Saving Lucas Biggs

Perfect for fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, Echo, and Hour of the Bees, this charming time-travel story from husband-and-wife team Marisa de los Santos and David Teague follows one girl's race to change the past in order to save her father's future.

Thirteen-year-old Margaret knows her father is innocent, but that doesn't stop the cruel Judge Biggs from sentencing him to death. Margaret is determined to save her dad, even if it means using her family's secret—and forbidden—ability to time travel.

With the help of her best friend, Charlie, and his grandpa Josh, Margaret goes back to a time when Judge Biggs was a young boy and tries to prevent the chain of events that transformed him into a corrupt, jaded man. But with the forces of history working against her, will Margaret be able to change the past? Or will she be pushed back to a present in which her father is still doomed?

Told in alternating voices between Margaret and Josh, this heartwarming story shows that sometimes the forces of good need a little extra help to triumph over the forces of evil.

To save her father's future, she'll have to change the past.

The one thing thirteen-year-old Margaret O'Malley is sure of is that her father is innocent. So when the unthinkable happens and he's sentenced to death by the cruel Judge Biggs, Margaret is desperate to save him. She'll do whatever it takes, even if it means using her family's secret—and forbidden—ability to travel through time.

Margaret's only hope is to stop the chain of events that turned Lucas Biggs into a corrupt and jaded man. With the help of her best friend, Charlie, and his grandpa Josh, Margaret jumps back in time to a year when everything in her town was going wrong—a year that changed Lucas Biggs forever. Together with a then-thirteen-year-old Josh, Margaret sets out to change the past. But the rules of time travel are strict, and as the forces of history resist, Margaret is running out of chances before she will be pushed back to a present where her father is doomed.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Marisa de los Santos and her husband, picture book author David Teague, this spellbinding story proves that sometimes good needs a little extra help to triumph over evil.

“The authors’ graceful use of language and fearless exploration of a more spiritual dimension simultaneously comfort and challenge readers, encouraging deep thoughts. This novel makes a good companion for armchair time travelers and budding philosophers alike.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“This book is hard to put down! Vivid and memorable, SAVING LUCAS BIGGS casts a captivating spell that will keep you turning pages. Together, Marisa de los Santos and David Teague have nimbly wound together strands of contemporary and historical fiction to create a heartfelt yarn of family, friendship, and homespun time–travel magic.” - Ingrid Law, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of SAVVY

“This book is hard to put down! Vivid and memorable, SAVING LUCAS BIGGS casts a captivating spell that will keep you turning pages. A heartfelt yarn of family, friendship, and homespun time–travel magic.” - Ingrid Law, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of SAVVY

“A riveting time–travel adventure. Strong storytelling, suspense, lyrical writing, high drama, weighty matters made accessible and a bit of humor add up to a terrific and heartwarming read.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“The authors weave a tale of justice and family bonds with threads of historical fiction accented with the fantastical physics of time travel.” - School Library Journal (starred review)

De los Santos and Teague craft a gentle, quiet sci–fi story where the focus is not on the science…love, nonviolence, and social justice are. The husband–and–wife writing team keep the story moving along at a nice clip, so the peaceful message grows naturally out of the action and drama…Give this one to readers who like stories about family, doing the right thing, and standing up to those who don’t. - Booklist

De los Santos and Teague craft a gentle, quiet sci–fi story where the focus is not on the science…love, nonviolence, and social justice are. Give this one to readers who like stories about family, doing the right thing, and standing up to those who don’t. - Booklist