Carrie Hane Hung (Children's Literature)
One in eight million families has two sets of twins. It may seem extraordinary but to Miri who is the middle child between her older twin brothers Ray and Robbie, and her younger twin sisters Nell and Nora, she feels like a ‘fifth wheel’ in the family. After being sent to her room for hitting Ray with a shovel, Miri spots a piece of glass taped up on one of the purple walls in her bedroom. As she closely examines and peers through the glass, Miri is suddenly transported back to 1935 and meets Molly who resides in the room. Molly is undaunted by Miri’s appearance because she believes that Miri is a fairy who will rescue her from the unbearable Aunt Flo and cousins. Miri is determined to help save Molly from her plight but will she be able figure out how? The foreshadowing in the story leads to interesting twists and exciting turns in the story for surprising results in the end that are captivating. 2008, Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books, $15.95. Ages 7 to 11.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 23))
Miri, singleton daughter sandwiched between two sets of twins, feels depressingly ordinary. When she finds a lens to a pair of eyeglasses taped to the baseboard of her room in the old Victorian home her family has just moved into, she is pulled through time to 1935, where the orphaned Molly relies on the dubious kindness of relatives. Molly's aunt would happily send her to an orphanage, while her cousin, a brute of the first order (and a petty thief to boot), delights in torturing her. The two girls feel an instant kinship: Miri must save Molly, of course—but how? Barrows has crafted a serviceable time-travel fantasy with the right amount of moving back and forth (Miri's own glasses are her ticket back to the 21st century) and reflection on the consequences of changing the past. Narrative nuance and finely tuned character development are sacrificed to quick pacing and plotting, however, a trade-off that will keep middle-graders turning the pages but that may make this offering a disappointment for fans of the superb Ivy Bean chapter books. 2008, Bloomsbury, 224p, $15.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 8 to 12. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Katrina Bromann (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, February 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 6))
Stuck in the middle of a twin sandwich, eleven-year-old Miriam Gill is on her own between twelve-year-olds Ray and Robbie and four-year-olds Nell and Nora. Luckily, Miri has a vivid imagination that’s excellent company, but she’s not playing make-believe the day she discovers a piece of glass taped to the baseboard in the corner of her attic room and uses it to transport herself back in time to the year 1935. There, Miri meets the previous occupant of her bedroom, another brown-haired, nearsighted eleven-year-old girl, in this case Molly Gardner, who is struggling to survive while living with her greedy and judgmental cousins, including the murderous and abominable Horst. It is up to Miri to discover the secret of time travel and rescue Molly from the right place at the wrong time. Miri’s familial predicament may be atypical (only one in eight million families has two sets of twins, as her proud father loves to point out) but her frustration at being left out will be instantly recognizable to middle children everywhere, and readers anywhere along the birth order will understand her desire to find that other half with whom she can share her innermost thoughts and feelings. Barrows is particularly deft with characters’ language (“Golly Moses!” exclaims Molly; “Ray. Dude.” says Robbie), effectively distinguishing between the time periods and mirroring the way kids really talk to each other. This is a handy introduction to time travel for a younger set; the rules are not so complex as to befuddle the reader, but they’re intricate enough to pique interest and challenge precepts, and it’s always a revelatory exercise to look at today’s world through the eyes of someone living over seventy years ago. Happily, Miri and Molly manage to change history without negative repercussions, leaving readers to ponder the possibility of fixing other errors in time Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, Bloomsbury, 211p., $15.95. Grades 4-6.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2008)
Eleven-year-old Miri is ordinary, a singleton middle child between two sets of twin siblings. Her humdrum life changes when a magic eye-glass lens transports her back through time to 1935 where she meets Molly, a girl very much like Miri herself. More than just a time-travel adventure, the story also realistically depicts Miri's complicated relationships with her siblings. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2008, Bloomsbury, 211pp, $15.95 (hb). Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Virginia Gleaton (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 21, No. 1))
This story begins with a family moving to an old farmhouse. This family is made up of two sets of twins, older brothers and younger sisters, and a middle child, Miri, a single girl. Miri feels that she is not important because she is the only one who does not have a twin. But what she does have is a great imagination and a belief in magic, which she puts to great use. She travels back in time to 1935 and discovers Molly, who could almost be her twin. I found this to be a very cleverly written book. Students who like mysteries and magic should love this story. It takes many twists and turns before the surprise ending. Fiction. Grades 5-7. 2008, Bloomsbury, 211p., $15.95. Ages 10 to 13.