The Tomorrow Tunnel

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

The author of The Runaways, a realistic novel, switches to fantasy with
The Tomorrow Tunnel. While at a flea market with her father and sister
Dana, 12-year-old Ashleigh Cunningham purchases an old book from a
sad-looking woman. Whenever Ashleigh tries to read the book, titled The
Tomorrow Tunnel, she falls asleep and has dreams that relate in various
ways to what will take place the next day. When Ashleigh “sees” Dana
about to be hit by a car, she wonders if she can change what is to
happen.

Over time, Ashleigh learns that the dreams do not always capture an
entire event; rather, they suggest only what could occur. With Dana’s
assistance, Ashleigh discovers that the book’s power is activated when
the individual reading has placed a personal possession within its
pages. A sales slip inside the book leads Ashleigh to Deja Vu, an
antiquarian bookstore, where she encounters the sad woman, Mrs.
Fredette. This woman desperately wants the book back, but her husband
insists that it be destroyed. Finally, Ashleigh breaks her connections
with The Tomorrow Tunnel and returns it to Mrs. Fredette, while sharing
her knowledge about the book’s addictive nature.

Middle-schoolers willing to suspend disbelief will enjoy this quick
read, which raises interesting questions about addiction and its various
forms. Recommended.