Or rather – THE LEFT BEHINDS: THE iPHONE THAT SAVED GEORGE WASHINGTON. Quite the title for this time travel adventure. It’s a great way for young and old to discover details about the Revolutionary War, and George’s successful crossing of the Delaware River in horrendous weather.

Narrated by 12-year-old left behind, Mel, he and his two friends are labeled as such since their parents leave them at boarding school during the holidays, too busy in their own lives and careers to share the holidays with their children. Of course things quickly get out of hand and before you know it we’re back in the 1700’s. Both funny and informative, those that love history will adore this book. It’s short chapters (79 total!) would appeal to reluctant readers, but the story becomes a bit too wordy. Fifty thousand words would have been a tighter read.

Anyway, that cover will for sure pull in many readers. Two time periods expertly portrayed. I look forward to the sequel and more history saving adventures from this series.

PUBLICATION DATE:2015   WORD COUNT: 60,959   LEVEL: 4.5

FULL PLOT (From Amazon):  On Christmas Day, Mel finds General George Washington lying dead as a doornail in a stable. But Mel knows that George Washington must cross the Delaware River, or the course of American history will be changed forever.

Could Mel’s iPhone have sent him back in time to 1776? And can Mel and his schoolmates, know-it-all Bev and laid-back Brandon, come to the rescue? Perhaps, with a little help from two colonial kids and Benjamin Franklin himself.

FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT THE LEFT BEHINDS…. by David Potter

1. The scene where George is told by young Mel a city was named after him is hilarious. George doesn’t appreciate the D.C. added to his name.
2. Superb integration of today’s technology with the past. Who else would you go to other than Ben Franklin if you need to recharge your phone?
3. The app on the iPhone known as itime. Plug in a date and time and you are on your way.
4. No shortcuts were taken in the research to write this historical novel. You’d learn something no matter what you know about this time period.
5. A nicely done reference section at the back of the book clue you in to other books, websites, and places you can visit to enrich your knowledge.

FAVORITE LINES: I’d like to start at the beginning–believe me–but the problem is I don’t know when it began and I don’t know when it will end. I only know the middle, which is now, or more specifically ten minutes ago, when someone shot General George Washington stone-cold dead.

AUTHOR QUOTE:”Once in a while I would submit something, and once in a while something was published or a literary agent would work with me, but never much success. Eventually I reconciled myself to my fate. I gave it my best shot, but not everyone gets to play short for the Yanks, dance on Broadway, or get a book published. What are you going to do? Well, I did the only thing to do, which is to keep writing…” (Author’s web site)

********************************************************************

Check the links to other Middle Grade novels over at Shannon Messenger’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday post.