Nick of Time, by Ted Bell

Ted Bell. Nick of Time. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2008. 419 pages. ISBN 9780312380687.

Nick of Time is an action-packed and fun middle-grade adventure story. The story begins in 1939 when Nick and his family are living on an island in the English Channel where his father, a World War I veteran, runs the lighthouse. Nick's father is engaged in spying on the movement of German ships and submarines, and reporting his findings to Winston Churchill, currently on the outs with the prevailing government in Great Britain. When his father's activities put his posting to the lighthouse at risk, he and Nick's mother must sail to England to plead their case. While they're away, Nick and his sister stumble across a treasure chest lost by ruthless pirates. Nick and his sister team up with other patriots to use the contents of the treasure chest, a time travel device, to save Nick's family as well as two children who were kidnapped five years earlier. Nick of Time is an enjoyable adventure that will keep the pages turning.