Hector is not excited about accompanying his mother to Italy for an archaeological dig -- he'd rather be hanging out with his friends all summer, sleeping until noon, playing video games, and going to the pool. But he can't help but be interested in the dig site, especially when one archaeologist encourages him to help out, showing him how to excavate in a practice area that's not part of the official dig site. When Hector discovers an eye-shaped token, the archaeologist dismisses it as a modern piece, probably dropped by a tourist, and allows Hector to keep it. The token proves to be more ancient, and more magical, than anyone could have guessed. It transports Hector back to Etruscan times, where he meets a boy named Arath, the original owner of the token. Arath is in trouble, and it seems that Hector has been brought to that time specifically to help him. But what can one boy from the the twenty-first century do?

Meh. Another all-right-but-not-great read. As an adult reader, I was more interested in the adults' backstory than in Hector's time-travel adventures. And as far as young readers are concerned, the book gets off to a rather slow start. Unless they have a particular interest in archaeology, they're not likely to keep going for the promise of more adventure later in the book. It's not a bad story, just not one that's particularly compelling. ( )

A boy called Hector visited Sporfieri, Italy and worked as an archaelogist with some relatives. He discovered an interesting object from etruscan time. The archaelogist discovered a temple. He was able to go back to the past. His goal was to help a etruscan boy called arath. This boy read the secret book and discovered how to go to the future and past. Hector found three statues. Arath become the king of his time. ----Leonidas----

Hector is not happy to be spending his summer vacation in Italy with his mother at an archaeological dig. He has nightmares about Arath , an Etruscan boy who died thousands of years ago. Arath is begging for Hector’s help to save his life. ( )

Juvenile archeology fiction with a time travel twist. a little hard to believe, but a good read

When Hector must travel with his mother to a remote village in Italy during his summer vacation, he knows he will be miserable. However, he soon discovers that the archaeological sight they are investigating may have hidden mysteries that he will have to help solve.