Maiya Williams Books

Now available in paperback, the first book in a thrilling, critically-acclaimed time-travel seriesIn this "page-turner debut" ( Kirkus Reviews ), thirteen-year-old Rowan and his friends, twins Xanthe and Xavier, find a time portal in an abandoned resort hotel. They travel back to revolutionary France, in search of Rowan's mysteriously missing sister, Nina. A desperate dash through Versailles and a daring escape from the guillotine are just two of the many adventures the children tackle as they race against time. If they don't make it home with Nina by the "golden hour," they won't come home at all.Awards and praise for The Golden HourBook Sense PickInternational Reading Association Intermediate Fiction AwardSouthern California Booksellers' Association Children's Book Prize"A trip well worth taking." - The New York Times"One of the few fantasies with any African American characters..." - Booklist"Action-packed and laden with good-natured humor, Williams' tale is a journey worth taking." - Publisher's Weekly

Readers will laugh along with all the misadventures—and sneak a peek behind the Hollywood curtain—in this sweet and funny novel.When Mitchell Mathis moves to Hollywood with his academic parents, he soon realizes he’s the only ordinary kid in a school of the powerful and famous. There’s Skywalker Wong, whose parents are special effects gurus. And Julia Jodie Schwartz, named after her agent father’s two highest-earning clients. And Dash Silverman, whose parents write the movies that everyone else seems to have memorized. In an attempt to feel like less of an outsider, Mitch goes to an open casting call, where he ends up being cast in a soda commercial that launches a popular catchphrase. Suddenly he’s on TV, signing autographs, and riding in limos. But when the ad starts getting negative attention and he doesn’t have time for his old friends and interests, fame doesn’t seem like so much fun anymore. He’ll need all his “acting” skills—and the help of his Hollywood-savvy classmates—to figure out how to go back to being a normal kid again.  

Rowans schrullige Tanten bitten die vier Freunde um ihre Hilfe: Xanthe, Xavier, Rowan und Nina sollen wichtige Manuskripte aus dem Ägypten Kleopatras VII. vor der Vernichtung bewahren, um sie so der Nachwelt zugänglich zu machen. Strikte Regeln für die Zeitreise sind: Keine berühmten Persönlichkeiten kennen lernen und den Lauf der Geschichte nicht beeinflussen. Doch Xanthe hält sich nicht daran. Sie begegnet Kleopatra und wird zu ihrer Vertrauten, da diese sie für die Göttin Isis hält.

Rowan und seine Schwester Nina verbringen die Sommerferien an der Küste und entdecken, dass mit dem Ort etwas nicht stimmt. Gemeinsam mit den Zwillingen Xanthe und Xavier stoßen sie auf ein altes Hotel, das sie in eine aufregende Reise ins Paris des 18. Jahrhunderts und zur Französischen Revolution führt.