Books

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  Recognition

April, 2022

The Bookfest Awards announced Third Place honors to Time Benders and the Long Road Home in Science Fiction for 2022 Spring.

October, 2021

Time Benders and the Two Promises awarded Distinguished Favorite by NYC Big Book Award in Science Fiction

April, 2021

Time Benders the Machine, Book I

Time Benders the Machine awarded the Independent Press Distinguished Favorite in Science Fiction.

April 2021

Time Benders and the Two Promises, Book II

Time Benders and the Two Promises awarded the Independent Press Distinguished Favorite in Science Fiction.

Reviews

“A breezy, straightforward approach to time travel featuring unforgettable characters.” Kirkus Reviews

“I loved this book so much that I had a book signing party at my home for this local, wonderful author, J.B Yanni. This is a very well written book that is interesting for adults and a safe and interesting read for any age. I loved the characters and the story flowed without a lot of fluff. I really appreciate J.B. for agreeing to come to my party and participate in the activities! This is a real page turner, and I read it from cover to cover in 4 days.” Yolanda, Amazon Customer

“The attention to detail, and the character development were wonderful. I can't wait to see what adventures the kids get into next.” Robert C., Amazon Customer

“Appealing siblings fortify a time-bending tale that offers plenty of drama.” Kirkus Reviews

“Read Book 1 and couldn't wait for the second book. The cliffhanger really keeps you wanting more. The story is so great for any age with the history, science, and finally a story with a realistic moral dilemma and unafraid to be spiritual.” Goodreads.com

Time Benders is the multi-book  tale of the Fitzgerald siblings and their incredible journey of discovery and time travel. When they first discover an unfinished formula and Joe determines it is the formula to bend time, Ken, Deb, Joe and Kim, along with their friends, embark on trips to pivotal moments in US history to try to save their parents, help their friends and help others. Along the way, they learn and struggle with both the limitations of science and the spiritual questions raised by such a power. With four books released, you will come to know these relatable teens and travel right beside them as they make their discoveries.

Time Benders and the Machine, Book I

On a sunny day in 1974, the Fitzgerald siblings learn their parents have died in a tragic accident. Devastated, Ken, Deb, Joe and Kim are sent to boarding school at Choate Rosemary Hall – the same boarding school their father and John F. Kennedy went to when they were younger, their Aunt tells them.
 

When Joe finds an elaborate math problem and solves it with the help of the elusive caretaker, Mr. Brewster, the Fitzgerald's discover they have unlocked the secrets of time bending and travel. Together, they devise a plan to go back in time, change a pivotal moment in history and their parent's lives in the hopes of stopping another terrible event and bring back their parents. Along the way they face looming spiritual and moral questions, while finding their way toward closeness and a path through their grief.

Time Benders and the Two Promises, Book II

Released in February, 2020, this is the second book in the Time Benders series. In this installment, Joe faces the impact of his lone trip home to Cambridge and the anger of his siblings, Deb and Ken. The Fitzgerald children face a crisis of trust and faith in one another as Ken prepares to head off to college. 

When Deb learns of the deep sadness that Mr. Brewster faces over a long-ago tragedy in his life, the Fitzgerald children decide to use their time traveling machine to provide aid to someone they care about and go back to 1950s Las Vegas. This time trip makes monumental changes for their dear friend Mr. Brewster, and bolsters their confidence of their time traveling. Joe makes a splash with the release of a new computer language and the heralding of the new "Personal Computer" and Deb prepares to finish high school and go off to college. Kim faces a new challenge with the fallout of from Joe's fateful lone trip home and again, Joe and Deb decide somewhat recklessly to use the machine to correct this wrong. They learn the risks of traveling to places and times where you already exist and Deb barely makes it back to Choate alive.

Later, when Ken's girlfriend Mary suddenly loses her beloved grandmother and learns she too may have a debilitating disease, Deb and Joe plan a daring trip forward in time to help Mary learn her fate.

During this year, the Fitzgerald siblings grow stronger, learn to trust and have faith in each other and learn a new meaning of helping those close to them.

This heartwarming story packs a punch of history, faith, and science sprinkled with kindness through these relatable teens.

Time Benders and the Long Road Home, Book III

Released in July, 2021, the third installment in the Time Benders series sees Kim take the lead on the use of the machine when she is driven by her growing passion to help others. She leads Joe and Becky on a trip back to 1850s Philadelphia where the three face a totally different culture as they work to help fugitive slaves. When Joe gets too close, he is arrested and thrown in jail. Completely out of their elements, it takes much longer to return to their present, but more importantly, Joe has inadvertently changed all of US history from the Civil War forward with some simple conversations with a cell mate. Again, the Fitzgerald’s and their friends must correct the changes they have wrought with their time travel. 

When they must bring Uncle Darrick into their circle, they try to help by taking him back to reconcile with his parents. This again causes problems and they must make several trips to fix what they did. 

Throughout these many trips, Ken is working to restore his relationship with Mary after she learns she may face the same fate as her grandmother. It is only after much heartache that the Fitzgerald’s and their friends realize they don’t need to time travel to find their way home, they only need each other.

Time Benders and the Chase Through Time, Book IV

Released in August, 2023 this fourth book in the series sees the Fitzgerald clan older, wiser, but now although busy with their lives, faced with a new and challenging time traveling adventure. This time they must search out the person that has stolen their time machine.

When they find the shredded pages and photos in the barn, along with a notebook none of them recognize, they figure out who has taken their machine. He is after revenge against Joe and all the Fitzgerald's and their friends for some imagined wrong done to him. His twisted, evil intent has them moving through time in an effort to stop him and keep him from unraveling history as they know it. 

Not able to get in front of the efforts of this enemy, and after a confrontation between Tom and Ryan where Ryan was severely injured, Ken and Joe work to devise a way to use their knowledge to stop Tom. When they manage to keep history in place and thwart every effort this adversary makes, Tom, enraged, finds himself in the crosshairs of the battle of Gettysburg. An unlikely event shifts Ken, Joe, Ryan and Becky’s plans from capture to care-taker. Then the unthinkable happens and they are faced with a question they never dreamed would happen. What to do when someone time traveling dies?

The questions and issues of all of their time travel come back to them in the days tracking Tom. 

Clearly, time travel has become dangerous as someone new has access to this means of moving through time. The team of siblings and their friends must make hard choices to solve this new problem and to find their way back to their lives.