After falling into a time portal during a Little League baseball game in Trinity, New York, eleven-year-old Andy finds himself transported to a ghostly version of his hometown-101 years in the future. Twisted metal, rotten wood, and garbage litter the seemingly empty streets, but Andy will soon discover that the city is controlled by CORT robots . . . and that this reality is Earth’s possible future. When thirteen-year-old Zack receives a strange letter that guides him through the portal, he and his brother are reunited, and together they must journey through a nightmare world that only they can change. But how can two young boys alter the present by saving the future?

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Portal is a short read aimed at a younger audience from author David D. Bernstein, and it’s the first part of his CORT Chronicles series. This was quite a challenge for me to review; I have read a number of young adult books that are accessible to older children and adults alike, but this book is very clearly aimed at a younger audience.

The Portal is short, with an interesting concept for younger readers to enjoy. The story flows neatly along, without being unnecessarily complicated and manages to avoid anything too complex for a younger readers.

Illustrations complete the story. They break things up for the reader. Overall, The Portal is very short with no conclusion to the story, but leads nicely towards further books. Not a bad book all around for children to enjoy the sci-fi genre.

My rating: