Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger

As a longtime fan of The Time Traveler’s Wife, I was very excited to return to the world of time travel through Claire and Henry’s daughter, Alba. This felt like a natural continuation of the ideas introduced in the first book, while taking the story in a much more complex and expansive direction.

The book is divided into four parts, each focusing on different characters and periods of time. There are a LOT of time jumps, and I definitely had to be paying attention. This was not a book I could pick up when I was exhausted and expect to breeze through. 😂 I think having read The Time Traveler’s Wife first is also important, as the time-travel elements may be particularly difficult to follow without that background.

This is magical realism with dystopian elements and very little traditional romance. Instead, it explores complicated people dealing with complicated circumstances. The book tackles some heavy and potentially triggering topics, including the pandemic, politics, climate change, LGBTQIA+ themes and AI. If these subjects are difficult for you, this may not be the book for you.

What I loved most were the characters and the way the story ultimately found beauty in some very difficult circumstances. Even when life is complicated and messy, there is still love, loss, music, laughter and connection. I especially loved the theme of finding love again after loss.

This definitely wasn't a light, fluffy or spicy read, but it was thought-provoking and stayed with me. I really enjoyed seeing the concept of time travel that was introduced in The Time Traveler’s Wife expanded into something bigger and more complicated.

A challenging read at times, but ultimately one I’m very glad I picked up.