“Shake it up and down. Just shake your bum. Shake it to the left. Wiggle your bottom.”

I thought this book would just be about time machines, about pirates, about bum shaking, about the queen, and it is about those things, but also something else! Namely the loss of Tilly’s mom (and how to deal with that) is also a very big focal point in the book. Tilly misses her mom and would love to have more pictures around, while her dad seemingly tries to forget his wife/her mother. They are both still figuring out life without her.

I liked Tilly from the start, but as the story continued, I liked her more and more. She was so responsible and acting quite grown-up for such an average height 7 and a half year old. When her dad disappears of course she worries, of course she is afraid, but she still continues with her day. She still goes to school. She tries to save her dad. When two baddies show up she gets two chances to save the machine, and she makes full use of whatever found in the shed (which leads to hilarious Home Alone situations).
Sure, you can clearly see she is still a small child given how she reacts to various situations. And how often simple her solutions are. I was laughing at the conversations she had with people from the past.

Eventually the time machine adventures begin. She is following in her dad’s footsteps to help him. From battles at sea to the Queen of England. I loved reading Tilly’s adventures.

Victoria (Queen) was my second favourite character, she was just so totally different from what I expected. Plus I loved how she and Tilly had things in common and could talk about it.

The end? It made me cry. Not only when they met x, but also the last page. It was wonderful that they had a chance to meet up. It was short, but I think both the dad and Tilly can now continue their life a bit better without feeling too sad.

The art? Sorry, that was the only thing I didn’t like at all in the book.

But all in all, I just adored this book. And I would recommend it to everyone.