For Orlando Garcia Ortiz and his friends at prestigious Hadleyburg University, it's finals week. That same week, but many, many years before, a famously eccentric writer in Hartford, Connecticut, is putting the finishing touches on a manuscript about a rebellious boy named Huck. Suddenly, a bizarre thing happens: The manuscript disappears and in its place appears a strange contraption-a college student's laptop that has traveled through time. It's a mysterious set of circumstances, but our intrepid heroes at Hadleyburg, joined by Mark Twain, endeavor to retrieve their valued possessions and return to their proper places in time.

Q: What's better than a whole pile of those loathsome test-preparation books?
A: The captivating novel you're holding in your hands.

That's right: You can actually study for the SAT and ACT by reading this time-travel adventure novel. As you enjoy Test of Time, you will encounter more than 2,000 words commonly found on both tests, each one highlighted in boldface and defined in a handy back-of-the-book glossary. The best part is, you'll remember the words better because you've learned each one in context--in relation to the other words around it. And one thing the SAT and ACT will always test is your ability to comprehend what you read and your knowledge of words in context.
Did you ever imagine you could study for the SAT and ACT and have fun at the same time? If that sounds like a better way to go, look inside.

Charles Harrington Elster, a graduate of Yale University, is the author of various popular books about language and vocabulary, including Tooth and Nail: A Novel Approach to the SAT. He co-hosts a weekly public radio show on language in San Diego, where he lives with his wife and daughters.