Pastworld by Ian Beck - OPTIONAL

Pastworld, by Ian Beck, 320 pages. Bloomsbury, November 2009. $16.99. 

Violence: PG-13

HS – OPTIONAL

Caleb is visiting Pastworld for the first time with his father, one of the original creators of the project – a restoration of the entire city of London to its Victorian past. There is enough danger on the means streets of the step back into the past, but the reappearance of the Fantom, a creature who seems to be a reincarnation of Jack the Ripper, means that Caleb is personally in danger. When he meets Eve, a lifelong resident of the park, the two of them together are the catalyst to the final confrontation. 

At times I was thoroughly absorbed in that plot  - at others I couldn’t tear my eyes away because it read like a train wreck – the fluctuations in quality were very disconcerting. It Probably need another 50 pages to flesh things out. 

Cindy, Library-Teacher