In the timeless town of Pocket, nonbinary tailor Calisto and time-hopping Fawkes team up to stop a threat that could erase their home and all time travelers, journeying through eras from ancient Crete to Shakespearean London. Blending queer romance, found family, and whimsical worldbuilding, the story explores identity, belonging, and the importance of embracing both the past and future.

Reader Review Summary

Set in the town of Pocket, a nexus outside of time that serves as a rest stop for time travelers, the story follows Calisto, who works in their grandmother’s costume shop outfitting travelers with era-appropriate clothing, and Fawkes, a boy with a natural talent for time travel. The narrative involves their meeting—Fawkes has seen glimpses of Calisto in the future—and their subsequent journey through various historical periods, including Shakespeare’s London, ancient Crete, and 1990s California, as they attempt to save Pocket and the broader community of time travelers from erasure by antagonists such as the time wardens and Korsika. The book is characterized by a whimsical, fairy-tale tone, a focus on queer and non-binary representation, and a plot that moves quickly through a series of time travel adventures, with a romance developing between the two leads. The prose is often described as lyrical and atmospheric, with a strong emphasis on the language and culture of time travel, including invented terms like “elsewhen” and “hometime.”

Readers frequently praised the book’s concept of Pocket as a town outside of time, the detailed attention to costumes and tailoring as a central element of time travel, and the inclusion of a non-binary protagonist and broader LGBTQIA+ representation. The atmosphere and setting were described as cozy, magical, and reminiscent of other time travel media such as Doctor Who and Loki, with nods to historical fashion and the logistics of blending into different eras. The romance between Calisto and Fawkes was often described as sweet and endearing, and the found family and queer-normative worldbuilding were highlighted as positive aspects. Many readers also enjoyed the playful language, the whimsical tone, and the light, fast-paced adventure, as well as the depiction of chosen names and pronouns.

Common criticisms included the book’s brevity (around 200-224 pages), which many felt led to underdeveloped worldbuilding, side characters, and plot threads. Several readers found the writing style confusing, citing abrupt or unclear point-of-view shifts and a dreamy, sometimes vague quality that made it difficult to visualize scenes or connect with the characters. The time travel mechanics and magic system were described as inconsistent or insufficiently explained, with some readers struggling to understand the rules or logic behind time powers and time boots. The antagonist’s motivations and the resolution of the conflict were often seen as weak or anticlimactic, and the romance was sometimes criticized as feeling rushed or like “instalove.”

The book is categorized as young adult fantasy with elements of science fiction, time travel, and queer romance, and is intended for a YA audience, though some adult readers noted that the tone and character development felt more suited to younger readers. The narrative is linear despite the time travel premise, and the story is described as cozy and lighthearted, with a focus on themes of found family, identity, and belonging. The book has an average reader rating of 3.76 out of 5 from 72 ratings and 45 full reviews, and is scheduled for publication on May 27, 2025. Multiple reviewers received advance copies through NetGalley and Candlewick Press, and several expressed interest in potential spin-offs or further exploration of the world of Pocket and its inhabitants.