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A Message Through Time
A pacey and action-packed time-slip adventure that carries step-siblings Felix and Zoe back to Ancient Roman times - and also, accidentally, drags a Roman girl into the present.
When 11-year-old Felix finds a message in a bottle during a trip to France, he is in for the surprise of a lifetime. Suddenly he is flung back 1700 years to Ancient Roman times, dragging his very unwilling 15-year-old stepsister, Zoe, with him.
They are offered sparrows for lunch and horse-spit as medicine, but that is only the beginning! When they ricochet forward to their own time again, Felix and Zoe discover they have accidentally brought a high-class Roman girl with them… Can they navigate the strange Roman world - from opulent city to distant sacred spring - and return the 12-year-old girl to her family before time runs out?
In this standalone companion novel to the acclaimed The Boy Who Stepped Through Time, featuring a whole new cast of characters, award-winning author Anna Ciddor has created a roller-coaster adventure that will have young readers on the edge of their seats.
When 11-year-old Felix finds a message in a bottle during a trip to France, he is in for the surprise of a lifetime. Suddenly he is flung back 1700 years to Ancient Roman times, dragging his very unwilling 15-year-old stepsister, Zoe, with him.
They are offered sparrows for lunch and horse-spit as medicine, but that is only the beginning! When they ricochet forward to their own time again, Felix and Zoe discover they have accidentally brought a high-class Roman girl with them… Can they navigate the strange Roman world - from opulent city to distant sacred spring - and return the 12-year-old girl to her family before time runs out?
In this standalone companion novel to the acclaimed The Boy Who Stepped Through Time, featuring a whole new cast of characters, award-winning author Anna Ciddor has created a roller-coaster adventure that will have young readers on the edge of their seats.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2023
3 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 25, 2023
It's great book! Throughout the story you really get to know and like the charecters. For example, at the start you might say Felix is a bit of a burden on his family but eventually you really learn to like the charecters and feel their feelings and struggle. The plot is amazing and the story and characters are hilarious, the plot is amazing. Zoe and Felix, stepsiblings, find a roman stylus near the ruins of a Roman bathhouse and are transported to Roman times. On their way back they acidently take a haughty noble Roman girl back with them. This is the beginning of an amazing story of challenge laughter and personal growth. When they finally return Petronia home they pose as a doctor and a slave. During their travels Felix loses the stylus and keeps it a secret hoping he will find it before his sister is ready to go home. If you want to know if they find it and make it back home well you're gonna have to read it yourself, but overall this is an amazing book and lives up to the first one. I hope soon in the future there is a third coming.
April 24, 2023
I enjoyed this standalone companion novel to The Boy Who Stepped Through Time (which I also enjoyed back when it was first published). In this book, main character Felix and his teenage stepsister Zoe go back 1700 years, accidentally bring a rich Roman girl to the present day with them, then must return her to the past. Many unique details of Ancient Roman life are woven into the story, as the author had extensive assistance from her sister, a historian and archaeologist who specialises in this era. I found Felix and Zoe's developing sibling relationship a particularly sweet aspect of this book. Recommended for middle grade readers who love time slip stories!
April 25, 2023
This book was very enjoyable and exiting with a very nice and organized plot and the more you read the more you begin to understand the characters. My favorite of them all has to be Felix though since he is quite funny and nice. I find this book just as good as the first one ‘The boy who stepped through time’ and I actually stayed up until midnight reading this book. It was a good 318 pages. Worth the money and you should definitely get it.
April 2, 2023
Step-siblings Felix and Zoe are on a holiday with their parents in France when Felix finds an object that accidentally sends them back to Ancient Rome via the ruins of a Roman bathhouse. Upon returning to the present day they realise they've unintentionally brought a young Roman noble woman with them and have to return her to her time, braving unscrupulous sailors, ancient house parties and figuring out the way back home again.
A Message In Time by Anna Ciddor is an Australian middle grade story that's a companion book to 2021's The Boy Who Stepped Through Time. It's an entertaining and engaging timeslip novel with plenty of Ancient Roman facts that will delight (and occasionally, disgust) young readers. It's been well-researched - Ciddor has worked alongside her sister who specialises in ancient history - and is full of adventure.
