I read this book, to see what all the fuss was about, but I have to say I was NOT disappointed. The story begins in a Robin Hood type era and in the first chapter we meet Echo, the 12-year-old half-dryad girl of Wicca Forest. She is chased by a forester called Wulfric because there is a bounty on her head. Wulfric fires an arrow that has lethal poison on the tip of its blade. It nicks Echo's arm but because of her dryad heritage she can heal herself of even the most deadly of diseases, by touching living wood. She escapes from the forester and hides inside a hollow oak tree. There she hibernates for centuries though her soul never leaves her body. The story then cuts to the present day when a 12-year-old boy called Jason Fleeting is in hospital, in a coma after falling out of a tree. He has a near death experience and finds himself in a kind of heaven known as the Edge of Time. He meets the spirit of Fenella, Echo's mother, who tells Jason that he too is part dryad. Fenella tells him that the tree containing Echo is soon to be cut down. She gives him a task, to rescue Echo from the fallen tree. Fenella returns Jason to life and a few days later, he rescues Echo as planned. Once Echo has fully recovered, she and Jason set off on an incredible adventure to solve the mystery of Jason's mother's murder, and to rescue his abducted sister. Unlike some children's stories, this one builds up to a truly exciting climax and I would recommend Echo McCool Outlaw Through Time to all able readers in the 9 to 12 age group. Fantastic book!

I am old enough to remember the 1970s TV series Catweazel starring Geoffrey Bayldon. As a fan of the time travel genre I read Echo McCool and I am in no doubt that the author was influenced by Catweazel. There also appears to be a secondary influence from the 1970s TV, the Kung Fu series staring David Carradine. But does the Echo McCool series stand up on its own? I think so. The book succeeds in showing the twenty first century through the eyes of Echo, the 12 year old half-dryad girl from medieval times. As in Catweazel she befriends a modern day helper in Jason, though unlike Catweazel the story doesn’t just play for laughs. Echo McCool is more of an action adventure story and should appeal to the Lara Croft/computer game generation. The author voice is clear, the characters engaging, the story exciting and all-in-all I would recommend Echo McCool to readers in the 9-12 age group.