Elle Bibi-Imbelé Ifiè has The Gift. The ability to leap across time be it in the past or the future. How did she inherit this special gift? She’s a Leapling. Anyone born on the 29th of February has this potential and Elle’s skill in it come in bucket-loads. She’s not alone though. Attending Intercalary International alongside other Leaplings, such as her good friend Big Ben, she finds herself invited into the future in order celebrate her skills and future with the Time Squad Centre: a secret group whose job it is to stop crimes being committed through history. When there though, she discovers a plot to lay waste not only to the school but also the planet itself.
Having been a published poet, this is Agbabi’s first foray into writing novels for children. Encouraged and inspired by the literature her two sons were reading and writing, Agbabi decided to add her passion for sprinting, numbers and pepper soup into the mix ( I especially enjoyed the implicit and explicit references to Nigerian culture and food). What she presents is a richly imagined (and I REALLY do mean ‘richly’) time-leaping mystery with a host of characters from across times.
The story is meticulously planned and I am staggered by the interwoven links and themes between the pages. Each character matters and plays a part in the telling whilst each place or device is well-considered and invites leaps of imagination from the reader – whether it is visualising the Chronophone or picturing the green Ferrari Forever. Patience celebrates a host of neuro-diverse characters, including Elle herself but is quick to show the reader that this too is a gift and not a hindrance. Elle is in a place where her skills and ways are welcomed and encouraged – there is no need to hide who you are here.
Whilst juggling all these different elements, Agbabi still manages to keep the implicit ecocritical messages threaded throughout. The crime itself invites the reader to consider the state of the planet at large and how, whether the reader believes it or not at this point, each of us can make a difference to all our futures – even if it is with the smallest act of kindness.
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Mat Tobin (@Mat_at_Brookes)
Time Travelling? No! This is Time Leaping
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 July 2020Verified Purchase
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