During my fifth year teaching 7th grade, I found myself repeating the same lessons as prior years, participating in the same club events, marching in the same parades, etc. My students would inevitably reach the end of the school year and move on, while I was forever frozen in 7th grade. Herein my fascination with time loops was born. Over a decade later, I’m now happily teaching high school English while moonlighting as a writer of stories featuring temporal anomalies and time travel. I hope to spread my wings into dystopians and fractured fairy tales in the future, but until then…I may or may not have 22 clocks in my house.
Before I Fall is Mean Girls meets Groundhog Day, with the popular and pretty protagonist, Sam, forced to relive February 12th (her beloved “Cupid’s Day”) over and over. In the beginning, I had no love for Sam and was appalled by her and her friend’s nasty behavior, but Sam’s character growth throughout the novel is inspirational. The time-turning in the novel is handled flawlessly with repeated events never growing dull, and each new loop offering another layer to Sam’s redemption. Admittedly the book didn’t end the way I wanted (I’m a fan of fairy tale endings, even if unrealistic), but watching Sam evolve from a shallow mean girl to a beautiful soul was a moving experience and made the book worth the read.
A bestselling summer read as heartbreaking as The Lovely Bones and as gripping as Jenny Downham's Before I Die.
**Now a major Netflix movie starring Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley*
'Gossip Girl meets Groundhog Day' Grazia
'Tender, funny and raw' Marie Claire
'A clever, funny, insightful and utterly addictive novel' Daily Mail
'Compelling and poignant, a truly memorable read' Closer
They say 'live every day as if it's your last' - but you never actually think it's going to be. At least I didn't. The thing is, you don't get to know when it happens. You don't…
In Replay, a 43-year-old average Joe sustains a fatal heart attack and awakens in his college dorm as his 18-year-old self. Replay doesn’t have the same immediacy and gripping nature as typical time loop tropes since readers follow the protagonist through decades of his life rather than a single week or day, but I will forever be indebted to Ken Grimwood for introducing me to the concept of a dwindling time loop. Also, the book sparked deep feelings of wonder in me, making me contemplate my own life decisions, highlights, regrets, wasted time, and opportunities…and compelling me to hug my kids. I wouldn’t call this an upbeat read, but it’s wonderfully philosophical and provocative. Life is short and this book reminds you of that.
At forty-three Jeff Winston is tired of his low-paid, unrewarding job, tired of the long silences at the breakfast table with his wife, saddened by the thought of no children to comfort his old age. But he hopes for better things, for happiness, maybe tomorrow ...
But a sudden, fatal heart attack puts paid to that. Until Jeff wakes up in his eighteen-year-old body, all his memories of the next twenty-five years intact. If he applies those memories, he can be rich in this new chance at life and can become one of the most powerful men in America.
UnHappeningsis a diamond in the indie-published rough. In the novel, important people and events are deleted from Nigel Walden’s life (such as his first kiss) with no indication they ever existed. I spent the entire novel either gripped by the intriguing storyline or feeling heartbroken for the protagonist over his every tiny joy in life being sabotaged. My favorite part of the book was a barrage of unexpected apocalypses that extended through a few chapters. It was far-fetched, macabre, and unintentionally (but delightfully) humorous. If you've ever wondered what might happen if a madman with time travel capabilities and unlimited resources threw one big temper tantrum, this book will give you that answer. Overall, UnHappeningsis not a light, feel-good novel, but it is engrossing, thoughtful, and addictive.
When Nigel Walden is fourteen, the UNHAPPENINGS begin. His first girlfriend disappears the day after their first kiss with no indication she ever existed. This retroactive change is the first of many only he seems to notice.
