THE GIRL WHO SOLD TIME

In Nelson’s middle-grade SF novel, a young girl in the 25th century undertakes a quest to save humanity from extinction on an all-but-uninhabitable Earth.

Twelve-year-old Violet’s past is murky. She seems to have trouble remembering specifics of her early childhood, but she does know that her scientist father is somewhere high above the earth in the Needle, a massive space elevator inhabited by the world’s smartest minds, all working to save the planet’s mutated and dying ecosystems before what’s left of humankind perishes. Accompanied by a robotic boy named Jackdaw, Violet finds and sells precious “time marbles” in the wasteland surrounding the base of the Needle. The marbles contain varying increments of time—a few seconds, minutes, or hours—that, when placed in a person’s mouth, allows them to essentially stop time temporarily. But when she stumbles across a marble that could potentially stop time for a year or more, she becomes a target for more than a few morally bankrupt individuals who want the marble for nefarious purposes. As she and Jackdaw struggle to survive, the world continues its descent toward a planetwide apocalypse. An obvious selling point here is the courageous and relatable main character, who is dealing with issues that will undoubtedly resonate with the target audience, such as the meaning of family, the power of friendship, and finding one’s place—or purpose—in the world. But Nelson’s impressively deep worldbuilding and backstory, which give the narrative an undeniable timeliness and thematic gravity, is arguably even more of a hook. The author also excels at exploring complex scientific theories and making them palatable for young readers. Here, the author contemplates time: “The river is time and the boats are people…Everyone is born to die, which is why the boats have holes. Some holes will be large and the boat won’t get very far down the river before sinking. Others will have small holes and will travel the river for longer.” Also of note are the spectacular cover art, interior illustrations, and overall design concept; it’s obvious that this novel was meticulously and lovingly produced.

Middle-grade readers who love thought-provoking SF will find this page-turner of a novel all but unputdownable.