With a touch of magic and tons of heart, this is a book which grabs, makes the reader dream and doesn't let go.

Sophia is in the seventh grade. Her mother died when she was six, but memory flashes allow her to see events with her mother up until she was much older than that. These flashes are too familiar and vivid to be dreams, yet they can't be reality. At least, not the one she knows. When an eclipse nears, she begins to suspect her memories are more than just dreams. Maybe there's even the chance she can have a life with a mother who didn't die.

The author does a wonderful job at touching upon some difficult themes and bringing them home for the intended audience, while still incorporating a dust of magic/science fiction and hope. Sophia lost her mother and still deals with the effects years after it happened. But this story isn't only about Sophia. She becomes friends with DJ and Luke, both who have suffered losses of their own. The kids come across mature, sometimes very mature, but usually natural. They see life from a twelve-year-old's view and deal with familiar issues and thoughts. This allows the light science fiction elements to flow in seamlessly and make it a great read for both girls and boys ages nine to twelve.

After reading the blurb, I assumed this would hit the magical realism arena, but the author does go a step farther and allows questions concerning dimensions and time to open up. It has a surprise ending, but one very fitting for the tale. This is the kind of book which grabs the heart, keeps a quick enough pace never to grow boring and allows the reader to think and consider possibilities which they might not have considered before.

I received a complimentary copy and found the tale so touching and packed with imagination that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts. ( )