Several years later, when Nigel is visited by two people from his future, he hopes they can explain why the past keeps rewriting itself around him. But the enigmatic young guide shares very little, and the haggard, incoherent, elderly version of himself is even less reliable. His search for answers takes him fifty-two years forward in time, where he finds himself stranded and…
Fifteen Minutes to Liveis like a darker, more intense version of 50 First Dates. In the novel, 36-year-old Carl discovers that his high-school sweetheart, Jesse, is losing her memories of recent events every 15 minutes, compelling him to weed through a web of secrets to find out the truth about her. Carl is a genuine and relatable protagonist whose imperfections are a breath of fresh air. He’s self-deprecating with amusing quirks (like trying to befriend a raccoon), and his love for Jesse, though not always noble or logical, is fierce and moving. Likewise, Jesse manages to shine with strength and determination, despite the fact that her memory resets every 15 minutes. I’m also a fan of the intense “up against the clock” storyline, which offers great edge-of-your-seat moments.
"Phoef Sutton has a wonderful and unique voice. This is a romantic tale, full of suspense and human emotion. It's also funny in its own special way. Once I started it, I couldn't stop," Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author
The outrageously inventive, exhilarating, sexually-charged thriller from Emmy Award-winning writer Phoef Sutton.
Carl moved into his childhood home after his parents died. It’s a house filled with fond memories…like when he was a teenager and his girlfriend Jesse would throw pebbles at his window at night to lure him outside for frantic sex. So he thinks he’s dreaming…
In One Second After, everything about our comfortable, familiar world is turned upside-down in the blink of an eye. In his novel, Forstchen examines how reliant we are on our infrastructure and how quickly we degenerate once that network is broken. The book, while not a great feat of literature, is fast-paced and enjoyable. Despite a few one-dimensional characters, gender stereotypes, and occasional flat dialogue, I loved the invaluable information about EMPs (a topic I never knew I wanted to know more about) and appreciated the novel’s harsh, unflinching vision of how fragile our society is. The idea that everything you know and love can change inone measly second is a powerful lesson that should be pondered not just through the lens of EMPs, but in general life.
A post-apocalyptic thriller of the after effects in the United States after a terrifying terrorist attack using electromagnetic pulse weapons.
New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.
Taz wants nothing to do with Stryder Black. She certainly doesn't believe the dark and moody high school senior when he says he’s trapped in a "curse." But when an unfortunate touch and some bad timing yank Taz thirteen days into the past, she knows she's in trouble.
Now Taz is trapped in a time loop with her nemesis…Stryder. Worse, the curse is dropping days. Taz knows she must set aside her hatred for Stryder in order to unravel this mess, but trust is tricky when they both have secrets. Is Stryder’s murky past the key to their escape? Or does the answer lie somewhere within Taz’s own bizarre ‘gift’? The clock is ticking, and the next strike could mean death.
From the time I was a girl, I’ve loved stories that put a lump in my throat even as I’m laughing. As a fiction writer, that funny-sad tone is the one I go for in my own work. I gravitate toward female protagonists of all ages who break the mold—women who are intelligent and strong but who also have unconventional, quirky personalities. Women who can be hilarious, infuriating, and heartbreaking—sometimes all at once. Because they are complex and unique, these women tend to struggle with life’s challenges more than their contemporaries. That’s what makes their stories so interesting, and why I have chosen the books on this list.
When Mar’s husband divorces her, she reacts by abandoning everything in her past: her home, her friends, even her name. Though it's not easy starting over, she’s ready for new adventures—as long as she can keep things casual. Each month, Mar goes from one acquaintance to the next: a fellow gym member down on her luck, a flirty hip-hop instructor, a bossy but comical consultant. . . and a handsome novelist who wants more than she can give. Mar learns from each encounter. But can she open herself up to true connection?
Surrounded by quirky, endearing characters, Mar navigates her…
"A fun, entertaining novel! I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book as much as I did." -Leslie A. Rasmussen, award-winning author
When Mar Meyer's husband divorces her for another woman, she reacts by abandoning everything in her past: her home, her friends, even her name. Though it's not easy to start over, Mar is young-looking, fit, and ready for new adventures-as long as she can keep things casual.
With each passing month, Mar goes from one acquaintance to the next. Among them: a fellow gym member down on her luck, a flirty hip-hop instructor, a bossy but comical…
