Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Timeslip Tuesday- The Titanic Mission

30653802Gutman, Dan. The Titanic Mission (Flashback Four #2)
April 4th 2017 by HarperCollins
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

Luke, Isabel, David, and Julia were not able to bring back their photograph from The Lincoln Project, so Ms. Vandergoth fires them... only to be swayed by their proposal to go back and get a picture of the Titanic. Even though they managed to get one billion dollar Text Through Time device smashed, she gives them another one and sends them off to the Titanic. They aren't too worried-- of course they will be removed once they get their picture, well before they sink with the ship. The children have a variety of experiences on board, are tempted to steal a priceless object (since it's going to be lost anyway!), and meet a number of people who are on board. When the ship starts to sink, things go badly wrong. A Titanic deck hand is mistakenly brought back to the present, but the children are not able to make it back. What will this mean to their future?
Strengths: I love Gutman's voice, and adore his Baseball Card Adventures. He has some interesting notes at the end of the book about the fate of the Titanic and the continued interest in it. His characters are a good mix of personalities. I can see this being very popular with elementary students.
Weaknesses: The Titanic is a popular site for time travelers. I'd love to see The Flashback Four visit a somewhat more unusual historic event. The first Olympic Marathon would be fun, and bring into play Gutman's great sports background.
What I really think: I'm still feeling weepy about the last book in the Baseball Card Adventures series.
Ms. Yingling

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