Kevin in Between

Joan McGrath is a Toronto Board of Education library consultant.

Ten-year-old Kevin, comatose following a serious accident, experiences a
form of “afterlife” that includes long-dead people who in earlier
times were his friends and workmates. He discovers his own past as
“Albert,” a Victorian lad who slaved in the mines; relives his life
as Darius, an idolized bull-leaper in ancient Crete; and even
experiences the disadvantages of life as a girl, Annette, in
fifteenth-century France, denied all the fun and freedom accorded her
brothers simply because of her sex. Eventually regaining consciousness,
Kevin in his present life partly remembers the lessons he has learned
“in between.” Young readers may find this somewhat preachy version
of time travel odd and possibly upsetting, but will certainly be offered
food for thought. Some parents will certainly object to the
reincarnation theme, especially in this inconclusive and oversimplified
form.