Prisoner of Time

Another time traveling teenager, and more romance, gothic imprisonments, kidnappings, and greed continue the Stratton family story. But this time Caroline Cooney has some fun with it. She provides comic relief by using Annie's younger brother as the link between the present and the past. The story still relies on gothic elements. Devonny's father compels her to marry a greedy English lord for his title. When he shuts up her mother in the attic, we can almost see him chuckling and grinning and twirling the end of his mustache as the standard Victorian villain.

However, a few of the characters grow a bit. Lord Winden realizes he's behaved less than honorably, and prods himself into standing up to his gorgon-like mother. Devonny changes her attitude toward Lord Winden. The book certainly will continue to appeal to those who enjoyed the two earlier books in the series, Both Sides of Time and Out of Time. Its history will interest many romantically inclined readers. No one could call it literature, but many kids will read it, love it, and learn from it. That's not too bad.