Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 1, 2016
Pages: 432
Source: received from publisher in exchange for honest review
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.      Addictive, romantic, and rich with historical detail, Into the Dim is an Outlander for teens. --Goodreads

When Hope’s mother is presumed dead by an earthquake, her father simply believes the worst. After the funeral, Hope is invited to her aunt’s manor in the highlands of Scotland and finally, receives the answers she’s been wishing for. Her mother is, in fact, still alive but lost in time. It is up to Hope to travel through time and find her mother before it is too late and her own mother becomes part of history itself.

Into the Dim is filled with nonstop action, comprehensible time travel and not to mention, the rolling landscape of the Scottish highlands.

The setting itself should persuade any reader to delve into the adventure Janet B. Taylor unravels in the book. Scotland is described so elaborately that readers can almost smell the crisp air while Hope, the protagonist, horse rides through the highlands.  Taylor gives readers an authentic look at Scotland, using dialect which whisks them right in the same room as all the characters.

 The easy-to-understand time travel is another plus in the ever growing list of why Into the Dim should be your next read. Any book that quotes Doctor Who in the first hundred pages is going to be a fine book, indeed. Taylor weaves a magnificent time travel tale that actually makes sense.  Readers will get lost in the adventure, rather than questioning over the science of time travel and how it all works.


Into the Dim would not have been complete without its nonstop action, where readers will be having trouble finding a place for their bookmark. One scene will engulf the next in a flowing circle until the book’s end with “to be continued.”

I do warn those who wish to read only complete series before beginning.  There will be a second. And as I have just finished naught a moment ago, I am already having trouble waiting for Into the Dim’s sequel.  This debut was a fantastic start to a time travel adventure series.

All the characters were simply unforgettable. Each one—including Phoebe, Bran and Collum—will have readers hearts bursting by the end.

It is a story that tugs at your heartstrings.  Into the Dim is both a mystery and adventure with a marvelous protagonist to guide the way.  Hope is brave, yet flawed, which makes her incredibly relatable and a role model.  Janet B. Taylor created a lovely debut that both Outlander and Doctor Who fans will absolutely adore.