Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime
Jennifer Claessen
uclan publishing

Combining adventure, friendship of an unusual kind and a Greek myth retold feminist style, this is an intriguing story.

Netta Becker, eleven, is spending the holiday with her younger, history obsessed brother, Remy and their parents. It was his turn to pick the destination – a rather run-down villa in Crete near King Minos’ palace – but it’s definitely not the kind of place Netta anticipates enjoying at all. Moreover she’ll miss an important swimming gala.

However, soon after arriving she starts having very realistic dreams that drag her back four thousand years to Ancient Greece and the palace of King Minos. In one she’s seen by Princess Ariadne (Ari) who thinks she’s some kind of spirit that’s she’s called up – ‘tricky muse’ she calls her.

As she spends more time in the distant past, her connection to the present begins to weaken and she gets increasingly distant, sulky even, something her parents fail to notice. Soon she starts to question her own reality: why has she been drawn way back to ancient times and is it possible she can alter the course of events in history? The more time Netta spends with Ari, the more she gains insights into the king – his arrogance and murderous nature.

Others have stories that may well be worth telling – those of the children and women – that appear to be of no significance to the powerful males. This belief is about to be challenged by Ari and Netta who want to show that ‘being unseen in history doesn’t mean life wasn’t worth living.’

A hugely engaging book: I love the way the author has looked at traditional stories in a completely different way: you don’t need to be familiar with Greek myths to enjoy this, though there are explanatory notes giving more detail about some of the references included after the narrative.