What would you do if you could travel through time?

What if it was only a one-way trip?

When ten-year-old Aaron moved from the big city to the middle of Amish country, he felt transported to a different and simpler time and place.

But after finding a faded and long forgotten diary page of a boy gone missing over one hundred years earlier, Aaron began an adventure more wondrous and exciting than he could have ever imagined.

Befriended by a local farm girl named Jake, together they search for answers to this century long mystery and uncover the secrets of an astounding cavern that will take them to the edge of time itself.

Growing up in the northern Indiana city of Mishawaka, Todd A Fonseca learned of the Amish culture through frequent family Sunday drives to rural Nappanee Indiana.   During these early years, Fonseca’s interest in the arts began with music.  He became an accomplished accordionist participating in national competitions including a performance in New York’s Carnegie Recital Hall.  His high school career added drama to his resume.  Having the role of curmudgeon Mr. Hassler in The Pajama Game, led to being cast as the lead in the production Jack and the Beanstalk.  At Marquette University, Fonseca received a Biomedical Engineering graduate degree. He is currently a senior clinical research director for a company researching deep brain stimulation for treating conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease.  It is this eclectic mix of experiences with the Amish, the Arts, and Science, that Fonseca has drawn upon to create the juvenile fiction novel The Time Cavern.

Fonseca admits, however, that as a child he did not enjoy reading, at least not until he read Madline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time. Completely engrossed in the story, he finished the novel in a day and subsequently became an insatiable reader. It was A Wrinkle In Time that inspired The Time Cavern.  Wanting to write a book that featured everyday kids, not the jock or the beautiful girl, Fonseca created a book that would let children experience something as grand as their imaginations–but be real.  Similar to L’Engle, he wrote it as a piece that does not talk down to these readers, but rather challenges their intellect while being entertaining.

Having four children of his own, Fonseca wrote from the perspective of their insatiably curious minds.  As the main characters – Aaron and Jake – uncover the mystery of The Time Cavern, they must use their wits to put the pieces of the puzzle together which provides ample opportunity for a wonderful mixture of educational experiences to be seamlessly woven into the fabric of the novel.  The book’s official website (www.thetimecavern.com) also integrates a Webquest, similar to Dan Brown’s DaVinci code but for kids, to further the adventure.   

National award winning author of Numenon, Sandy Nathan writes, “The values dimension of this book must be emphasized…[it weaves its spell with no violence, monsters, explosions, strong language–and not a single vampire!” and Dee Marie, author of Sons of Avalon writes, “I was pleasantly surprised to find “The Time Cavern” overflowing with factoids involving astronomy, science, history, religious acceptance, and family tolerance…all intertwined into an intriguing tale of mystery, discovery and suspense.”

Because of it’s wonderful messages, educational experiences, and engaging story, The Time Cavern is the perfect read for advanced and gifted young readers searching for age appropriate material.  Fonseca’s debut novel is currently the top tagged book in Amazon’s Young Adult, Juvenile Fiction, Juvenile Adventure, and Amish customer communities.  It is the first book in The Time Cavern series.

Purchase: The Time Cavern

Tags: adventure, author, novels, preteens, young readers