A Time-Travel Jewelry Heist That Will Warm Your Heart!
Tori’s from 2020. Bobby’s from 1980. Can the teenagers stop a crime before it destroys them?
Time-Travel Jewelry Heist
Family Mystery
A Blast From The Past: NYC 1980
The 1980s was such a transformative and influential decade. Time travel through images and videos.
Stealing Time on Insta
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Chat with Tori & Bobby
Curious about Tori and Bobby’s time-travel adventures and mission in 1980? Chat with them and explore their unique perspectives with our interactive chatbots!
Play the Stealing Time Crossword Puzzle
Test your knowledge and have fun with our interactive crossword puzzle. Dive into the vibrant eras of the 1960s to the 1980s. Perfect for history buffs and puzzle lovers alike!
Book Club Questions
Looking for thought-provoking discussions? Explore our book club questions for Stealing Time and dive deeper into its themes, characters, and 1980s nostalgia!
Moments from Stealing Time
Check out scenes from the book.
Advance Praise
Here’s what others have to say about Stealing Time.
Another Era
New York Was a Different City in 1980
Moments from Stealing Time
Advance Praise for Stealing Time
“Fans of time-travel narratives will find much to love here…the characters are distinctive enough to keep this work feeling fresh. A delight…a classic…well rendered.”
“Stealing Time is a sparkling time-travel of a caper that glistens with unexpected twists and mind-bending connections and conundrums.”
“Fun time-travel romp with an important heist, and lives at stake. Good feel for the period, crisp writing, and moves along at a brisk pace. Highly recommended.”
“Stealing Time was so good I sat down and reread it as soon as I’d finished. Now THAT’s a good read!”
“Can I just start by saying that this manuscript might get me back into reading again? It made me reflect on when I used to read these kinds of fiction books and how I enjoyed having a movie play in my head while reading them. It’s like my imagination has been rebooted again! WHAT AN EPIC STORY!”
“I started reading this book at about 7 pm, expecting to read it bit by bit over the next few days and finish it when I could. I figured I’d want to continue the show I’m currently watching when I got home, so I’d probably just read it while on breaks at work this week. Instead, I finished it by 10 pm, only stopping to close up the store I work at and walk home. I got hooked and read it as fast as I could, continually wanting to know what happened next. It really pulled me in, and I loved the story!”
“I would recommend this book because of the plot, definitely, and the characters and humor. I can’t stress it enough: the robbers were great. I loved reading about them, and it made this into a book that’s more something my friend group would enjoy because darker plotlines are fun. This is an amazing concept and an amazing story. Bobby was my favorite character, followed closely by Louise, but all the characters were amazing and deep and beautiful!”
“These protagonists are so likable… The science-y bits about how time travel worked was explained in a way that I got it. The heist bits were super fun…And I loved when Tori tried to explain 2020 to Bobby, and her not getting the 1980 stuff — like no speakerphone, no pausing live TV, not knowing how to write in cursive. Five stars for being the most fun book I’ve read in a while!”
“Jacobs and Birnbach offer a classically surreal time-travel dilemma with this spirited coming-of-age adventure… Beneath the time-travel adventure, a more profound message about bridging generational gaps between parents and children and the long-lasting impact of choices resonates throughout. The mix of thrilling heist antics and comic drama (“Sometimes when you talk, I understand every word but none of the sentences”) will keep time-travel enthusiasts hooked.”
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Meet Tori
It’s March, 2020, and fifteen-year-old Tori Gold doesn’t know she’s about to have the adventure of her life. She and Bobby, a denizen of the past, have to join forces to thwart an audacious jewelry heist at Manhattan’s Museum of Natural History. And did we mention he’s her father?
Tori's Motto
There’s Always a Plan B
Discover Tori's World!
Curious about Tori’s time-travel adventures and her mission in 1980? Click below to chat with Tori and dive deeper into her story. Learn secrets and explore her world through our interactive chatbot!
Share Stealing Time
Share Stealing Time
Record Your Text Convo with Tori or Bobby and Post it on Instagram
For instructions on how to easily record your smartphone’s screen, check the information below.
