A Time Apart (1999)
by Diane Stanley
When 13-year old Ginny finds out her mom has cancer, she also finds out she’ll be spending her summer with a dad she barely knows. Not only that, she’ll be heading from Texas to England where her dad is a professor heading an Iron Age project. Ginny is plopped in the middle of this experiment, living and breathing life as an Iron Age girl would have. Along with a small group of families and couples, Ginny must give up the luxuries of modern life to become a participant on this farm.
Diane Stanley is the author of one of my favorite books, Bella at Midnight. A Time Apart is definitely an enjoyable and interesting read. Since I usually gravitate towards “lighter” books, it was different for me to read something discussing a serious illness and a strained father/daughter relationship. There wasn’t anything too horribly depressing or dramatic, just a touch more reality than I typically read in my light-hearted children’s books.
Apparently, there was a 1970s early “reality show,” where participants did live on an Iron Age farm similar to the one discussed in the book. I’m excited to watch and read more about that.