THE 13TH FLOOR

A tale of time travel, filled with Fleischman's trademark combination of humor and wild adventure. After a mysterious message appears on their answering machine, ostensibly from Abigail, a relative who's been dead for 300 years, Buddy and his lawyer sister, Liz, are transported back in time. Buddy finds himself on a pirate ship captained by another ancestor, Captain Crackstone; after surviving a storm, an attack, and being set adrift, Buddy is reunited with Liz, who is defending Abigail against the charge of witchcraft. In this briskly paced novel, action is Fleischman's strong suit and fans of Jim Ugly (1992) and The Whipping Boy (1986) will not be disappointed. Whether climbing the ship's rigging in a storm or rescuing his sister from death by creating a pirate's ghost out of a codfish and a Walkman, Buddy is sturdy and unflappable, and his adventures are entertaining. (Fiction. 8-12)