Review | Glitch

Summary: Glitch

Cadets Regan Fitz and Elliot Mason are two “Glitchers” in an academy for learning how to time travel and stop “Butterflies”—rebels traveling through time to change history—from successfully changing American history. Regan is the daughter of the school principal, and Elliot can’t stand her because he thinks she’s a snob. But when a letter from future Regan with a warning about the future threatens to disrupt his career plans, Elliot must team up with Regan to prevent a future disaster.

The Good

I listened to this one on audio, and the narrators were fantastic! Their tone brought the characters to life and preserved the story’s fast pace and suspense from start to finish. This book was a ton of fun and fairly easy to follow, considering how complicated the theme of time travel and the work of Glitchers vs Butterflies could be to follow.

Despite being engaging sci-fi, the author does a great job of exploring other themes with an expert hand (never feeling too heavy-handed). For example, Elliot is one of the few Black people born with the time-traveling gene, and the book touches a bit on racism and classism. Regan turns out to be dyslexic after struggling to keep up with the studious parts of her training (despite being naturally gifted at other parts), and I loved watching her friendship with Elliot blossom as he figures out a way to help her study productively.

Finally, this is a great choice for past/present middle grade books–stories set in both present and historical times–as it showcases an enjoyable way for readers to learn about about US history even if they hate historical fiction. The time travel sessions to pivotal moments of the country’s history and the discussions about whether history (despicable as it can at times be) should be changed.

Content Notes

Here are some specifics to know about the content.

Content Warnings

• Death: None on page (Elliot is an orphan)
• Alcohol/substance abuse: None
• Sexual content: None
• Violence: None

Diversity

• Ethnic: Elliot is Black
• Sexual: None

Publisher Details