The Golden Hour (novel)

Infobox Book |
name = The Golden Hour
author = Maiya Williams
country = United States
language = English
subject =
genre = Young adult; Adventure
publisher = Amulet Books
pub_date = 2004
isbn = 0810948230

"The Golden Hour" is a children's novel by Maiya Williams. It tells the story of Rowan Popplewell and his sister, Nina, who are emotionally disturbed by the tragic death of their mother.

Plot summary

The Golden Hour tells the story of Rowan and Nina's adventures the summer after their mother's death. Thirteen-year-old Rowan's life is at an all-time low: his father has turned to drinking, the family business is becoming a financial disaster, they've had to move from their house to a small apartment, and his eleven-year-old sister Nina hasn't spoken a word since their mother's death. When his two great aunts invite Rowan and Nina to spend the summer with them in Owatannauk, Maine, a small (fictional) town on the tip of the state, Rowan anticipates a very boring summer with the two elderly women. But when he arrives he finds strange things starting to happen: the aunts run a shop stocking some items so curious they even compel Nina to start speaking again.

Rowan and Nina meet two twins, Xanthe and Xavier Alexander, who tell them about an old abandoned resort that appears to be haunted. Instead, the resort turns out to be an elaborate time machine. Nina seems interested in using the machine to escape her troubled life, especially when Rowan tells her about the Enlightenment, a period of European history when superstition and church dogma began giving way to logic and reason, art and science made tremendous strides, and truth and beauty were celebrated. When Nina disappears the next morning the kids rush to the resort: as they suspect, she has used the time machine. But Rowan discovers that he has told his sister the wrong dates for the Enlightenment, and instead of directing her to Enlightenment France he has sent her into the middle of the violent French Revolution. Rowan, Xanthe and Xavier time-travel to the French Revolution to save Nina, meeting various historical characters along the way.

Characters

;Rowan Popplewell: Rowan is a young man dealing with a great amount of stress. Because of his mother's death he has had to move with his father and sister to a small apartment where he has no room of his own. Before his mother died Rowan had many friends and a decent social life, but he now loses himself in video games to forget his problems.

;Nina Popplewell: Nina is Rowan's younger sister and, according to Rowan, "was a firecracker, always jumping with ideas." She has wild, uncontrollable black hair which tumbles over her shoulders and face. Nina is also a musical prodigy, able since the age of 3 to play tunes she'd heard from the piano. After her mother's death, Nina "shut down". She stopped speaking and became dormant to the point of Rowan claiming that "I have no sister".

;Xanthe Alexander:Xanthe is intrigued by native cultures, living close to the land, but also things that are mystical, symbolic and mysterious. Her brother is a pragmatist; she looks for something deeper. She is homeschooled.

;Xavier Alexander: Xavier is a born liar. He remakes himself to suit whatever purpose is at hand, he loves to embellish the truth and he has an ego the size of a barn: the perfect western desperado. Xavier also seeks freedom, independence and adventure, themes resonant with the spirit of the Gold Rush. He, like his sister, is homeschooled.

References

References to actual history, geography and current science

Parts of the novel's action are set during the French Revolution.

Publication history

* 2004, United States, Amulet Books, ISBN 0810948230, Pub date 1 April 2004, hardcover
* 2006, United States, Harry N. Abrams Inc., ISBN 0810992167, Pub date 1 April 2006, paperback

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00EFDF1F3DF93BA3575BC0A9629C8B63 Doug Ward, "The Golden Hour" review] , New York Times, August 8 2004
* [http://www.maiyawilliams.com/aboutthebooks.html#golden About the Books: The Golden Hour] , Maiya Williams official website.