BROADBENT, Adele Trouble in Time Scholastic 2014 260pp NZ$19.50 pbk ISBN 9781775432265 SCIS 1678039
At its best, this book is reminiscent of de Goldi’s The 10pm Question and the picaresque adventures set in New Zealand by Jack Lasenby. A sympathetically drawn protagonist finds himself able to go back to the youth of his grandfather. Unfortunately his nemesis discovers how to time travel too and the book explores the way the ‘future’ can affect the ‘past’ and vice versa. Lightly done, and not over-ambitious in realisation despite the big topic, are two reasons why the book succeeds.
reviewed by Anna Smith