A Book For the Younger Audience

This book review is for a younger audience of readers , and for those who read the more liteary works, this is perhaps not the best thing for you to read. Book similar to this one that I recommend are the Magaret George novels that cna transfer your mind to a time that is but the dust we walk upon today. Her works transform the dead cultures of the past centuries back to life, as if her works breathe air into the dead's lungs. I sugget her so much, and that if you have the time, her novels are great tasks to overcome on a rainy day. Enjoy!

Time is what we base our lives upon. Face it, we're running on time, and it controls us whether we like it, or not. Age, maturity, and special events that make us get up and go in the morning are all based upon time. What if you could go back in time? What if you somehow manged to find a way to go wherever you felt like going? Well, this young adult work will not take you there.
The cover shows a picture of what Gareth "looks" like, and the ankh-shaped discoloration upon his chest Image from http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0140378278.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

"Time Cat" is an older, basic work, and is the first novel written by Lloyd Alexander. This book is meant for a younger audience, and shows in the minor details, and very, very low character development. All the characters seem to be a string of the last, and really seem to have only emotional changes. Although some historic content is given inside of this work, it is still a rather large letdown for those with a reading level over an eight year old. "Time cat" has many many sharp deges that pierce the eyes and make the reader scream, but it is reedeemed by the slyness of Gareth, perhaps the most developed character in the story. Gareth is of course, the "Time Cat" who can travel to nine places, and wants to take his owner, Jason with him.
The begining of the book is horrible, absolutely dreadful, in that there is no plot. I read on, hoping for a plot, and found one brittled over a grainy, dried-up wasteland of a garden called the book's pages. Hell, I think the flyleaf of the book had a larger, more intricate plot upon the blank page. The story's plot takes us to all different places around the world, as well as trhough time. One redeeming quality is the places, as well as some (I stress the word some) historic educational value. A few of the "hot spots" visited are: Perus in the mid 1500's, Ancient Rome, an Anglo-Saxon tribe, medieval Ireland, Feudal Japan, and America in 1776. It also appears that the main antagonists of the times that Gareth and Jason visit, all want to either keep Gareth, or imprison Jason. As I have said, if you are over te age of eight, even six, this book may not be your cup of tea, but it is not a poor work, just not the best from this author. Perhaps his best novel entitled "The High King", which is the third book in a series called the "Prydain Chronicles" does him beter justice than "Time Cat".
To conclude on this work, I would have to be honest and say I personally did not enjoy this book when I was younger, and certainly disliked the re-read, so why do I recommend it? Simply put, it is not a "bad" book, it is just not for everyone. "Time Cat" tries to be more of a kid book than it is, but fails, and shows that it is for a young audience, who, in this day-and-age, know more about the Inca Empire than is even summarized in this novel. If you want to give a child or a teen an intersting book to read, Paul Zindel's library of works is outstanding, and never go old with age. These classic works can be found in any bookstore, and are hihgly recommended by myself, and many critics who read. I would just avoid "My Darling, My Hamburger" for two reasons: 1) It is meant for more of the older adolescents 2) It's not his best work, and is rather boring considering it deals with teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and tragedy. So for the youth, this is a good book, for the common reader, it makes a good gift for cat lovers, and a younger brother, sister, or cousin.