I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Felix and Zoe, who are still developing their sibling relationship as a result of their newly blended family. There's a lot of care and love between them, but also the typical sibling annoyances. There's plenty of great messages around standing up to bullies and believing in yourself, too, making this a great read aloud for the classroom. The book also includes a map, some illustrations throughout the text and an excellent glossary for those who want to know more about the truth behind the history in the book.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A Message In Time by Anna Ciddor is an Australian middle grade story that's a companion book to 2021's The Boy Who Stepped Through Time. It's an entertaining and engaging timeslip novel with plenty of Ancient Roman facts that will delight (and occasionally, disgust) young readers. It's been well-researched - Ciddor has worked alongside her sister who specialises in ancient history - and is full of adventure.
I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Felix and Zoe, who are still developing their sibling relationship as a result of their newly blended family. There's a lot of care and love between them, but also the typical sibling annoyances. There's plenty of great messages around standing up to bullies and believing in yourself, too, making this a great read aloud for the classroom. The book also includes a map, some illustrations throughout the text and an excellent glossary for those who want to know more about the truth behind the history in the book.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
April 11, 2023
I loved it. You're kept guessing by an inventive plot, and immersed in a world of hilarious, intriguing or even shocking details of Roman life. I can't decide who was my favorite character out of sassy Zoe, impulsive Felix (who drives his stepsister nuts), or aloof Petronia (the 12 year old Roman girl who is about to be betrothed!). The writing style is beautiful and there's lots of layers - super fun and a gripping adventure for the kids but definitely one to be enjoyed by adults as well.
April 14, 2023
A Message Through Time is a wonderous and exhilarating story of modern and ancient Roman children who cross paths. I didn't want to put down this novel, and I'm sure kids reading this will feel the same way. The author brings to life the families and experiences of two worlds with the adventures of three children and one loveable dog. This novel is perfect for anyone who wants a fun, exciting, humourous, and wholesome read.
April 25, 2023
A fantastic companion to The Boy Who Stepped Through Time. It was so much fun to be back in Arelate and explore more of the city and surrounds, as well as learn more about everyday Roman life and culture. The information and description were woven in well and didn't feel too info-dumpy, and I really felt the energy and vibrance of the ancient world.
Petronia was a great character who really brought out the differences between how - specifically aristocratic - young girls were expected to behave. She was a nice contrast to the modern values of Felix and Zoe, as well as Valentia's more free spirit. I also just loved how prim and proper she was. Bringing her into the future was an excellent decision, and it was interesting getting to learn more about Roman culture through what she found different.
I LOVED the call backs to the first book, especially when we got to meet Carotus and Valentia again (it would have been nice to spend a little bit more time seeing how Petronia and Valentia interacted). Carotus remains one of my favourite characters across the two companion novels - he's so likeable and fun to hang around. I loved that he picked that Felix was from the future, and that he has started painting Australian animals on Roman friezes. There's something about that that I find so, so wonderful (and hilarious). Side note, but I would absolutely read a story that's set ten or more years into the future, half set in the present with Perry, Felix, Zoe, and anyone else who has time travelled, and the past, with Carotus and the others, and it's all sort of like one final adventure as well as a sort of 'who else has been affected by time travel' support group.
It was similarly fast-paced to the first novel, which meant I flew through it (and had a great time). The last 100 pages felt especially tense with the tension between Felix not telling Zoe he had lost the stylus, and the impending countdown of their departure from the past. I found the start a bit tedious as I found both Zoe and Felix to be a little irritating. Felix's jokes could be quite grating at times, but I'm aware I'm not the target audience. However he did grow on me as the book went on. I also enjoyed watching the relationship between Felix and Zoe grow from animosity to acting like true brother and sister.
