A review by sandbbookclub
The Day Tripper by James Goodhand

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely adored this book. I thought the concept was interesting, the execution was flawless, and the journey that Alex goes on was heart-breaking, inspiring, and believable. The conceit of time-travel is not new but the way that James Goodhand shapes it in this novel made it feel seamlessly fresh and integral to the story rather than a plot device to make an otherwise boring world intriguing. The main character, Alex, is living his life out of order and must unpack each day to put together scattered pieces of what has happened to him in the time between and how can he get back the future he'd hoped to have.

This novel would appeal to fans of fantasy, science fiction, or even real life fiction because, at it's core, it's a story about a man who was moving through life blind to the consequences of his choices until he is forced to confront them through chance and bizarre circumstance. What he does afterwards is where all the heart in this story lies and it will make you cry, scream, and cheer for Alex. Sometimes in the same chapter. 

I had no idea from page to page what I was going to find and it was an absolute delight to live in mystery just like the main character and to watch him assemble the pieces of himself and create something better. 

Read this book. Right now.