In 2020 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig was just the book we all needed to lift our spirits and remind us of all the good in the world. On one hand it’s a time travel novel on the other hand it’s a modern-day take on It’s A Wonderful Life. This story uses a touch of speculative fiction to bring into clear focus the core of our humanity. If you’re looking for more like it, check out these incredible books that play with time, second chances and the choices we make.
Five First Chances by Sarah Jost
Lou feels like she’s taken her life down the wrong path. When an unexpected slip in time allows her to travel back and fix her mistakes, she begins to see the world through fresh eyes. Suddenly, all the things she thought she wanted aren’t so clear. Repeat encounters with a person who once played a small role in her life, but is beginning to feel like the only person and place in time she belongs, begs her to discover what it is that’s really worth fighting for.
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Night Theater by Vikram Paralkar
A surgeon fleeing the city takes a job in rural India, working in less than ideal conditions, when a family turns up saying they died in a violent robbery. They say they can have a second chance at life if only the surgeon can heal their wounds before sunrise. As he gets to work on this supernatural case, he begins to learn about the afterlife, and the miracles this world holds.
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Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen
When Kin Stewart is stranded in the 1990s from his job as a time travel agent he starts a whole new life. Now they’ve come to collect him 18 years too late and he has to leave his wife and teenage daughter behind to return to the year 2142 where only weeks have passed. A family he can’t remember is waiting for him and the family he left behind is in jeopardy. Now he must fight to save them even if it means breaking all the rules of time travel.
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Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale
Cassandra’s life was neat and orderly just the way she prefers, until she’s dumped and fired and her life is turned upside down. Now faced with the chaotic mess she can’t seem to correct, she discovers she’s able to hit rewind and travel back in time to fix her mistakes. As she tries to clean up her life, one little issue at a time, she’s forced to discover that all the ways she went wrong weren’t the problem at all.
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The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
When three best friends get the chance to turn back time and relive the year they turned forty, the year that changed all their lives forever, each sets off to do it better than in their original timeline. As they choose children over careers, hide dark secrets and seek the love they thought they were meant to have, they begin to discover that changing the past doesn’t make a perfect present. As they are met with new struggles and fresh consequences, they must grapple with what it means to live a good life, even if it’s hard.
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The Possibilities by Yael Goldstein-Love
When Hannah’s baby is born she’s faced with the unimaginable love of motherhood and another feeling she can’t quite shake. Is there a world in which Jack was lost during child birth? Unsure of whether it’s new mom anxiety or a reality that is lingering nearby, Hannah is forced to deal with he mental strain until one day she wakes up and Jack is missing from his crib. Forced to discover her ability to travel parallel universes, Hannah must fight to return Jack home by living different versions of her life.
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Time’s Mouth by Edan Lepucki
Ursa possesses a unique gift to travel through her memories into the past. When she takes a leap back to the 1950s, she sets off a chain of events that affects generations to come. Ursa’s granddaughter Opal, broken by her mother’s abandonment, now must travel back to understand her family’s secrets and come to terms with the painful legacy that is her life. Set over decades in California, this time bending family saga explores how memory can heal or hurt.
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Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds
When Jack meets Kate, he falls head over heels instantly. She is beloved by his friends too and he feels like forever is inevitable. Then Kate dies. Though this seems like the end, it turns out to be the beginning as Jack is propelled back in time to when they first met. Forced to except he has time traveled, Jack does everything he can to save Kate. In trying to do so, he sets off a chain of events that causes the death of someone else close to him. Met with the painful consequences of choices, Jack must decide what he’s willing to do to save all the people he loves.
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The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George
For those who loved the bookish delight of The Midnight Library, The Little Village of Book Lovers is sure to scratch that itch. A spinoff from Nina George’s beloved The Little Paris Bookshop, we find Marie-Jeanne. Marie-Jeanne is an orphan with a unique gift. She can see Love visually represented on people. As she travels with her foster father on their mobile library, she plays matchmaker, and there is always a book involved in the pairing. The only person she hasn’t found love for is herself and she wonders if she’ll be able to see it when it crosses her path.
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This is How You Lose a Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
As the world collapses, two rival time agents are caught in a battle to secure the future for their respective agencies. When their paths collide and they begin to follow in love, the mission turns towards changing the path to secure their future. In this beautiful sapphic love story that spans space and time, the two must find a way to save themselves and perhaps the world amidst a time-bending battle.
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