The Left Behinds and the iPhone That Saved George Washington

November 10, 2014
In the first book in a planned series, three boarding-school students whose parents are too busy to pick them up for the holidays decide to spend an educational Christmas Day at a reenactment of Washington’s fateful crossing of the Delaware. But after a new app, iTime, mysteriously appears on their iPhones, they find themselves in a 1776 barn, staring at the freshly shot body of General George Washington. Narrator Mel quickly realizes that he, Bev, and Brandon must travel further back in time in order to stop the assassination and ensure that the Continental Army’s leader can lead the revolutionaries to victory. First-time novelist Potter tries to interject humor into the proceedings—Mel’s narration is consistently irreverent, and the kids travel to Philadelphia to get Ben Franklin to recharge their iPhone batteries—but it’s hard to play the Battle of Trenton for laughs, with 12-year-olds wielding bayonets and a field littered with Hessian corpses. The overlong story doesn’t end so much as pause, with this group of young “Left Behinds” confronting their next challenge. Ages 8–12. Agent: Brian DeFiore, DeFiore and Company.

November 1, 2014
Debut novelist Potter inaugurates a series with a new twist on time travel. Who needs H.G. Wells' big, clunky time machine when an Apple iPhone app will do the trick? Unfortunately, it's a gigantic mistake that 12-year-old Mel and his classmates Brandon and Bev end up in a stable in 1776 with Gen. George Washington lying stone-cold dead in one of the stalls. The kids are the Left Behinds, students at the snooty Fredericksville School who have nowhere to go during winter break since their parents are rich, successful and too busy to be at home for them. An iTime app has brought them to the farm, but this cannot be: Washington has to cross the Delaware soon, the American Revolution must go on, and who is that Hessian guy with a German Luger (not patented for another 100-plus years)? Even worse, the phone is down to 5 percent power. But Benjamin Franklin comes to the rescue with electricity, and the trio must figure out what to do about George Washington and how to return to the 21st century. Mel's first-person narrative is engaging, the plot is fast-paced, and plenty of history is woven into the tale. Even though there's an awful lot of brand-dropping (skeptics may wonder if Apple paid for product placement), it still goes down easier than the similarly themed Rush Revere books. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Meet General George Washington. Not a reenactor, but the real deal, dead with a bullet hole through the heart the day he's supposed to be leading 2400 Continental soldiers across the Delaware River. The question is how do three modern-day kids, left behind at their prestigious boarding school during Christmas, find themselves in the year 1776 facing a famous dead body. And if things aren't confusing enough, Mel, the history buff of the clueless trio, discovers he's getting texts from someone back at school. It's then that Mel realizes if General Washington does not complete the crossing of the Delaware, the American Revolution will fail. Intent on undoing the damage, the trio teams up with two 18th-century kids to right the wrong that will devastate history. This playful look at one of America's turning points introduces readers to an army of formidable German Hessians, a brilliant Benjamin Franklin, bone-chilling blizzard conditions, and the nation's founding fathers in the making. A skillful blend of humor, history, mystery, and adventure makes for a fun, fast-paced tale that will leave readers a little wiser.-Robyn Gioia, Antilles Middle School, Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico

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