Review Detail

Even though Maisie and Felix get to live in a fabulous Newport, Rhode Island mansion, what the really want is to return home to New York, specifically to a time when their parents were still together and their father wasn't living in Qatar. Since their first foray into the Treasure Chest took them to see a very young Clara Barton, the two somehow think that they can use the time travel to return to their previous life. After some failed attempts, the visit their great Aunt Maisie, who gives them some clues, as well as a Faberge egg that was made for her. Her brother Thorne had one as well, but something is missing from her egg, and she thinks perhaps Thorne stole it... before he moved to London in 1941. This gives Maisie the idea that she needs to have the shard from the Ming vase with her when she tries to time travel. The siblings look for items that have a New York provenance, but when a coin is knocked off the table and the two accidentally touch it, they find themselves whisked away to St. Croix. After trying to buy food with a coin from 1794, they find that they are in 1772, and meet a seventeen-year-old Alexander Hamilton. They figure he is the person they need to help, and follow him around. While Maisie has a crush on the future statesman, he views the two as "water rats" since they keep following him around. We do find out a lot about what Hamilton did at a young age, including his extensive writing, and find out that he has a job with a slave trader, Cruger, that angers Maisie but which he claims to really need even though he doesn't agree with it. When local businessmen, including Cruger, offer to pay for Hamilton to study in New York along with his friend Ned, he has to get on the last ship sailing there for a while. Maisie and Felix, feeling their job isn't done, beg to go along. The journey is a long one, and when the group lands in Boston, the place is crawling with Red Coats. Eventually, Maisie talks to Hamilton about what is going on in her life, and she sees from his example that she needs to move past the divorce and relocation. Once she has this epiphany, she and Felix are able to return to the present day, although they will remain in Rhode Island.