books in the series before tackling #3. Otherwise, the reader won't understand the passing reference to events that took place in the previous stories. I still liked the characters enough to find the story above average, but just barely. I give it a 'B-'.

[kate j]

my mom didn't remember molly moon's incredible book of hypnotism when i tried to talk to her about it. this is the only molly moon book that we own? which is unfortunate because this one SUCKED. the first two were amazing, but this one started out with molly getting, like, KIDNAPPED, which elementary school me was just absolutely NOT there for. i don't actually know if i finished it—i certainly didn't return to the molly moon series after this one.

(but molly moon's incredible book of hypnotism and molly moon stops the world are great).

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mags and I just started this one tonight. She wouldn't let me get away with less than three chapters...which means so far it's a winner. We're a little worried about the guy in the turban who keeps vanishing and has now captured Molly and her cool pug Petula. Stay tuned!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molly's adventures continue to captivate my children. Her cleverness allows her to get herself out of some bad spots and I love that she shows both her uncertainty and insecurities as well as her leadership.

[Patricia Kaniasty · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really disappointed in this book. I loved the first 2 Molly Moon books. I don't know what happened with this one. It just fell flat. Too much jumping around in time and way too many Molly Moon's to be concerned with. Half the time i did not know what was going on.

[Brennan Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still very fun, very murderdeathkill-happy, and features a very beautiful kid-palatable discussion about religion. But British writers telling stories about India is a bit uh oh.

[Stella Schaefer-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series gets more odd with every book. I haven’t decided whether on not I think this is a good thing. I know there are quite a few books left and I’m a bit skeptical because I think Molly is gonna unlock a new power in each book which feels like it is gonna be a bit much.

[Sini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tämä kirjasarja on TOSI HYVÄ! Äiti on lukenut ensimmäisen kirjan tätä sarjaa. Sen nimi on Molly Moon, ja hervoton hypnoosiseikkailu.

[Milz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn't actually read any other books in the series before, but that didn't matter because I was drawn in and hooked from the start! Someone had bought it for me because of the cute shiny cover, and I'm glad they did. I read it as a teen (it's not exactly meant for me even now, but still!) and it is so much fun and a real delight, I don't have anything bad to say about it. Love the mystery and the quirkiness, and it gave me a lot of joy. It reminded me a bit of the magic feeling of a little princess.
If you love magic and mystery and a strong, exciting young female protagonist, give it a go!

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ADORABLE!! It was the first one I read but not the first in the series, so I was a little confused but I still loved this book. I am planning on reading the rest of them, and hopefully in the right order this time.

[ozzluc]

Viem že keď som to pred pár rokmi čítala bola som z toho úplne nadšená a myslím že tu začalo aj moje nadšenie pre cestovanie v čase:D Len ma dosť mrzí že som sa AŽ teraz dozvedela že sú aj ďalšie diely:(

[Leela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something about this series just grabs you. Im not sure what it is, but you cant help but love this book.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book but very long storyy. got boring in some places since it was so long but i liked the story.

[Angela Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

this would be 3 stars for me, if it weren't for the great values that are just casually mentioned towards the end of the story. perfect for the age it's actually aimed at.

[royaevereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, a pleasure to re-read

[Siewjye Chow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a lovely book

[Kaylee Holleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the third book of the Molly Moon series, Molly Moon and her pug Petula discover their ability to time travel. Upset that the pair ruined his plot to control world leaders, a rajah from 1870 India kidnaps the pair. He thinks that if he can go back in time to prevent Molly from entering the orphanage then she won’t grow up to foil his plans. It’s up to Molly and Petula to work with their past selves in an effort to defeat their enemy.

While I enjoyed the story, it was definitely a confusing read. The has a nonlinear storyline as it is constantly jumping back and forth in time, which made it difficult to follow. If the author had established the setting more throughout the book it would have been easier to follow. However, I do think that her decision to include less clarifying details was fitting because it put the reader in the same position as Molly. Regardless, I really loved the characters. They are entertaining and it’s fun to see a strong female protagonist. I remember loving this book the first time that I read it. While it isn’t as engaging to read as an adult, this is a great book to make available in the classroom. It’s a fun read and, because it is a part of a series, it will encourage students to keep reading after finishing the book.

[Nora Suntken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was no Molly Moon Stops the World, but it was still a decent follow up. This was one I had forgotten much of, except for when Molly goes to the bubble of light and de-scales herself, which, for some reason, has lived rent free in my mind for a decade. The time traveling was interesting, though it was absolutely riddled with plot holes because of time is a circle then time is simultaneous and if time is simultaneous then Molly (age 11) would cease to exist the second baby Molly travelled back in time. I didn’t think this was as confusing as some of the other adults who read it did. It definitively wasn’t straightforward, but if I could figure it all out easily at 12, then they should be able to too. I was a little worried about how India was being portrayed at first, but it ended up being mostly fine and kind of interesting. This wasn’t my favorite book of the series, and I have a feeling the latter half is about to be a steep downward slope, but it was entertaining.

[Gabriel Nasser]

A description of the history (not the story itself) and about the impact of the book and its author. This book is from a girl who hears a lot of PUM and in one of them her dog Petula disappears so she sets out to discover how and where she is to retrieve her so she goes on a trip in time to discover who she is and everything. Then she flies back in time and a gardener helps her find a Petula, so they go on an adventure and find her but they don't discover how THE END

[Kristie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I read the first two books in the series, and loved them! But, seeing the reviews for the third one, I was a little nervous going into it. But the five different Molly's didn't confuse me very much! Also, it did take a little longer to get into then the first two, but by page one hundred, I was sooo into it. So I did really like this book, and just read it and see what you think for yourself.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 actually. I've heard patrons recommend this to each other so I finally gave book 2 a try. I thought Molly Moon was a dog! (A Dog is on the cover of the first book.) No, no, that would be Petunia. At any rate, I did enjoy Molly and her escapades for the most part. I appreciated the little choices Molly made in dealing with the evil grown-ups in her path.

[meri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m happy there’s this fantasy/scifi/what is it actually? series for kids where a girl is the leading action role. Molly Moon is a badass!!! This volume was a lot weaker than the two first ones like I remembered, but I own the fourth one so I’ll try that again as well though I’m afraid it goes down from here.

[Shelby]

Ecstatic to learn that there were more than 2 Molly Moon books 15+ years after reading the first two as a kid. I felt in the beginning of the book that after the first two were spectacular, that this one may have jumped the shark, but I was dead wrong. This was another wacky delight with even some metaphysical themes, and Petula's antics were just wild. Love.

[Lucía Sánchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para mí, la saga de Molly Moon termina aquí.

¡Vaya libro! De aquí viene mi pasión por los viajes en el tiempo y por la India. Se nota que la autora ha investigado sobre el país, y que ha tenido en cuenta lo que podría pasar con lo de viajar en el tiempo. Me parece alucinante lo bien atado que queda todo, sin dejar de ser interesante y superentretenido.

¡Confirmo que es mi favorito de la saga!

[Kaylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was very confusing in the beginning and I got very lost, this might be because I didn’t need the first books and started with this one but I had a vague idea. Still very enjoyable and thrilling... A very good classic👍🙂❤️

[Sinead · Rating 2 out of 5]

Popsugar’23 Prompt: A book with a pet character

I read this as a child but rereading it after how many years, I never understood why I liked this book or the series. It jumps around a lot and it was hard to follow.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, a little boring though. My daughter wanted me to read it.