Black Powder - Hardcover

Rabin, Staton

3.63

38 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689868766 ISBN 13: 9780689868764

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2005

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South Central
Los Angeles, 2010
Fourteen-year-old Langston Davis's best friend, Neely, has been shot and killed in a gang fight. Langston wishes that he could turn back the clock. But he knows you can't change history. Or can you?
When his science teacher invents a century-hopping time machine, Langston knows exactly what he must do: go back in time to stop the invention of gunpowder...which will prevent the invention of guns...which will stop Neely from getting killed.
Hijacking the time machine, Langston leaves a holographic "twin" of himself at home and bounces back to Oxford, England, in 1278, where he's in a race against time to stop the scientific "wizard" Professor Roger Bacon from sharing his new invention -- the Western world's first form of gunpowder. When Dr. Bacon is kidnapped by his archenemy, it's up to Langston and his new friend, Niles, to try to rescue him and destroy the formula for gunpowder. But is changing history really saving the world? Or is it just standing in the way of progress? Can Langston accomplish his mission and bring Neely back to life before he gets stuck in the thirteenth century forever? No matter how you look at it, it's going to be one heck of a ride through the dangereous hairpin turns of history and back to the future again!

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About the Author:

Staton Rabin has a B.F.A. in film from New York University. In addition to writing for children, she is a screenwriter; a popular speaker about the art, craft, and business of writing for film; and a veteran story analyst for Scr(i)pt magazine, screenwriters, and producers. Staton Rabin lives in Irvington, New York.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-9–In 2010 Los Angeles, brilliant Langston Davis loves to go to his science class, where he studies astronomy. He and Neely Neubart have been best friends forever, and Langston becomes concerned when his pal starts running with a gang and lets his grades fall. Then Neely is gunned down by his own gang, and Langston will go to any measures to get him back. When Mrs. Centauri, his science teacher, shows him the time machine she's invented, the 14-year-old uses it to go back to the 13th century so he can convince Dr. Roger Bacon to destroy his formula for gunpowder, thus preventing Neely's murder. What follows is a touching story of two great scientific minds discovering the humanity behind the ideas. Langston is particularly well-developed as an intelligent, mostly responsible African-American finding his way, reminiscent of Bobby in Angela Johnson's The First Part Last (S & S, 2003). Lots of adventure and strong characterization are only slightly marred by a few far-fetched plot elements that require leaps of faith on the part of readers. The author of the well-received Betsy and the Emperor (S & S, 2004) has once again woven together an inventive plot that will sweep readers along to a satisfying conclusion.–Melissa Moore, Union University Library, Jackson, TN
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