This week’s installment of Julieverse Reads features the best time travel-themed novels and is curated by Melissa Amster of the blog Chick Lit Central. I’ve read several of her recommended books and agree that time travel is one of my favorite topics for reading any time of the year.
Read Melissa’s recommendations below.
Ever since I saw Back to the Future in 1985, I’ve been obsessed with anything time travel-related. I even wrote some time travel short stories for my personal blog last year (here’s one, which was actually written before Hindsight came out). So you can imagine my joy at finding women’s fiction novels that feature some aspect of time travel. Those stand out amongst all the ones I read. I wanted to share a few of my favorites here.
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is usually the first book everyone, including myself, associates with time travel these days. It’s incredibly powerful and moving. Since it takes place in Chicago, I felt even more of a connection since I grew up in the suburbs and spent a lot of time in the city. The movie version is good, but I definitely prefer it as a book. It’s not even as confusing as I was expecting it to be.
Fast Forward by Juliet Madison is a funny and imaginative look at the future. A 25-year-old woman wakes up on her 50th birthday and discovers all sorts of random surprises about her life. However, she wonders if it’s the life she truly wants. By placing the story so far ahead in time, Juliet is able to do what Back to the Future II did for 2015 back in the 80s, as far as coming up with clever new inventions to make life easier. Maybe some will actually happen in 25 years from now! (Reviewed here.)
I Love the 80s by Megan Crane takes us back to New York in 1987, with a rock n’ roll twist. I was a kid in the late 80s, so it was fun to experience it through her lead character Jenna’s adult eyes. There was some drama and suspense, as well as a nice romantic angle. (Reviewed here.)
Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch takes us back to the beginning of this century. When I read it back in 2009, it wasn’t so far of a stretch, but so much can change even in less than a decade. Jill has to find her way back to the life she currently has while also awakening to what is going on around her that she missed the first time.
Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster mostly takes place during my favorite decade…the 90s. Lissy is transported back in order to right her wrongs, but doing so may have a huge impact on her future. There’s a Butterfly Effect feel to this story, which I love. It’s definitely my favorite of Jen’s fiction novels so far, as I plan to read The Best of Enemies soon.
The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel has a time travel aspect but in more of a Sliding Doors way. Like what would happen if Kate’s husband hadn’t died in a car crash? Kate is transported between her two lives through her dreams, even though they feel real and send her on a path she never would have expected. It was one of my 2014 favorites.
The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke allows a jilted bride-to-be relive a recent time in her life so that she can get her relationship back in order. However, her attempts keep backfiring on her, giving her a huge wake-up call about her impending marriage. It was definitely a page-turner, as I wanted to see what the outcome would be from each of her decisions.
Wishful Thinking by Kamy Wicoff introduces an app that we all “wish” we could own….it gives one woman the ability to travel to the immediate past in order to keep her life in balance. It does present some new problems for the lead character, Jennifer, to tackle, and gives readers a clarity about the need to juggle our lives without the help of such an app. It was a clever story, and I couldn’t put it down!
I hope you’ll give these novels a try. I look forward to reading If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harbison this summer.