The Boy From Tomorrow

Description:

Josie and Alec both live at 444 Sparrow Street. They sleep in the same room, but they’ve never laid eyes on each other. They are twelve years old and a hundred years apart.

The children meet through a hand-painted talking board—Josie in 1915, Alec in 2015—and form a friendship across the century that separates them. But a chain of events leave Josie and her little sister Cass trapped in the house and afraid for their safety, and Alec must find out what’s going to happen to them. 

Can he help them change their future when it’s already past?

My thoughts:

The premise is interesting. A Ouija board found in an old house connects two children living in the same house 100 years apart. Once readers accept that part of the fantasy, then this book becomes a sweet adventure, a dark thriller and a tribute to friendship. 

I think the strength in this story is that the Ouija board is not used as the main mode of communication. This makes it stronger because of the negative, dark, occult reputation of the Ouija board. This is not that kind of story. 

Instead, our protagonist, Alec uses Google, the New York public library, microfiche and a little detective work to find letters hidden in the house. What makes it fun is that he is the one who tells Josie that she will hide these letters a hundred years later before she actually has written any letters. Without spoiling the story, just when I think the tricks of the book have been played out, the author brings in more surprises. 

A sweet, feel-good read.

Last sentences:

Their discovery, their secret, their impossible friendship: it was all still ahead of him. She raised the glass to her mouth, smiling to herself as she took the first sip.

Advanced digital copy provided by Net Galley and the publisher for an honest review.