The Golden Hour

by Maiya Williams

Book Overview

Rowan Popplewell and his younger sister Nina are sent to spend the summer with their two eccentric great-aunts in Owatannauk, Maine. Curious Rowan wants to know what is going on every sunset at the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810948230
• ISBN13: 9780810948235
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 9 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 8

Customer Reviews

The Golden Hour

The Golden Hour is a fictional book filled with excitement and suspense. When you look at a tiny detail on the front cover, you see a guillotine. This gives you a feeling that a guillotine will be involved in the content of the book. There is one, but not in the way you would think. This is a wonderful story with two girls, two boys, and one huge mistake in the time of the French Revolution.When a foursome run into a magical mysterious hotel with "alleviators", three of them travel through time to the wrong place, looking for the fourth character, Nina, who ran away through time. In this book, everything you couldn't get in Harry Potter comes alive. Reading this book makes you feel like you are in the midst of the raiding of the Bastille, and at the time period of the French Revolution. I recommend this book to everyone.

A Revolutionary Adventure

The book The Golden Hour by Maiya Williams is an extraordinary read for children ages 10 and above. In the beginning, we meet 12 year-old Rowan and his sister Nina, who are still mourning the death of their mother the previous year. Rowan and Nina are sent to Owatannauk, Maine to live with their two aunts for a month. They have the cliché aunts... Agatha, who is short, plump, and friendly, and Gertrude, who is tall, skinny, and has a great deal of rectitude. There is a mystery about this little town, though: everything looks as if it came from a different era. Rowan and Nina befriend 12 year-old twins Xavier and Xanthe, and together, the four of them discover the alleviators - time machines - in an old, broken-down hotel that comes to life at the "golden hour." As they discuss the possibilities of going back in time, Rowan tells Nina about the Enlightenment, a time when learning and the arts flourished and people were optimistic. Later, he is horrified to find out that he'd told her the wrong dates and accidentally convinced her to retreat to France during the French Revolution! Rowan, Xanthe, and Xavier travel to the late 1700s and experience the dread and hatred that took place during the French Revolution and particularly on Bastille Day. They are forced to watch the strident accusations and brainless assumptions made at that time. They are also fortunate to meet some of the more ardent and passionate people of the period. Rowan and the twins are almost killed, and then they discover something that makes Rowan wish he had never been born... Fortunately for the anxious reader, a happy and encouraging twist occurs, to satisfy your hunger for a good ending. This book is like an ice cream sundae; the dark chocolate ice cream is grief, with the vanilla representing happiness. The hot fudge (the part that makes the whole thing a great dessert) symbolizes the backdrop of history that is streaked throughout the pages - some of the characters truly existed, and most of the historical information is factual. The scattered nuts represent friendship, and the whipped cream is the icing on top: the reality of the story, how the characters, action, and dialogue seem so realistic. Last but not least, the sweet cherry symbolizes the romance between two of the main characters, which completes the whole book. The story was very entertaining, and I always looked forward to reading more. The Golden Hour by Maiya Williams is a great book, with interesting and believable characters, and that is why I chose to rate it a five.

A little Dickens and a dash of Dumas

Maiya Williams' terrific novel reminds me of some of the great old adventure stories of my childhood, books that took me to exciting and sometimes harrowing moments in history in the company of a reliable hero. This would be a great book for families to read aloud together after dinner or for kids to curl up alone with at night. Sheer good fun.

A Fantasy with Substance

This time-tripping fantasy is so fast-moving and fun, your kids won't realize it's good for them. The non-stop adventure also contains lessons on self-esteem, racial harmony, and great dollops of French Revolution history. Ms. Williams is an amazing mix of J.K. Rowling and E.L. Doctorow.

Wonderful and Fun

Maiya Williams book belongs in the same category of children's books that I loved as a child and still remember as an adult: The Phantom Tollbooth; A Wrinkle in Time; The Wizard of Oz series. At once fantastical and rooted in true characters, "The Golden Hour" is delight to read -- well written, wonderfully plotted, surprising and fun. Not to mention the unusual backdrop of the French Revolution ... I gladly recommended this book to my niece who loved it as much as I did.