The Golden Hour

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and Fun
Review: Maiya Williams book belongs in the same category of children's books that I loved as a child and still remember as an adult: The Phantom Tollbooth; A Wrinkle in Time; The Wizard of Oz series. At once fantastical and rooted in true characters, "The Golden Hour" is delight to read -- well written, wonderfully plotted, surprising and fun. Not to mention the unusual backdrop of the French Revolution ... I gladly recommended this book to my niece who loved it as much as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful and Fun
Review: Maiya Williams book belongs in the same category of children's books that I loved as a child and still remember as an adult: The Phantom Tollbooth; A Wrinkle in Time; The Wizard of Oz series. At once fantastical and rooted in true characters, "The Golden Hour" is delight to read -- well written, wonderfully plotted, surprising and fun. Not to mention the unusual backdrop of the French Revolution ... I gladly recommended this book to my niece who loved it as much as I did.

Rating:
Summary: A little Dickens and a dash of Dumas
Review: Maiya Williams' terrific novel reminds me of some of the great old adventure stories of my childhood, books that took me to exciting and sometimes harrowing moments in history in the company of a reliable hero. This would be a great book for families to read aloud together after dinner or for kids to curl up alone with at night. Sheer good fun.

Rating:
Summary: not executed as well as potential calls out for
Review: The Golden Hour has a strong premise and a backstory that should lend a hefty sense of dramatic weight, but it unfortunately falls a bit short of its potential, even given the allowances for young adult fiction. I have to admit that it came as no surprise that the author writes for television. Not that TV writers are necessarily bad, but the book had that not-quite-all-there sense of TV writing. It could have slowed down a bit in several places for greater effect but felt as if it were always rushing on to the next thing.
Rowan and Nina Popplewell, still trying to recover from their mother's sudden death, are sent by their father (also clearly not recovered) to stay with their mother's two eccentric aunts in an out-of-the-way corner of Maine. Nina, a child musical prodigy who has given up both piano and speaking since her mother's death, and Rowan, who must come to grips with his own buried sense of anger and abandonment, are quickly met with a set of small mysteries surrounding the aunts and the small town.
With their new friends, the twins Xanthe and Xavier, they learn the secret (though not really all that secret) of the town's abandoned Owatannauk resort. The old resort is actually a time-machine of sorts, giving its "guests" the opportunity to time-travel during the "golden hour," ("the short period of time between day and night.") or the "silver hour" (the analogous morning time). There are a host of rules involved, including the fact that one must have "need" to use the "alleviators", though some of the rules are more consistently applied than others it seems. Before the children can think through the opportunities and possible consequences, they are forced into trying to track Nina through the chaos of the French Revolution.
Most of the book is in fact set during that time, with the children taking on various roles (noble, servant, artist) and meeting various famous historical figures of all classes and sides (King Louis, Robespierre, etc.). Nina and Rowan's loss is the backdrop to the frantic search for Nina before she is hurt or the three are left in revolutionary France permanently. Further complexity is added by some group dynamic tension, some early adolescent sexual tension, and some social unease over the fact that the twins are black (forcing Xavier for instance automatically into the role of servant).
The book moves along quickly, but at times too quickly, even for the young audience it is aimed at. Characters, with the exception of Rowan, are not fully fleshed out (this is especially true of the historical characters), and even Rowan remains something less than a three-dimensional character. Lessons are learned a bit too easily, motivations and intentions shift too quickly, too much is glossed over.
The plot is overly contrived at times, the ending is anti-climatic, and some of the tension is robbed by the appearance of the aunts. The backstory of Nina and Rowan's loss plays out heavily toward the very end, but in expected and clearly foreshadowed fashion and while it can't help but be moving, its impact owes less to skill of story or writing as to simple sentimentalism (it carries, for instance, none of the true pathos that so often overshadows Harry in Harry Potter, another book allegedly aimed at a youthful audience).
The premise obviously leaves itself available for return visits, and the time-travel aspect gives literally a world of opportunity to explore. Here's hoping Williams and her characters grow into the potential that remains untapped in the first book.

Rating:
Summary: Charming and exciting time travel novel for young people
Review: This is a marvelous book, touching and exciting. Maiya Williams dos an excellent job of making the time period of the French Revolution come to life by having each of the four children who travel back in time become a member of a different social group of the time. Their attitudes towarad the events surrounding the French Revolution are therefore very different; most interesing are their differing views of Queen Marie Antoinette.
Although the book deals with children's loss of their mother, I'm not sure this book will be particularly helpful for other children in that situation. Rowan and Nina learn lessons about accepting loss and moving on with life, but we don't get a clear idea of how these lessons are drawn from their experiences. I think Maiya Williams could have made these connections a bit more obvious for the readers.
Overall, however, this is a delightful book, life-affirming, moving, interesting and exaciting. I look forward to Williams's sequel, The Silver Hour.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantasy with Substance
Review: This time-tripping fantasy is so fast-moving and fun, your kids won't realize it's good for them. The non-stop adventure also contains lessons on self-esteem, racial harmony, and great dollops of French Revolution history. Ms. Williams is an amazing mix of J.K. Rowling and E.L. Doctorow.