Eleven year-olds Dak and Sera have been best friends for as
long as they can remember. They are both geniuses – and therefore outcasts
among their peers – so they have bonded over their geekiness. To say that Dak
is a history buff is an understatement; he’s been reading thick historical
tomes since he first learned to read and spouts obscure historical facts
constantly. Sera’s talents lie more in science – she’s been messing around with
quantum mechanics since she was a preschooler.
This series takes place either in present day or perhaps a
bit into the future. It’s hard to tell exactly because Dak and Sera’s world is
slightly different from ours. Some of the differences are subtle and trivial,
like the different-sounding names and varied spellings from what we’re familiar
with. Other differences are more obvious: there are 48 states in the U.S. and
its capital is Philadelphia. And one difference is very significant: a powerful
group called the SQ rules the world and has been around since the earliest days
of civilization. We don’t know much about the SQ except that they are very
powerful and very dangerous.
While exploring Dak’s parents’ lab one day, the two friends
discover a time travel device that Dak’s parents have been working on, and Sera
figures out how to finish it and make it work. Soon after, the two friends are
recruited by a group called the Hystorians who explain that there are certain
Breaks in history where things went horribly wrong (mostly thanks to the SQ),
resulting in the ever-increasing problems facing the world today (frequent
extreme weather events, violence, the SQ’s all-encompassing power and abuses).
Through an unexpected disaster, Dak, Sera, and a young Hystorian named Riq are
sent back in time on their own and have to try to fix the Breaks and set history
back on its proper course.
The history here is sometimes a bit confusing since the
history of the story differs a bit from our own, but reading about these major
events in history made me want to go look them up online and learn more. In
addition, each book includes a pull-out guide to an online game that immerses
kids in another historical event, as they help Dak, Sera, and Rik to fix
another Break. I tried the first game, and it's fun (though my son told me I;m terrible at online games!) It’s clever because you don’t have to play the games in order to enjoy reading the books, but playing the
games brings a whole new dimension to the experience and builds on the basic
storyline.
There’s nothing I like better than a good time travel plot,
and this series is filled with fast-paced adventure set against some
fascinating historical backdrops. In the first book, the kids travel back to
1492 when Columbus was setting off on his historical voyage, and in the second,
they travel to 885 in France when the Vikings attacked the island city of
Paris. The action, historical details, and suspense are all great; I read the
two books in just a few days. The writing is not spectacular – dialogue seems a
bit stiff and unrealistic at times and I noticed a few anachronisms in speech
during their time travel – but it will be satisfactory for middle-grade readers
looking for lots of action and a gripping story, and perhaps the addition of
the online games (as well as the short length of the books!) will help to
engage reluctant readers. I think that all readers will be fascinated and
engaged by the historical settings, as I was.
Book One: 190 pages, Scholastic
Book Two: 188 pages, Scholastic
For more information on both the books and the games, head
to the Infinity Ring website. You input a code from the book in order to play
the games, but for June and July only, the first two games are available for
free!
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