I’m a November baby, and when birthday season rolls around I often find myself in reflection, something like post-birthday party Jenna Rink in 13 Going On 30, looking back on how things have gone so far and wondering what might come. What if I had done something differently, even something small? How might that impact what my life looks like today? And if I could teleport myself back in time to make that change, even for just an instant…would I?
Such is the question that Alice asks herself in Emma Straub’s This Time Tomorrow. Alice is generally happy with how her life has turned out. A school administrator, cat mama and one day shy of 40, overall, Alice is happy. Still, whether it is her ailing father or just that things have not turned out the way she expected, she feels like something is missing. After a night out with her best friend, Alice falls asleep in her childhood home and wakes up on her 16th birthday. Quickly, she learns that she has the ability to return to this day again and again, and with it, has the power to alter the entire course of her life. However, with such power comes other considerations, and with every shift, Alice wonders if her new, altered life is really better than what she had had before. Maybe, just maybe, she’d had what she needed all along.
This Time Tomorrow is an easy read, akin to a lighter version of The Midnight Library, and Alice is a relatable character that speaks directly to her reader’s heart. Through this combined laugh-out-loud tear-jerker that reaches every edge of the emotional spectrum, it invites its reader to consider what is truly important – and what we can let go of. If you are in need a new book club favourite or are simply ready for a reflective read, consider This Time Tomorrow.
Ginny Dunnill is a librarian at Richmond Public Library. For more great reads, visit www.yourlibrary.ca.
