The Song of Glory and Ghost: Outlaws of Time, Book 2
By Mary Eisenhart,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Strong girl steps up in wild time-bending fantasy.
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What you will—and won't—find in this book.
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What's the Story?
Opening almost a year of time travel after the events of Book 1, THE SONG OF GLORY AND GHOST finds Sam Miracle, now 13, racked with guilt -- not for saving his sister Millie from a horrible death but because saving her allowed the evil Vulture, an Old West outlaw with supernatural powers, to escape, and he's been destroying past, present, and future worlds ever since. Now, along with Cindy and Speck, the two rattlesnakes embedded in his damaged arms, he's trying to find and stop the Vulture and undo the destruction -- which was impossible enough, and then time-shifting mentor Father Tiempo disappears. Trying to support Sam, his faithful sidekick Glory is on her own desperate quest to save their mentor before evil Aztec monsters kill him in infancy. Along the way, she learns about her own powers and cosmic destiny and gets help from the Angel of Death himself.
Is It Any Good?
With the wild cosmology, chaotic time-shifting, comic book sensibility, and character development of much-tried teen heroes, there's a lot happening in this imaginative installment. It's a lot to keep track of, with monsters, mythology, some really nasty villains, and death and destruction in numerous timelines. The Song of Glory and Ghost is a wild, exciting ride, especially for tween readers, who may feel much the same as Sam and Glory's new redheaded fangirl from postapocalyptic Seattle:
"What would you do if you were me, living on smoked fish and twenty-year-old enchilada sauce, and then two comic book characters show up? Even if you are bad, I'm still glad I jumped through that hole after you."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about time travel in The Song of Glory and Ghost. Why is time travel such a popular theme? If you could travel to another time, where would you go?
Part of the story in the Outlaws of Time series involves one of the characters writing books about the adventures, often long after they've taken place. How do you think your older self would see the things you're doing now?
Many of the characters in this series were once in the foster care system. Do you know any kids who are in foster care? How are their lives different from yours?
Book Details
- Author: N. D. Wilson
- Illustrator: Forrest Dickison
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Superheroes, Adventures, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires, Pirates
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
- Publication date: April 18, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 352
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 13, 2017
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