I love the premise of this story. Tim is facing difficulties in his life between a grief-stricken and chronically depressed mother and some very nasty school bullies on top of his own grieving for his father and grandfather. Travelling back two thousand years and facing completely different challenges gives him the experience and confidence to deal with his 21st century ones.. There is a lot of detail around every day Roman life, particularly the forts, that would make this a good read for kids who are also studying Roman history. I liked Tim's realisation that people are the same over millennia, looking for happiness and caring for their families. Tim takes everything in his stride (perhaps a little too much so) and enjoys the break from his more stressful real life.
One of the things about time travel stories is seeing how the present/future is changed by the hero's actions when sent into the past. TIm makes a difference to a few people (their lives are saved who otherwise would have died) but there is no sense of how this changed the course of history. Also the Romans were an occupying force, and Tim was a little too comfortable with them for my liking.. However this is a middle grade story and will certainly provide plenty of discussion on the class room..

This was a brilliant story on so many levels. There was the Roman level, obviously! There are so many details and facts about the Romans in Britain told through a truly captivating story. There were bullies and how best to deal with them. And then there was the mental health level. Tim's mum has struggled to be a present parent since a trauma a few years ago, and Tim has taken over the adult role. He comes to realise that this isn't how it should be. The start made me cry, I really wanted a better life for Tim, but his mum was so unwell that I couldn't see it changing. Then he ended up in Roman Britain, and he learnt more than just history. When all these things combine, you get this truly amazing story.

This reminded me a lot of the Magic Treehouse series, but beefed up for older students. I could see this being a long-running series akin to that one, but tackling bigger issues, cultural standards, historic eras, and topics more suitable for middle schoolers.

This was a really well done children's novel, it had that element that worked with talking to kids with deeper topics and about other cultures. I thought Tim worked as a main character and enjoyed going on this journey to Ancient Rome with him. It was well written and I wanted him to succeed in returning home. Deborah Lyon has a great writing style and am excited for more.