Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Sarah Burns is fascinated with the Hammond House Museum. She’s on a school trip learning about the Underground Railroad and this museum’s role in helping slaves escape to the north and freedom. What fascinates her most is the tiny hiding space where the former slaves are hidden until it’s safe to move on. She devises a plan to stay after the class leaves and ventures alone into this hidden room. That’s when things shift and Sarah finds herself in the 1850s, alone, frightened, and not understanding where she is, why she’s there and how she can return to her own time and her grandfather, who must be frantic not knowing what’s happened to her. But time in the 1850s progresses and the Hammonds accept her as one of them, with no questions asked. Sarah becomes a suffragette speaker and, in the process, meets conflicting opinions and wards off unwanted attention. She still misses her own era and her grandfather. Will she ever find her way back to the future? And what will she discover if she does go back?

Connie Lacy’s time travel novel, A Suffragette in Time, is a fast-paced, historical fiction fantasy. Taking the ‘what if’ scenario, the author allows the protagonist, Sarah, to experience life in the present as well as the past. The author knows her history and the realism of both time periods is accurately depicted; the differences between the two eras are well documented. Descriptive narrative and dialogue are well constructed in a compelling plot that leads the reader right into the story and keeps them enraptured to the very end. The jumps between eras flow easily and the reader will have no difficulty in following the plot in each era. The place of women and black people in society is the main focus as Sarah stands up for what she believes is right and wrong in both eras. Book clubs will appreciate this book as there are lots of viable points that will inspire lengthy discussions amongst the members. A fascinating and engaging read.