[Book Review] The Lost Track of Time by Paige Britt

Penelope is running out of time!

She dreams of being a writer, but how can she pursue her passion when her mother schedules every minute of her life? And how will she ever prove that writing is worthwhile if her mother keeps telling her to “get busy!” and “be more productive”?

Then one day, Penelope discovers a hole in her schedule–an entire day completely unplanned!–and she mysteriously falls into it. What follows is a mesmerizing journey through the Realm of Possibility where Penelope sets out to find and free the Great Moodler, the one person who may have the answers she seeks. Along the way, she must face an army of Clockworkers, battle the evil Chronos, take a daring Flight of Fancy, and save herself from the grip of time. – Amazon summary

Ever since I started interning at an elementary school, I have been in the mood for middle grade reads. Then I started reading Harry Potter and it made me just want more middle grade stories. I was all too excited when I stumbled across this book here while in the school counselor’s office.

Initially this book gave me small flutters of anxiety. What with all the rushing around, cramming, jam packed daily schedule, and more rushing. Even if Penelope was ONE MINUTE late, she had to get up and hurry hurry hurry! Even though I don’t have my mother shoving activities down my throat, it just felt all too familiar being in grad school. Especially now since I am completing final assignments, preparing for graduation, making traveling plans for graduation, and applying for jobs. The stress is just too real!

In this little story, I hated the fact that Penelope’s parents didn’t listen to her and it just made me think about all the parents out there that are really this. Always signing their kids up for some activity, forcing them to do things they don’t want to do, silencing their child’s voice, and ignoring the fact that their child is unhappy, stressed, and developing anxiety. Although the parents in this book were pretty much caricatures of these real life parents, parents like this exist! And it amazes me how these parents don’t see how they are hurting their kids. A child’s personal development is greatly effected by this and in a worse case scenario, this could lead to depression.

But that’s enough of the heavy stuff.

I thought this was a super cute and imaginative book. I enjoyed Penelope as a main character and I loved meeting all the new creatures and characters throughout the world Penelope fell into. I can see this book being a movie with that strange clay animation like in Coraline or James & The Giant Peach. Someone make this happen! I would definitely watch.

I will admit that I feel like the story could have had some deeper meanings and some good quotable moments in some instances, but it got all tangled up in all the plays on words. I was also hoping for a different ending. Something that gave me some kind of closure, but we didn’t get that, yet it wasn’t a cliffhanger ending. This is not necessarily a bad thing. I guess I was just hoping for something a little different. But it is a children’s book after all.

The writing style was nice; perfect for middle grade but maybe not for someone in their twenties like me lol. The writing just didn’t grab me and hook me even though the story was interesting (does that even make any sense?). The characters were also enjoyable too. None were extremely flat or boring nor were any too over the top (except for maybe Penelope’s mother). The illustrations throughout the book added to the charm of it all and fit the writing style very well.

The story itself felt like a mashup of many other movies and stories and I wouldn’t be surprised if the author got her inspiration from them. In reading certain things, my mind would often wander to movies such as The Wizard of Oz, Alice In Wonderland, The Neverending Story, and most surprisingly, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. This may sound like a strange mashup but just trust me lol. There were elements of all these films in the book, even though this story was not quite like those.

Overall, it was a cute book that was super imaginative. Even though I wasn’t absolutely hooked from start to finish, it was a good clean read that’s perfect for passing the time. If I had read this book back when I was ten or so, I know I would have loved it. I wanted to be a writer just like Penelope!

Message to take away from this book: Never suppress your creativity and never allow someone else to repress it for you. Allowing this to happen will do just that; repress it until it’s gone. And with so many people in the world trying to be like everyone else and “keep up with the Jones’s”, we need every ounce of creativity that sparks a fire in our minds.

Do I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars (enjoyable but nothing special)