As a history student, I absolutely loved picking up on and finding things I'd learned. I think my most exciting pick up was when patronage and euergetism were briefly explained (though not explicitly stated). Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to young readers and anyone who is interested in ancient history. :)
Petronia was a great character who really brought out the differences between how - specifically aristocratic - young girls were expected to behave. She was a nice contrast to the modern values of Felix and Zoe, as well as Valentia's more free spirit. I also just loved how prim and proper she was. Bringing her into the future was an excellent decision, and it was interesting getting to learn more about Roman culture through what she found different.
I LOVED the call backs to the first book, especially when we got to meet Carotus and Valentia again (it would have been nice to spend a little bit more time seeing how Petronia and Valentia interacted). Carotus remains one of my favourite characters across the two companion novels - he's so likeable and fun to hang around. I loved that he picked that Felix was from the future, and that he has started painting Australian animals on Roman friezes. There's something about that that I find so, so wonderful (and hilarious). Side note, but I would absolutely read a story that's set ten or more years into the future, half set in the present with Perry, Felix, Zoe, and anyone else who has time travelled, and the past, with Carotus and the others, and it's all sort of like one final adventure as well as a sort of 'who else has been affected by time travel' support group.
It was similarly fast-paced to the first novel, which meant I flew through it (and had a great time). The last 100 pages felt especially tense with the tension between Felix not telling Zoe he had lost the stylus, and the impending countdown of their departure from the past. I found the start a bit tedious as I found both Zoe and Felix to be a little irritating. Felix's jokes could be quite grating at times, but I'm aware I'm not the target audience. However he did grow on me as the book went on. I also enjoyed watching the relationship between Felix and Zoe grow from animosity to acting like true brother and sister.
As a history student, I absolutely loved picking up on and finding things I'd learned. I think my most exciting pick up was when patronage and euergetism were briefly explained (though not explicitly stated). Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to young readers and anyone who is interested in ancient history. :)
May 15, 2023
Bom, mas achei o primeiro livro da série mais divertido, pelo menos aqui vemos Caroto novamente e sabemos seu destino como pintor .
August 21, 2023
The second time travel book for children about ancient Roman. Two modern day children visit a bathhouse in France and find a message in a bottle. They follow the instructions and go back in time.
Unlike the previous book in the series these children do not have any knowledge of the historical time and thus are learning as they live there.
I did not find this book as good as the first but still recommend it for a read to understand the differences.
On Anna's author website you can find out about the research.
Unlike the previous book in the series these children do not have any knowledge of the historical time and thus are learning as they live there.
I did not find this book as good as the first but still recommend it for a read to understand the differences.
On Anna's author website you can find out about the research.
August 12, 2023
4.5 stars.
I use the Goodreads app on my phone. Usually I tap out a quick response after reading a book, hit save, done.
But, I have begun this review four times now, and each time the app spontaneously flicks closed.
Is it a conspiracy? Is this #LoveOzMG novel too good? Is someone trying to keep this text a secret?
Or, might my phone’s operating system need checking?
These aren’t problems you would have had 1700 years ago, trying to dash across Roman Gaul.
That innocent looking stylus from The boy who stepped through time, is back. This time it’s Australian step-siblings Felix and Zoe who travel back and meet Petronia.
Author, Anna Ciddor has really hit her stride now, and I think this stand alone book might even be better than the first. The balance of adventure, historical detail and plot is perfect. Felix’s bad jokes and Zoe’s sense of justice make these characters relatable and endearing to readers (young and old).
The engine of the story is the tension Anna Ciddor has created, that really powers the story across geographical planes and time itself.
Readers aged 8+ years old will appreciate the author’s illustrations, older children will delight in the historical details of the food and fashions. But, as an adult reader I really enjoyed the unfolding relationship building between the main characters and, the timeless struggle between growing children and authority.
Bravo, Anna Ciddor.
I use the Goodreads app on my phone. Usually I tap out a quick response after reading a book, hit save, done.
But, I have begun this review four times now, and each time the app spontaneously flicks closed.
Is it a conspiracy? Is this #LoveOzMG novel too good? Is someone trying to keep this text a secret?
Or, might my phone’s operating system need checking?
