Medium: Comic/Graphic Novel
Genre: Fantasy/Scifi
Age Rating: Middle Grade (9-12)
Status: Complete
Where to read: Wherever books are sold | W&W Shop

Lost Time is a middle grade graphic novel about a young girl surviving in the late Cretaceous of North America, with a Quetzalcoatlus as her only companion, and is my first published graphic novel!

The concepts for Lost Time came about in 2017-2018 when I just started doodling a girl and a giant pterosaur. I fell in love with the idea of this, and started developing a story around it. It became my first pitch to throw around at publishers, and in 2019 it landed at Putnam (formerly Razorbill). It was officially released in 2023!

You can read my post on its development here!

Lost Time follows 12-year-old Evie, stranded in time and surviving on her own in the wilds of the Cretaceous. After raising Ada, the Quetzalcoatlus, from a egg, the two explore the world together, all in attempts for Evie to get back to humanity again.

The book is aimed at middle grade (ages 9-12).

It’s currently available wherever books are sold, including local libraries and bookstores. You can also get it directly from me in the W&W store.

Official Blurb

Twelve-year-old Evie didn’t mean to get lost—especially in the Cretaceous period! Now she’s alone, without her parents or anyone else to turn to for help. That is until she rescues a baby pterosaur and raises it on her own. As the baby grows into a giraffe-sized flying reptile, which Evie names Ada, the two manage to to find a way to survive in the prehistoric wilderness.

But Evie will have to risk everything when she makes a discovery that may just be her only chance of returning home. Putting Ada’s flying skills to the ultimate test, the duo must embark on a journey halfway across the world—battling all nature throws at them, from fearsome dinosaurs to raging storms. Will Evie manage to overcome all the odds and find a way back to her family… or is she truly lost in time?

read about it on the w&w website

read about it on penguin’s website

Praise

“Palpably affectionate…Delightfully improbable adventures plus dinosaurs galore!” –Kirkus

“Mukanik takes extra care in illustrating the various Cretaceous creatures, all of which are marvelously detailed while still maintaining an expressive cartoon quality, and the action-packed prehistoric jungle setting makes for excellent atmosphere and world building. Middle-grade comics fans looking for adventure with accurate depictions of dinosaurs will be very satisfied with this.” —Booklist

“The fantastic artwork, with bright and vivid illustrations of prehistoric creatures, will charm middle graders. The expressive colors, detailed drawings, and panoramic scenes of a beautiful and undeveloped Earth create a magnificent adventure. Young readers will thoroughly enjoy this story.” – School Library Journal

“Readers who enjoy manga will like the vivid style of the pictures…The drawings of dinosaurs (and other ancient creatures), as well as the notes in the back on different species, will please the children who are obsessed with these animals and can identify all of the different ones by name…[G]reat for emergent readers…[D]efinitely pick up Lost Time for a young dinosaur fan.” – YA Books Central

“[An] incredible middle grade graphic novel that has everything from time travel to a baby pterosaur…It is legitimately a ton of fun. A good old-fashioned survival tale and a fun book to boot.” —Elizabeth Bird, Fuse 8, an SLJ Blog

“[A] fun adventure…[T]here’s a good mix of action and danger as well as some slapstick humor.” – GeekDad