Seeds of Time

Kristin Butcher writes novels for young adults. Her most recent works
are Cairo Kelly and the Mann, The Gamma War, and The Tomorrow Tunnel.

Three years after losing her father and part of her leg in a motorbike
accident, 13-year-old Darrell Connor is still dealing with the emotional
repercussions of the incident. Though she hides behind a tough exterior,
inwardly she feels lost and alone. When her mother enrols her at Eagle
Glen School to study art for the month of July, Darrell is not happy.
Perched atop a cliff overlooking the Pacific, Eagle Glen resembles a
medieval castle, so it is no surprise that while stumbling through a
cave on the beach, Darrell finds herself transported back to
15th-century Scotland during the height of the Black Plague.

Like many time-travel fantasies, this one finds Darrell flip-flopping
between the two worlds, caught up in the conflicts of both. In her
real-time setting, she must confront personal struggles and relationship
issues, as well as a mystery involving unpleasant, albeit inept,
smugglers. During her junkets to medieval Scotland, she is forced to
deal with the plague, treachery, and the possibility of losing her two
newfound friends forever.

Seeds of Time is an ambitious endeavor. Dyer has done a wonderful job
of recreating medieval Scotland, so that the reader is swept up into the
story. Though the images of the modern-day Pacific coast are equally
vivid, the storyline is not as compelling. The smugglers are introduced
at the beginning and then basically abandoned until the end. The story
would have been stronger if they’d been more developed or omitted
altogether. An interesting read, nevertheless. Recommended.