Time travel is a tricky subject, and authors who take it on are often digging a deep hole for themselves in terms of creating the boundaries of time travel for their character and making those boundaries clear to their readers. Even the smallest detail gone unexplained can through off the book’s entire vibe, leading to confusion instead of exhilaration.
When done correctly, time travel can be an exciting element that brings together fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction genres in mainstream literature. Check out these 10 time travel books that actually make sense, and take a journey through time and a glimpse into what it is like to live more than once.
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10. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
One of the most culturally relevant time travel books that have made its way into mainstream reading lists, and everyone’s Netflix stream is The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which also has a successful screen adaptation starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.
The time traveler is Henry, a librarian whose genetic disorder causes him to time travel somewhat spontaneously. Throughout his travels, he meets his wife Claire. Despite falling in love and marriage, they struggle to be in the same place at the same time due to Henry’s disorder. This is a book that everyone should read about love, time, and purpose, and this light element of time travel is the perfect amount to push forward the real plot: romance.
9. Time And Again by Jack Finney
What better way to clear up any confusion about the elements of time travel than with pictures? All jokes aside, Time And Again is the perfect graphic novel for adults as the illustrations bring a visual element to life in this story about love, adventure, and time travel.
Finney wrote and illustrated the book in 1970, and the plot takes place on a journey to 1982 where the protagonist who was recruited for this time travel opportunity tries to solve a mystery and save the world. If you haven’t dabbled previously, this should be your gateway novel into graphic novels.
8. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
Time travel books usually promise a hint of historical and romance fiction, for with The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley fully delivers.
Eva must return to Cornwall to spread her sister’s ashes, and in the grief of visiting her childhood home, she finds she can travel through time and interact with all those who have lived in her home over the centuries. She begins to question her life in the present and finds herself in the past and in the wake of a romance with one of the past inhabitants.
7. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Sometimes young adult books stand as excellent reads for all ages, and When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is exactly that.
As you may expect, the protagonist is a 12-year-old girl named Miranda who begins to receive mysterious notes about herself. These notes contain information that no one could know about her, but the mystery leads to concern when the notes begin to contain things that have not yet happened to Miranda. Through these notes, she realizes she may be the only person who can prevent a murder – but the elements of time are against her as she begins to question what has or has not already happened.
The use of time travel in the book without the main character needing to travel helps make this book clear without any exception of time travel excitement.
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6. What The Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
As so often happens with time travel tropes, the plot is pulled by grieving the loss of a loved one and returning to a place that evokes emotion. This time, Anne Gallager is mourning her grandfather, and upon returning to his native soil in Ireland, jumps to 1921 when Ireland is trying to declare independence from England.
With the knowledge she has about the past, she is able to change history as her homeland strives for independence. As she struggles with fitting in in the past, she also doubts if the future has anything for her anymore as she finds love and settles into her family roots.
5. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
It could not be a list about time travel if not to talk about Diana Gabaldon’s series, Outlander which spans 9 fantastical books and 7 elluring seasons of a tv show.
This book and TV series embodies everything that a time travel book should be by combining a trip through historical fiction with a heart-stopping romance. Nurse Claire travels between 1743 Scotland and WWII, torn between two time periods, two revolutions, and most importantly two senses of self that include two different lovers. If that wasn’t enough, the audiobook is your third layer of media content to top off the franchise.
4. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
Stephen King never fails to create a riveting story, but he took a genre jump from horror and thriller to time travel with the novel 11/22/63 – which is the date of the Kennedy assassination and to this day one of American history’s biggest conspiracy theories.
This novel takes readers back to that moment in history that still plagues Americans today. In this time travel story our narrator is looking to find a way to stop the assassination. As he travels back in time and tries to change history, he takes the reader back with him to a trying and unknown moment in time which is exactly what time travel books should aim to accomplish.
3. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
For those who enjoy a bit of philosophical schooling in a novel, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut plays with one of the principle themes of philosophy: the role of free will versus predetermined destiny.
A WWII veteran discovers he can jump back and forward in time, and in doing so takes a look at his own life in the past, present in future, only to face the power and truth of destiny. The plot also comes back to the theme of tragedy in war, and the moral compass of changing things if you have the power to do so – but that power in question is the main issue.
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2. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
As Octavia E. Butler so often does as a trailblazing author, she is making space for diversity and inclusion in the time travel genre. In Kindred, a 20th-century Black woman must travel back in time to save her ancestors. This inclusion of race in time and history brings forward themes such as the importance of telling history as it is, to make change for future generations.
Bulter’s protagonist explores the danger of history repeating itself, while also rejuvenating the reader with moments of redemption and heroism. This is the perfect time travel book for those looking for an enticing historical fiction book with clear time travel troupes that serve the purpose of moving forward the plot.
1. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Here is another classic that most Millennials have probably read, but it stands as a great book about time travel. Your main character, Meg Murray is transported through time to another planet along with her brother and friend in order to save her father – a scientist from evil that holds him there.
Through travel between time and space, Meg and her group embark on a rigorous adventure full of magic and mysticism, testing the limits of love and morality. This is the perfect time travel book for a trip down memory lane and heavy elements of science fiction.
