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The Girl Who Sold Time
V.S. Nelson’s The Girl Who Sold Time is a wild, clever, and surprisingly heartfelt ride through a world where time is not just something you experience—it’s something you can dig up and trade. The story follows Violet, a tough and resourceful young girl who mines for time marbles, which hold the power to freeze time for varying lengths. Alongside her sarcastic, robot-like companion Jackdaw, Violet navigates a dying world filled with desperate refugees, brutal thugs, and eerie mechanical beasts, all while searching for a way to fix the unraveling ecosystem. It’s a story about survival, ingenuity, and the consequences of power, and it wastes no time (pun intended) throwing you into its intricate world.
Right from the start, I was hooked by Nelson’s writing style. It’s fast, it’s sharp, and it knows exactly when to linger and when to push forward. The opening scene in the time mine, where Violet digs through dirt hoping for valuable marbles, sets the tone perfectly—it’s harsh, sweaty, and full of quiet desperation. I loved how Violet’s frustration builds, her hunger gnaws at her, and her friendship with Jackdaw is instantly clear in their banter. Jackdaw, by the way, is an absolute gem—think of the best sassy sidekicks in fiction, then make him a mechanical boy with a bit of a superiority complex, and you’ve got Jackdaw. There’s a moment where he sulks after an argument, and Violet says, “I was sulking,” to which he smugly replies, “It was a very good sulk, actually.” The dialogue feels natural and often hilarious, breaking up the bleakness of their world.
Speaking of bleak, the world-building is fantastic. The forest is mutating, trees are growing too fast to support their weight, and even the food is turning poisonous. The desperation in the village of Dean is gut-wrenching, especially when the refugees arrive, starving and hopeless. But it’s not just a grim dystopia—it’s layered with mystery and wonder. The time marbles themselves are an incredible concept, and the scene where Violet finds a year-long marble was one of my favorites. The way Nelson describes the eerie time confusion—how Violet sees herself pulling it from the ground before she even touches it—gave me chills. And, of course, there’s the terrifying moment when a sleek mechanical Pinscher appears out of nowhere, turning what was already a dangerous scavenging trip into a full-blown chase for survival. The action is intense, but it never feels over-the-top or exhausting. Every scene serves a purpose, either deepening the characters or pushing the plot forward.
The book left me craving more answers. The time marbles are fascinating, but the mechanics behind them remain a bit of a mystery. Maybe that’s the point—some things are just unknowable—but I kept hoping for a clearer explanation of their origins. And Caleb, the ruthless, manipulative antagonist, is chillingly well-written, but I wanted even more of him. His scene with Violet, where he recounts what happened to his ex-girlfriend in a casually horrifying way, made my skin crawl. He’s the kind of villain who gets under your skin, the one you love to hate, and I wish we got to see him even more unhinged.
The Girl Who Sold Time is a must-read for fans of imaginative sci-fi, strong female leads, and razor-sharp storytelling. If you like stories with survivalist grit, fast-paced adventure, and a touch of dark humor, this one’s for you.
ASIN : B0DXRFQ53R
Connections to Real-World Experiences
No Dog Food, Please! follows a Labrador Retriever as he transitions from city life to a rural farm, aiming to adapt to his new environment while navigating the challenges of family dynamics and seeking acceptance. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for this story was our dog Chipper, a Maltese Poodle (Malti-doodle) who preferred what we were eating to dog food. We learned how to balance what he wanted with what was good for him. No Dog Food, Please! began as a poem about his dietary preferences. It evolved into a book over a period of years.
What inspired you to choose a Labrador Retriever as the protagonist in No Dog Food, Please!?
I have been intrigued by the ability of various dogs to work with humans for many years – as police dogs and guide dogs for the blind, for example. It’s incredible but true that some dogs can even be trained to smell certain types of cancer in humans. Besides being increasingly amazed by what dogs can be taught to do, I have always enjoyed being around animals. My husband is an animal lover as well, and we took our son to visit several farms when he was younger. Getting back to your question…Labrador Retrievers are intelligent, friendly animals. I knew that a Lab would fit in nicely with a story revolving around active farm children and the adults in their lives. The more I worked on the book, the more I found humorous ways to contrast the boisterous nature of the dog with Grumpy Grandpa’s old-fashioned ways.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
When I was a kid, I liked reading funny stories that also had connections to real-world experiences. As an adult, I enjoy writing books that are humorous and can potentially help children solve problems in their lives. In the case of this book, the problems centered around differences of opinion in a multigenerational family. Also, in No Dog Food, Please! I enjoyed creating parallel adoption stories focusing on Jack and the youngest child, Ben, who developed a strong bond, and exploring how the rest of the family had to adjust their lives following the adoptions. I worked on this book in my spare time for a few years, adding scenes as I thought of them, and then weaving everything together.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I have completed my first children’s picture book, which I expect to publish later this year. The protagonist is also an animal, but one that is much smaller than a dog. In addition to pursuing my writing interests, I’m fortunate to be part of a great group of writers called Author Reader Connection. We have begun to do virtual author visits at schools. In February of this year, we spent a week with some talented students and their teacher in Maui, Hawaii. Working in groups or individually, the students were given the choice to write and publish a picture book, a comic book, or a poetry book. Here’s a link to a poetry book created by a group of those students. Rising From the Ashes: Our Stories of Lahaina – A Poetry Collection. All of the poets and artists featured in this book are from Lahaina, several of whom were displaced by the Lahai…
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