Tom is a smart, talented loner with a chip on his shoulder and a big secret: an imaginary twin on another planet. Eddie is Tom's opposite, a friendly, athletic kid who always looks on the good side. Tom worries sometimes: does confiding in Eddie mean he's nuts? The truth is even crazier than that. Eddie and his planet are just as real as Tom and his Earth, but fifty-some years in the past. And the twins are caught up in an alien master plan that might just mean Earth—both Earths—will be destroyed. Switching places and identities, slipping between planets and across decades, a desperate escape, and the unraveling of deeper secrets leave Tom and Eddie aware of the danger they're facing and the tools they can use to overcome it.
Back to the FuturemeetsWhen You Reach Mein this provocative, funny novel about time, space, and middle school. Tom has an imaginary twin on another planet—but Eddie and his planet are as real as Tom and his Earth.
A multi-world adventure starring a band of heroes that readers will want to join. —Kirkus
An exciting premise, short chapters, and plenty of action make this a good choice for reluctant readers. —School Library Journal
Chapter 1
Nearmont, N.J.
2011
I don’t fit in at school because I don’t do what I’m told if it’s stupid. I don’t keep my mouth shut when I have something to say. I don’t let bullies push me around. And I can’t just stand there and watch bullies pick on other kids. That’s how I got kicked out of my last middle school.
I was in the cafeteria minding my own business but keeping my eyes unstuck, as usual. You have to stay alert. I was eating at one of the tables back near the trash cans. The zombies call kids who eat at thlC(