Product Description

Aunt Blythe's house gives Andrew the creeps -- full of dark rooms, creaky noises, and the sound of a woman sobbing somewhere in the shadows. Then, in the middle of the night, Andrew awakens to find a boy standing in his room...a boy who is Andrew's double, except he looks as if he's come from the grave. He wants to follow him -- to a place where he will meet the spirits of long-dead ancestors...a place from which Andrew may never return.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1856761 in Books
• Published on: 1994-03-21
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-This is more a time-travel fantasy than a ghost story. Andrew, 12, is about to die from diphtheria when he accidentally falls through a hole in his own time (1910) and finds himself in 1990, in his own room, now occupied by his great-great-nephew Drew. The boys, identical look-alikes, then change places. Modern medicine saves Andrew's life, and the boys try to settle into their new and different roles. The story becomes one of coming-of-age for both of them. Shy, timid Drew hasn't bargained on filling the shoes of the wild Andrew, and Andrew is equally uncomfortable in "pantywaist" Drew's shoes. However, Andrew is reluctant to switch back, fearing he will die if his body returns to 1910. The boys strike a bargain-when Drew wins at marbles, they will change places. Suspense mounts as the story progresses. Will the families notice that something is awry? Will the boys mess up family history by meddling with past events? Will Andrew survive when he gets back home? These questions keep the story moving until all comes clear in a humorous but somewhat contrived ending. There isn't the intense foreboding found in Hahn's ghost story Wait Till Helen Comes (Clarion, 1986), but there is enough tension to keep readers engaged. Instructions for the marble game are appended.
Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. Shy, insecure, and an only child, Drew adores his great-aunt Blythe. There's something odd about the ancestral house she lives in, though--the house where Drew is to spend the summer while his parents are in Europe. It isn't long before he finds out what. By removing a bag of marbles from beneath an attic floorboard, he and Blythe unwittingly open a door to the past and clear the way for the visitation of the boy Andrew Tyler, a distant relative who looks just like Drew. When the boys change places, Drew travels back to 1910, where he finds two new caring parents and the brother and sister he's always wanted. In trying to live up to Andrew's brash, mischievous reputation, polite, quiet Drew also discovers how to assert and to trust himself. There's plenty to enjoy in this delightful time-slip fantasy: a fascinating premise, a dastardly cousin, some good suspense, and a roundup of characters to care about. And although kids may long for more than the glimpse given of Andrew's handling of modern times, they'll still love the story, which comes full circle when Drew, back home with Blythe, meets Andrew, all grown up and an old, old man. Stephanie Zvirin

From Kirkus Reviews
Staying with Great-Aunt Blythe in the ancestral home while his parents are on a dig, ``Drew''--so called because his great- grandfather Edward abhors his full name--is immediately aware of a presence in the attic. It's another boy, also named Andrew, also 12, and identical to Drew in appearance, though not in character. The gently reared Drew is timid; Andrew's a prankster and a daredevil, as Drew finds after Andrew persuades him to trade places so that Andrew's diptheria can be cured by modern medicine. Drew finds himself in 1910, where he faces an adoring younger brother's disgust at his sudden wimpiness, observes tomboyish older sister Hannah's romance, scraps with obnoxious Cousin Edward, and gets routine (though not vicious) punishments with Andrew's father's belt. Meanwhile, Andrew's life is saved, but--not sure he wants to switch back--he suggests a contest with the marbles he's hidden in the attic where the boys met. Hannah, who taught Andrew his skill, now helps Drew to win so that he can return to his own time. Like Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden, the pleasurably atmospheric story ends with Drew's reunion with now elderly people from the past; the Missouri setting and neatly crafted, accessible plot make this a fine bridge to that British classic. Meanwhile, the sampling of past mores is as entertaining as it is instructive, and each boy's well-drawn character is believably enriched by emulating the other to preserve his disguise. Another solid and enjoyable performance from this popular, award-winning author. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Not really a ghost story - but very good!
This book surprised me because I thought it was going to be a spooky ghost story - but it wasn't. That doesn't mean it wasn't good, because it was, I just wouldn't classify it as a ghost story, in case that is what you are expecting.

Drew is spending his summer with his great- aunt Blythe in her and her father's deep-rooted house. After the two are looking through the attic, they inadvertently find a stash of marbles with a warning not to steal them. Aunt Blythe takes them with the intent to sell them for repairs on the old house, but Drew has an inkling that they shouldn't be moved. It appears as though Drew was right, that night his great-great-uncle Andrew comes into Drew's room. Andrew looks just like Drew and they are at the same age. As they talk, they realize that this is the night before Andrew died of diphtheria, so he wants to switch places so he can be healed in the present time, Drew's time. Drew finally consents to it, but things get tough when Andrew doesn't want to switch back.

The story is mainly about the relationships Drew forms with his "new" family and the different times and the growth of Drew. Drew is shy and quiet, yet, Andrew is unruly and mischievous. Drew must learn to be more resilient to make it in Andrew's shoes. He must also learn how to play marbles so he can win the bet that he and Andrew made to allow him to go back to his own time. While this book wasn't scary or spooky, it was suspenseful to wonder if and how Drew would make it back to his real family. And it has a wonderfully gratifying ending. I highly recommend it to all.

Time for Andrew
Time for Andrew written by Mary Downing Hahn is an enjoyable book about two boys -Drew and Andrew- who switch times and lives. I loved this book because the author added so much description that it painted beautiful pictures in my mind.
The characters in the story are well developed and are described extremely well. The author used the technique of describing characters by what other characters say about them. The main characters are Drew and Andrew...two boys who look exactly alike.
The setting is in the late 1950's and 1910 and the main setting is Aunt Bylthe's house. A few backdrop settings are France and the train track.
I would rate this book a 10 for its extremely amazing description.

Good Plot
Drew travels to his aunt's creepy old house to stay for the summer. One night he discovers Andrew his long dead, distant cousin, who has diptheria. Because they are almost identical in appearance they switch places in order for Andrew to get modern medical attention. So once Andrew is healthy again he doesn't want to switch back, so Andrew says when Drew can beat him in marbles he will switch back.
I like the plot of the story because it keeps you wondering what will happen next, especialy when Drew gets dared to jump off a high trustle, by a bully.. It is a good book, I suggest you read it.