ℹ️ How to Screen Record on iPhone
ℹ️ How to Screen Record on Android
Meet Bobby
It’s March, 1980, and fifteen-year-old Bobby Gold doesn’t know he’s about to have the adventure of his life. He and Tori, a visitor from the future, have to join forces to thwart an audacious jewelry heist at Manhattan’s Museum of Natural History. And did we mention she’s his daughter?
Bobby's Motto
Excelsior!
Discover Bobby's World!
Curious about Bobby’s adventures and mission in 1980? Click below to chat with Bobby and dive deeper into his story. Learn secrets and explore her world through our interactive chatbot!
Share Stealing Time
Record Your Text Convo with Tori or Bobby and Post it on Instagram
For instructions on how to easily record your smartphone’s screen, check the information below.
ℹ️ How to Screen Record on iPhone
ℹ️ How to Screen Record on Android
Book Club Questions
Identity and Growth
Both Tori and her father are fifteen during the 1980 scenes.
- How do their personalities, attitudes, and priorities reflect their eras of origin?
- How does Tori’s view of herself evolve thrughout the story?
Parent-Child Relationships
Both Tori and her father are fifteen during the 1980 scenes.
- How do their personalities, attitudes, and priorities reflect their eras of origin?
- How does Tori’s view of herself evolve throughout the story?
Themes of Family and Change
Divorce looms over Tori’s family in 2020.
- How do the events in 1980 shed light on the reasons for her father’s choices later in life?
- Do you think the bond they form in 1980 could change their lives in 2020?
Nostalgia vs. Reality
- For readers who lived through or are familiar with the 1980s, how did the portrayal of the time period in the book resonate with you?
- How does the book handle the differences between nostalgia for the past and the reality of living in it?
Multigenerational Trauma
As we learn in Chapter 1, Bobby’s father was arrested and served a prison term.
- To what extent did that impact Bobby and to what extent did that affect Tori growing up?
- How do events in a family’s past affect the present?
- Without going back in time, how can families move beyond terrible events?
Role of the Diamond Heist
A legendary diamond heist serves as the central plot device.
- How does it symbolize larger themes in the book, such as loss, risk, and legacy?
Setting and Character
Stealing Time takes place in New York City, and features iconic locations such as the American Museum of Natural History.
- To what extent does the setting influence the story?
- Do you feel that New York is effectively a character in the book?
Ending Reflection
Without giving away spoilers…
- How did the conclusion of the story impact your view on time travel and familial relationships?
- Did the resolution feel satisfying to you Why or why not?
Event Calendar
Killer Nashville, August 22-25, 2024
By Tilia Klebenov Jacobs YOUR PATH TO PUBLISHING Killer Nashville is the premier forum for all genres incorporating mystery, thriller, suspense, action, or romance elements; learn, present, meet agents & editors, sign books, mingle with forensic experts, and...
Challenge Your Knowledge!
How Well Do You Know Your ‘80s?
Test your knowledge and have fun with our interactive crossword puzzle. Dive into the vibrant eras of the 1960s to the 1980s as you solve clues that span historical events, iconic music, and revolutionary tech developments that shaped these decades. Perfect for history buffs and puzzle lovers alike!
Discover the creative minds behind Stealing Time. Tilia Klebenov Jacobs and Norman Birnbach bring a unique blend of historical intrigue and captivating storytelling to this award-winning YA novel.
Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
Tilia Klebenov Jacobs is the bestselling author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time and Second Helpings at the Serve You Right Café, as well as the fantasy novel Casper and Jasper and the Terrible Tyrant. Her short fiction appears in 50-Word Short Stories; The Flash Fiction Press; and the anthologies When a Stranger Comes to Town and Deadly Nightshade: Best New England Crime Stories 2022. She serves on the board of Mystery Writers of America-New England, and lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and their pleasantly neurotic standard poodle, Shadow.
Norman Birnbach
Norman Birnbach is an award-winning writer who has published over a hundred short stories and articles. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Herald, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, New York Magazine, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Militant Grammarian. He has also studied gemology at the Gemological Institute of America. Stealing Time is his debut novel. A native New Yorker, he lives outside Boston with his wife, three children, and dog, Taxi.
Join the Time-Travel Journey
Ready to embark on a thrilling time-travel adventure? Purchase Stealing Time today!