Audio Book Review: The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick

This is a different fairytale adventure for middle grade and up.

The Time Fetch 

by Amy Herrick

read by Luci Christian
Audiobook
Unabridged   7.75 hour(s)
Publication date: 08/27/2013

Gernre: Middle Grade, Fantasy

My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Product Description
Under normal circumstances, a Time Fetch sends out its foragers to collect only those moments that will never be missed or regretted. It then rests, waiting to be called back by the Keeper, who distributes the gathered time where it is needed in our world and others. When eighth grader Edward innocently mistakes a sleeping Fetch for an ordinary rock, he wakes its foragers too early, and they begin to multiply and gobble up too much time. Soon the bell rings to end class just as it’s begun. Buses race down streets, too far behind schedule to stop for passengers. Buildings and sidewalks begin to disappear as the whole fabric of the universe starts to unravel.

To try to stop the time foragers he has unleashed, Edward must depend on the help of his classmates Feenix, Danton, and Brigit—whether he likes it or not. They all have touched the Fetch, and it has drawn them together in a strange and thrilling adventure where the boundaries between worlds and dimensions are blurred, and places and creatures on the other side are much like the ones they’ve always known—but slightly twisted, a little darker, and much more dangerous.

A fast-paced tale of mythology, danger, friendship, and a shocking centuries-old secret, The Time Fetch is a magical adventure that reveals the extraordinary hiding just inside the ordinary.

Review:
This is a fun but ‘grim’ tale as in scary fairytale. Edward is a skinny, nerdy type kid who buries himself in his books and finds a world away from the mean kids at school. He lives with his strange Aunt who is always talking about mystical things like the summer and winter solstice. His Aunt encourages Edward to bring other children home, especially the cute girl next door. Edward isn’t about to invite anyone to meet his strange Aunt. Especially not Feenix, the snobby girl next door who succeeds in subjecting even teachers to her embarrassing, mean taunts.

One day Edward slips into his Aunt’s garden and finds a strange looking rock to take into science class. As he heads to school weird things begin to happen and an odd man tries to take the rock from him. An athletic, cheerful boy, Danton, begins to take an interest in Edward, most likely because of the good food Edward always brings from home. There is also a cute but strange girl, Birgit, who seems nice enough to even Edward and Danton. But she doesn’t talk ... to anyone. She hasn’t talked since a traumatic event in her childhood.

When Feenix sneaks the rock away, Edward and Danton follow her to the park. Birgit follows them sensing something bad is going on. Feenix goes missing, while back at school time seems to be speeding by and no one remembers Feenix. Finally the other three young people remember and return to find her. Feenix only escapes the woodland when Danton and the others rescue her.

Although this is an unlikely team, they end up working together when they realize that the rock that Edward brought to school has had a strange, dangerous, effect on their community. Feenix has learned that it is a “time fetch” and a few of the tiny creatures inside have escaped. Now the little ‘buzzers’ are multiply and eating memories, mass and time itself. The world is in danger of being consumed unless the four youths can puzzle the way to stop the time bees without getting caught by the unraveler.

This was a very different and strange tale. I felt the beginning dragged a little getting to the more exciting and dangerous parts of the story. There were some behaviors, like the bullying and parental disrespect, that I didn’t like. I enjoyed the science lessons and ponderings that added philosophical questions. I very much liked how each of the children found strengths in themselves that were needed to succeed together. The story is pretty fast paced (after the slowness) and has some surprises that I think would keep the attention of older middle grade students. I would classify this as a fairytale adventure, including a positive moral.

Audio Notes: The narration was effective to portray the quirky characters. There was excitement and wonder in the reading that added to my enjoyment of the story. I’m not sure I would have picked this as a print book but I did like it as an audio.

I recieved this CD audiobook for reviewing from Highbridge Audio through AudioBook Jukebox.