These aren’t problems you would have had 1700 years ago, trying to dash across Roman Gaul.
That innocent looking stylus from The boy who stepped through time, is back. This time it’s Australian step-siblings Felix and Zoe who travel back and meet Petronia.
Author, Anna Ciddor has really hit her stride now, and I think this stand alone book might even be better than the first. The balance of adventure, historical detail and plot is perfect. Felix’s bad jokes and Zoe’s sense of justice make these characters relatable and endearing to readers (young and old).
The engine of the story is the tension Anna Ciddor has created, that really powers the story across geographical planes and time itself.
Readers aged 8+ years old will appreciate the author’s illustrations, older children will delight in the historical details of the food and fashions. But, as an adult reader I really enjoyed the unfolding relationship building between the main characters and, the timeless struggle between growing children and authority.
Bravo, Anna Ciddor.
May 1, 2023
What a great read! A story with non-stop action and well integrated historical facts revolving around a modern duo, Felix and his stepsister Zoe, who are visiting France with their parents. Felix accidently (due to curiosity and a writing stylus) gets Zoe and himself transported back over a thousand years to 315 CE and Arelate in ancient Roman Gaul. The opulent city of Arelate with its library, meeting place, special bathhouse, the sights, sounds, smells, strange food and citizens bodily functions are well documented by author Anna Ciddor. Inadvertently Felix and Zoe meet a haughty high status Roman girl Petronia and her wilful dog Furia. At first the characters of Zoe and Petronia seemed abrasive to me but as time went on I found their personalities much more interesting. My favourite chapters start from ‘Over The Boat Bridge’ which leads to hard labour and major discomfort on a terrifying leaky boat trip.
As if the coarse food and anxiety isn’t enough, Anatolius is an overbearing boat owner. But it’s true what the book blurb says, a rollercoaster adventure. There is high drama on the Druentia river before the trio reach Avennio. After a disappointment, there is a long climb to reach the Sacred Spring and Villa Fontanicum. Why is this place their hard-won goal? I guess you’ll have to read the book and follow the map to discover the answers. Will Petronia lose her snobby attitude and make friends? Will they visit live theatre? Meanwhile Felix must face a worrying situation regarding their time transporting stylus. He needs to problem solve fast to get Zoe and himself back to the future. As a fan of irreverent TV series ‘Plebs’ for adults, I think Anna Ciddor has written a factual and rollicking adventure suitable for children/teenager/adult readers. An ancient Roman must-read, an exciting immersive time-slip journey into the past.
My blog extra https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2023/...
As if the coarse food and anxiety isn’t enough, Anatolius is an overbearing boat owner. But it’s true what the book blurb says, a rollercoaster adventure. There is high drama on the Druentia river before the trio reach Avennio. After a disappointment, there is a long climb to reach the Sacred Spring and Villa Fontanicum. Why is this place their hard-won goal? I guess you’ll have to read the book and follow the map to discover the answers. Will Petronia lose her snobby attitude and make friends? Will they visit live theatre? Meanwhile Felix must face a worrying situation regarding their time transporting stylus. He needs to problem solve fast to get Zoe and himself back to the future. As a fan of irreverent TV series ‘Plebs’ for adults, I think Anna Ciddor has written a factual and rollicking adventure suitable for children/teenager/adult readers. An ancient Roman must-read, an exciting immersive time-slip journey into the past.
My blog extra https://thoughtsbecomewords.com/2023/...
March 10, 2024
🕰️ If you’ve read ‘The Boy Who Stepped Through Time’ you will get a kick out of this one. This companion novel introduces the reader to new characters going on a brand new adventure. Perfect for young readers!
✉️ This books doesn’t waste any time getting into the action and thrill of an adventure. You will be hooked and wanting to read more and more in no time at all! Grab this for your home or classroom library!
✉️ This books doesn’t waste any time getting into the action and thrill of an adventure. You will be hooked and wanting to read more and more in no time at all! Grab this for your home or classroom library!
April 11, 2024
Another well-written children's fiction book that shows life in the later period of Ancient Rome.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews