The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

In H.G Wells' classic, The Time Machine, a man travels over 800,000 years into the future to find that humanity has taken a road he didn't anticipate.  He gets caught up in the lackadaisical attitude of the new creatures he encounters, the Eloi, but he can't help but notice how afraid they are of the dark...

The book is a heckuva ride.  Everyone, readers and characters alike, are waiting for the Time Traveller to take another breath, finish another sentence and continue on his tale.  There were some parts that were a bit too heavy on the description and, therefore, a little difficult to power through, but overall this book is just pure, unadulterated fun.

I did this book with my 7th graders.  I have a pretty mixed class, with half being very high and half being below grade level.  I think that with advanced middle school students or with a normal 9th grade class, this would be an excellent book to teach and study more about classism and class struggles.  With my class, I feel a bit of a limitation because of their level -- however, they still found this book to be "awesome" with a "great ending" and it was great to help improve vocabulary.  

An advanced student would be just fine reading this on their own, but students who are below 8th grade level would have issues following along as they read or understanding what was happening.  However, when it comes to content, it's very tame.  The Time Traveller does make a female friend and they do hold hands and kiss (seemingly on the cheek?) but from what I could ascertain, it felt more like a father/daughter relationship than anything remotely romantic.  

What I liked:

• An entirely new world, over 800,000 years in the future!  
• The way humanity evolved is fascinating.
• The Eloi and Murlocks are very creative. 
• The fact that the Time Traveller is never named. (We called him T-cubed.)
• Everything.

What I would warn parents about:

• The brief moments of touching that I mentioned above, but, as I said, I would bet money that it was paternal in nature. 
• Lots and lots of Darwinism.  At the Orthodox school I teach at, this wasn't a problem because I told them to think of it as sci-fi and suspend their disbelief.  They had no issues.  I don't think that you have to believe in evolution to enjoy this at all. 

Who I would recommend this for:

• Advanced readers who enjoy sci-fi.
• High school teachers!  Teach this in your classes!  It will be a GREAT cause of many interesting conversations about the future, the planet and our place in it.