Eleven-year-old Miri Gill feels left out in her family, which has two sets of twins and her, until she travels back in time to 1935 and discovers Molly, her own lost twin, and brings her back to the present day. - (Baker & Taylor)

Miri is the non-twin child in a family with two sets of them-older brothers and younger sisters. The family has just moved to an old farmhouse in a new town, where the only good thing seems to be Miri's ten-sided attic bedroom. But when Miri gets sent to her room after accidentally bashing her big brother on the head with a shovel, she finds herself in the same room . . . only not quite.
Without meaning to, she has found a way to travel back in time to 1935 where she discovers Molly, a girl her own age very much in need of a loving family. A highly satisfying classic-in-the-making full of spine-tingling moments, this is a delightful time-travel novel for the whole family.

Booklist Reviews

Barrows, author of the well-received Ivy and Bean (2006),  tries her hand at a time-slip story. Miri is the cheese in a twin sandwich. Her older brothers torment, while her toddler sisters annoy. But soon after the family moves to an old Victorian house, Miri has something to take her mind off her siblings. Looking through the lens of an old eyeglass, she is transported back to 1935. There she meets Molly, who lived in the same house, under the thumb of her violent cousin. Miri becomes committed to bringing Molly to the present, but how is she going to do that? Finally, she puts together a plan, but so much depends on timing, to say nothing of the nature of time itself. Although Barrows once again presents utterly real kids, time travel is the core of the story, and though the logic seems thought out, readers may feel as Miri does: that getting their heads around the slippery concept gives them a headache. Still, this is pleasing fare that adds a bit of history and a tad of mystery into the mix. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Eleven-year-old Miri is ordinary, a singleton middle child between two sets of twin siblings. Her humdrum life changes when a magic eye-glass lens transports her back through time to 1935 where she meets Molly, a girl very much like Miri herself. More than just a time-travel adventure, the story also realistically depicts Miri's complicated relationships with her siblings. Copyright 2008 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Miri, singleton daughter sandwiched between two sets of twins, feels depressingly ordinary. When she finds a lens to a pair of eyeglasses taped to the baseboard of her room in the old Victorian home her family has just moved into, she is pulled through time to 1935, where the orphaned Molly relies on the dubious kindness of relatives. Molly's aunt would happily send her to an orphanage, while her cousin, a brute of the first order (and a petty thief to boot), delights in torturing her. The two girls feel an instant kinship: Miri must save Molly, of course—but how? Barrows has crafted a serviceable time-travel fantasy with the right amount of moving back and forth (Miri's own glasses are her ticket back to the 21st century) and reflection on the consequences of changing the past. Narrative nuance and finely tuned character development are sacrificed to quick pacing and plotting, however, a trade-off that will keep middle-graders turning the pages but that may make this offering a disappointment for fans of the superb Ivy Bean chapter books. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus 2007 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Not only is 11-year-old Miri a middle child, but she's stuck between two sets of twins, neither of which will let Miri tag along as they explore the nooks and crannies of the family's new house. Good thing Miri has a wild imagination to keep her company and a powerful belief in magic, too. She needs both for this clever take on the through-the-looking-glass(es) adventure that Barrows (Ivy and Bean ) spins for her. "Magic is just a way of setting things right," Miri learns after peering through an eyeglass she discovers in her room and then suddenly finding herself in the company of a girl who could almost be Miri's twin, except that the year is now 1935. Barrows limits the fantasy to the simple but effective time-travel device, using it sparingly as Miri bravely sets about making things right for her new friend—and eventually herself. Readers will savor the author's lively observations (thinking she is trapped in the past, Miri "consider[s] the fact that several of her favorite books would not be published for seventy more years. 'Great.... When I'm in my eighties I'll find out what happens to Harry Potter' "), while the heroine's adaptability and independent thinking endow her with the appeal of a Ramona Quimby or a Clementine. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 4–6—The middle child between two sets of twins, Miri often feels left out, overlooked, and unremarkable. When her family moves to a new home, she feels lonelier than ever. She soon learns from an elderly neighbor of a legend surrounding her house. According to town lore, many years earlier a thief left buried treasure somewhere on her property. Quickly, the siblings race to uncover it. Soon after the hunt begins she notices a small piece of glass taped to her wall. Looking through the lens, Miri finds herself still in her room, but in 1935. It is here that she meets Molly, a girl badly in need of help to escape her abusive situation, but Miri accidentally returns to her own time before she can save her new friend. Alone again, she must figure out how to rescue Molly before it's too late. This fast-paced story will delight anyone who has ever believed in magic, longed for a twin, or imagined the secrets their home might hold. The characters and setting are realistic despite the subtle elements of magic and time travel. Barrows conjures up a delightful tale brimming with mystery, magic, and adventure that will surely enchant readers everywhere.—Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