A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones

Rivera’s complex world is well realized, and the dialogue rings true. While the pacing lags in the middle, secondary characters aren’t fully developed, and the couple’s relationship borders on instalove, the rush of a summertime romance feels realistic. Through an amalgamation of Greek, Roman, and Taíno mythology and religious beliefs, gaslighting, the colonization of Puerto Rico, Afro-Latinidad identity, and female empowerment are woven into the narrative. Rivera skillfully captures the sounds and feels of the Bronx-its unique, diverse culture and the creeping gentrification of its neighborhoods. Pheus, despite his atheism, follows the advice of his father and a local bruja to journey to find his love in the Underworld.

Attacked at a dance club by Sileno, its salacious and satyrlike owner, Eury falls into a coma and is taken to el Inframundo by Ato. Pheus and Eury bond over music and quickly fall in love. Her family doesn’t know that she’s been plagued since childhood by the demonlike Ato. Eury, a young Puerto Rican woman and Hurricane Maria survivor, is staying with her cousin for the summer because of a recent, unspecified traumatic event. The Afro-Dominican teen is known for his mesmerizing bachata music, love of history, and smooth way with the ladies. Pheus visits his father in the Bronx every summer. In all, a spirited, funny, and entertaining story.Īn otherworldly Latinx retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth set in the South Bronx. Meanwhile, the book bounces merrily along, gathering momentum and generating dramatic tension. While time-twisters never bear much scrutiny, Jones manages to resolve paradoxes and scattered clues without leaving the reader feeling cheated. As in earlier books such as Howl's Moving Castle, there is never a dull moment, with a new crisis or a new twist at every turn. Aided by grouchy Tutor Wilander, android Elio, and a mysterious woman who saves Jonathan's life, they unmask Vivian Lee and her parents as the villians, reunite the pieces of Faber John and the pieces of the polarity, and save the city. The three bounce back and forth in time, trying to discover who is stealing the polarities, hidden by mysterious creator Faber John, that keep Time City whole. Convinced of their mistake, they pass Vivian off as cousin Vivian Lee. Jonathan and his friend Sam explain that they had mistaken Vivian for the Time Lady, a mythical heroine or destroyer-their eavesdropping got muddled-who may be the cause of the deterioration of Time City. Vivian Smith has gone to the West Country to escape the bombing of London at the beginning of WW II when she is unexpectedly met by imperious Jonathan Lee and whisked to Time City, which stands on its own piece of recycled time. Eleven-year-old Vivian, kidnapped to far-distant future Time City by mistake, proves to be one of the City's saviors.

A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones