281 ratings | 127 reviews | avg rating:4.17

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Tim Cummings

Goodreads Author

Born

in Port Jefferson, The United States

January 15

Website

https://www.timcummings.ink

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult

Influences

Madeleine L'Engle
Toni Morrison
Beth Nugent
Ruth Chew
Joyce Carol Oates
Mar ...more

Member Since

May 2011

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Tim Cummings is the author of the multiple-award-winning coming-of-age novel, Alice the Cat, published by Fitzroy Books. It was chosen as an American Book Awards 'Best Book' Finalist for 2023, received a Bronze Medal in the 2024 Feathered Quill Book Awards, and is a Finalist in both the 2024 National Indies Excellence Awards for Teen Fiction and the Independent Author Network's Book of the Year Awards. His second novel, The Lightning People Play, was published summer 2025.

In addition to his passion for storytelling, Tim is an octopus and spider enthusiast. He goes wild for anything with eight legs. If you have any questions about spiders or octopuses, ask him. He recently discovered he is a masterful hula-hooper and can whirl non-stop for ...more

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Tim Cummings’s books

Average rating: 4.35 · 251 ratings · 111 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	Alice the Cat 4.23 avg rating — 112 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Night Terrors Vol. 11: Short Horror Stories Anthology by Justin Boote (Goodreads Author), Melissa Gibbo, S.B. Duncan 4.33 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lightning People Play 4.64 avg rating — 42 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Orphans 4.58 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2011 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Night Terrors Volumes 10 - 12: Short Horror Stories Anthology (Night Terrors, #10-12) by Scare Street (Editor), Peter Cronsberry (Contributor), Jackson Robinson (Contributor) 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	ANTHOLOGY: The Ojai Playwrights Conference Youth Workshop 2006-2016 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Tim Cummings…

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Tim Cummings's Blog

New Reviews

Hi hi hi. I'm sharing some new reviews that just dropped from Readers' Favorite.
More soon.
xTC

* Review Rating: 5 Stars –
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite

The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings is a young adult novel that mixes elements of magical realism with deeply grounded emotion. Kirby Renton is a 14-year-old boy trying to hold his family together. His younger brother Baxter suffe Read more of this blog post »

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Published on June 12, 2025 16:42 • Tags: the-lightning-people-play

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Tim’s Recent Updates

Tim Cummings finished reading Alice the Cat by Tim Cummings (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 16, 2026 01:57PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Alice the Cat by Tim Cummings. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Alice the Cat by Tim Cummings <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings finished reading The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 16, 2026 01:57PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings entered a giveaway Love by Toni Morrison 20 copies available, ends on March 01, 2026 Enter to win »
Feb 15, 2026 07:30AM · like · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Love by Toni Morrison. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Love by Toni Morrison <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings and 43 other people liked Jason Febery's review of The Rose Field (The Book of Dust, #3): This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Feb 10, 2026 03:57PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Rose Field by Philip Pullman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Rose Field by Philip Pullman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings rated a book it was amazing Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 09, 2026 05:26PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings wants to read The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 09, 2026 05:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings finished reading Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 09, 2026 05:25PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings and 6 other people liked missy jean's review of Octopus!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea: "Let's say that you like Golden Retrievers so you decide to read a book about Golden Retrievers, and then the first 60 pages of the book contain, in graphic detail, instructions on how to kill and cook Golden Retrievers as well as horrible reflexive t" Read more of this review »
Jan 31, 2026 10:16AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Octopus! by Katherine Harmon Courage. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Octopus! by Katherine Harmon Courage <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings is 75% done with Many Things Under a Rock Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 19, 2026 12:49PM · 1 like · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Many Things Under a Rock by David Scheel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tim Cummings liked Llyr Heller-Humphreys's review of The Lightning People Play: "Realism with a dash of fantasy about a very heartbreaking topic. Good characters, pacing. Clean read for tweens"
Jan 17, 2026 06:05PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Lightning People Play by Tim Cummings <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Tim Cummings (?)

“It’s easier for me to make sense of it that way than it is for me to face the other way—reality. And yet, those evil spirits that were unleashed—be they fake entities from a stupid carnival ride, or cruel malevolencies from dark spiritual chasms of our universe—have stayed with me all these years”
― Tim Cummings, Orphans

“I leave the kitchen table to bathe, and to dress for church. If only my closet held on its shelves an array of faces I could wear rather than dresses, I would know which face to put on today. As for the dresses, I haven't a clue.”
― Tim Cummings, Orphans

“Listen, we’ll come visit you. Okay? I’ll dress up as William Shakespeare, Lucent as Emily Dickinson, and beautiful ‘Ray’ as someone dashing and manly like Jules Verne or Ernest Hemingway...and we’ll write on your white-room walls. We’ll write you out of your supposed insanity. I love you, Micky Affias.

-James (from "Descendants of the Eminent")”
― Tim Cummings

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Goodreads Librari...: The Lightning People Play	2	8	Apr 28, 2025 04:56PM

Tim’s Quotes

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
― Charles W. Eliot

tags: books, friends, reading, teachers

13928 likes

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

tags: books, reading

27733 likes

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

8358 likes

“It's hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.”
― Adlai E. Stevenson

tags: horses, leadership, war

988 likes

“Memory is a snare, pure and simple; it alters, it subtly rearranges the past to fit the present.”
― Mario Vargas Llosa

811 likes

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