Lost in Cyberspace - Hardcover

Richard Peck has written more than thirty novels, and in the process has become one of the country’s most highly respected writers for children. In fact The Washington Post called him America’s best living author for young adults.” A versatile writer, he is beloved by middle-graders as well as young adults for his historical and contemporary comedies and coming-of-age novels. He lives in New York City, and spends a great deal of time traveling around the country to speaking engagements at conferences, schools, and libraries.

Mr. Peck is the first children’s book author to have received a National Humanities Medal. He is a Newbery Medal winner (for A Year Down Yonder), a Newbery Honor winner (for A Long Way from Chicago), a two-time National Book Award finalist, and a two-time Edgar Award winner. In addition, he has won a number of major honors for the body of his work, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award, the ALAN Award, and the Medallion from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Amiable characters, fleet pacing and witty, in-the-know narration will keep even the non-bookish interested in this semi-fantastic adventure. Sixth-grader Josh, from an upscale Manhattan home, gets mixed up in his best friend Aaron's experiments with "cellular reorganization" (Aaron compares the process to faxing himself through cyberspace; Josh calls it time-travel). Before long Aaron has imported a few characters from 1923 into the present, where Josh must cope with them. To Peck's (The Last Safe Place on Earth) credit, the time travel mechanisms seem almost plausible; even better, they don't overpower the story. The author takes equal care in creating his characters, which include a string of silly English au pairs hired by Josh's newly single mom; Josh's 12-year-old sister ("I'm virtually thirteen and emotionally fourteen"); trendy teachers (the reading teacher calls his course Linear Decoding). Except for a pat and unnecessary twist at the end, when Josh's father shows up just in time for Peck to hint at a marital reconciliation, this clever caper doesn't miss a beat. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.