Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | J Fic Fitzgerald, S. 2013 | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Sheridan Public Library | J FIC Fitzgerald, Sarah Moore | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Cosmo must journey to the past to understand his future in this humorous, heartbreaking, and brilliantly original debut novel.
Cosmo's granddad used to be the cleverest person he ever knew. That is, until his granddad's mind began to fail. In a rare moment of clarity, his granddad gives Cosmo a key and pleads with Cosmo to go to the South Gates of Blackbrick Abbey, where his granddad promises an "answer to everything." In the dead of night, Cosmo does just that.
When Cosmo unlocks the rusty old gates, he is whisked back to Blackbrick of years past, along with his granddad--now just sixteen-years old and sharp as a tack--beautiful Maggie, and the absolutely dreadful Corporamore family. But much more than time travel adventure awaits Cosmo on the old, sprawling estate: he'll also discover revealing truths about his granddad, his family, and himself.
Abounding with humor and heart, this extraordinary novel is an original, unforgettable story about lost memories, lost times, and lost lives, reclaimed.
Author Notes
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald is a professor and associate vice president at the University of Limerick in Ireland, where she lives with her family. Back to Blackbrick is her first novel for young readers.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Cosmo is not happy with his name, his mother, or the fact no one seems to be listening to his advice about how to help Granddad Kevin remember important things, such as the fact that Cosmo's brother is dead. Granny Deedee is overwhelmed by the social workers who are taking an interest in Granddad, and Cosmo's mother is away long term to pursue business in Sydney. This means that the boy isn't getting a lot of attention from anyone but the bullies on the playground. One night, Granddad Kevin advises Cosmo to go to Blackbrick Abbey and open a gate with a special key he gives him. Cosmo follows his instructions and inadvertently time travels back to when Granddad was just 16-year-old Kevin and worked as a stable boy for the wealthy but stingy owner of the Abbey. Not long after his arrival, Cosmo helps Kevin sneak a beautiful young woman into the Abbey. While Cosmo is sure from the love-stricken look on Kevin's face that this is Grandma, her name turns out to be Maggie, which means he has to intervene to ensure his existence. Adventures and contretemps ensue, making for a rollicking ride. Cosmo's fresh and sassy approach to life is true to his youthful perspective. His age is left intentionally vague (as is what happened to his father), and his voice engages. The solidly constructed time-travel plot adds to the fun.-Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
With Cosmo's mother off in Australia, he's living with his grandparents, and although that might sound depressing-all "ticking clocks and hot chocolate and radio quizzes"-Cosmo is enjoying himself. However, his grandfather's memory is worsening (for one thing, he keeps forgetting that Cosmo's brother is dead), and there's talk of sending him to a nursing home and having Cosmo live with his uncle. Then Cosmo's grandfather hands him the key to Blackbrick Abbey; when Cosmo opens the gate, he meets the abbey's stable boy-none other than his grandfather, at age 16. Though Cosmo is thrilled to meet him, the past is more complicated than he expects. Older readers will see some of the plot twists coming, but debut author Fitzgerald adeptly conveys Cosmo's love for his grandfather and his fury at the way arrangements are being made all around him; Cosmo's distinctively Irish speech is another strong point. Watching Cosmo learn what can and can't be fixed makes for a strong story that's less about time travel than about love and memory. Ages 10-14. Agent: Clare Conville, Conville & Walsh. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Time travel fiction is usually brain-bending, and the premise of this Irish import is particularly complicated. Cosmo travels back to his grandfather's youth and discovers that the sixteen-year-old is falling in love with the wrong woman. If Granddad marries the "ridiculously good-looking" Maggie instead of Granny Deedee, Cosmo won't exist. High stakes indeed. This genealogical conundrum is played out against the upstairs/downstairs world of 1940s Blackbrick Abbey, where Granddad is a stable boy. This is a tale of secrets and boyhood schemes. The historical details are fairly generic -- a contemptible lord of the manor, a kindly housekeeper, a spoiled eldest daughter -- except for the fresh and convincing lore of horses and riding. The present-day framing story involves a multistrand family tragedy in which Cosmo is coping with not only his grandfather's slide into dementia but also his brother's earlier death and the abandonment of his mother. And the logic of it all? As Cosmo says, "Some things are mysterious and some things are difficult to explain. . .Weird things happen. That's the thing about being alive: It's totally weird." sarah ellis (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A trip to the past reveals family secrets and tragedies that help an Irish lad adjust to sad events in the present. Cosmo's brother, Brian, has recently died, his beloved grandfather Kevin is descending into dementia, his distraught mother has fled to Sydney in response, and his adored horse has been sent away. On a visit to nearby Blackbrick Abbey, he suddenly finds himself back in the 1940s, where he tries to impress the then16-year-old Kevin with the importance of keeping both Brian and his powers of memory alive in years to come. He also helps Kevin to smuggle beautiful young Maggie onto the estate, but as Maggie proves less interested in Kevin than in the estate's owner, the plot takes a soapy turn with an illegitimate child who turns out not to be the only one in the story. (Fitzgerald is coy about the sex, leaving Cosmo to puzzle over a character's claim that Maggie is "unchased.") Back in his own time, the discovery of hitherto-unknown family connections, along with the returns of his horse and his repentant mother, begins to buoy Cosmo. There's far too much going on, but the author does thread Cosmo's narrative with helpful precepts such as, "If you let the past determine your future, you're probably screwed." The inexpertly juggled overabundance of storylines and themes makes this one to skip. (Time-travel fantasy. 11-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Cosmo is dealing with a series of losses: his brother died accidentally, Mom left him with her parents, and now Grandpa Kevin has developed Alzheimer's. In a moment of lucidity, Grandpa hands Cosmo a key to his boyhood home, Blackbrick Abbey, urging him to go there. The boy arrives (slipping back in time in the process) to find his grandfather as a 16-year-old house servant. Cosmo enjoys spending time with Kevin, but wonders if he can tweak the past in order to prevent some current problems. Fitzgerald's debut is narrated in a breezy twenty-first-century style that keeps the story from becoming maudlin ( The first time Granddad peed in the dishwasher was when me and my gran realized we were going to have to make a few changes ). The plot depends heavily on coincidence, but Cosmo gleans much from the young Kevin and his time-slip experience, enabling him to return home able to accept Grandpa's impending death. Pair with Mary Downing Hahn's Time for Andrew (1994).--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2010 Booklist