The Time Tomorrow

 

Summary (from the publisher): What if you could take a vacation to your past?

With her celebrated humor, insight, and heart, beloved New York Times bestseller Emma Straub offers her own twist on traditional time travel tropes, and a different kind of love story.

On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?

Review: As Alice prepares to turn 40, she reflects on her life and how it isn't exactly what she expected. She likes her job and her apartment well enough, and appreciates her independence in comparison to her friends who are married and tied down with friends. But she can't help but wonder what would have happened if she made different choices along the way. When she wakes up the morning after her birthday, she finds herself back in 1996, reliving the day of her 16th birthday. Seeing her youthful body, her father once again young and healthy, and her friends and teenage crush through her new perspective is a revelation. Alice has a real chance to answer the question of what would she change about her life if given the chance. 

I loved this novel. Emma Straub is a gifted writer and is so talented at bringing her characters to life. Alice's musing on her life as a high school administrator, her love for New York City, and her just okay boyfriend feel very real. I feel as if Alice was someone I could actually meet and someone I would want to be friends with. Alice's dad and her best friend, Sam were also endearing characters and I loved seeing Alice's relationship with them explored over the course of the novel. Even with the Freaky Friday-esque twist to this novel and the time travel back to 1996, Straub handles it in such a way that I was able to suspend my disbelief. It was very well done.

An interesting contemplation of the effect our choices have on us while accepting that there are many things beyond our control, which was both empowering and comforting. In Alice's life, there is no scenario of her life that is perfect or without pain. All we can hope for is the best version and being honest with those we love about how we feel about them. I loved this book's emphasis on the parent/child relationship, as well as friendship rather than romantic love. In particular, I loved that it didn't end with a stereotypical fairytale ending. A book that was both entertaining and thought provoking. I was sad for it to end.

Stars: 4.5