I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for original and moving time travel novel Space Hopper, debut novel of Helen Fisher. Thank you to Anne Cater and Simon & Schuster for giving me the opportunity to read and review this beautifully written and memorable book.
About the book:
They say those we love never truly leave us, and I’ve found that to be true. But not in the way you might expect. In fact, none of this is what you’d expect.
I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight. And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here.
Right now, you probably think I’m going mad. Let me explain…
Although Faye is happy with her life, the loss of her mother as a child weighs on her mind even more now that she is a mother herself. So she is amazed when, in an extraordinary turn of events, she finds herself back in her childhood home in the 1970s. Faced with the chance to finally seek answers to her questions – but away from her own family – how much is she willing to give up for another moment with her mother?
For fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife comes an original and heartwarming story about bittersweet memories, how the past shapes the future, and a love so strong it makes you do things that are slightly bonkers.
About the author:
Helen Fisher spent her early life in America, but grew up mainly in Suffolk where she now lives with her two children. She studied Psychology at Westminster University and Ergonomics at UCL and worked as a senior evaluator in research at RNIB.
Space Hopper is her first novel.
My Review:
I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone when I say that I’m a huge fan of time travel fiction and have been since I was a little girl. So when I was offered a place on the blog tour for Space Hopper by Helen Fisher I jumped at the chance. And I’m so glad I did! What an absolute joy this book was to read from start to finish. Original and moving, it had all the ingredients that make this kind of book so compelling.
A beautifully written and memorable debut that I absolutely adored, it will take its place on my bookshelf alongside some of the greatest time travel novels ever written such as Time and Again by Jack Finney, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman.
If you were given the chance to see the person you loved most in the world thirty years after losing them, would you take it? Even if it means giving up precious time with those closest to you in the present? Would you close your eyes and take that leap of faith? Would you?
That is the dilemma Faye finds herself faced with when she somehow finds herself transported back to her childhood home in the 1970’s. Faced with the chance of finally being able to seek answers to the questions that have haunted her since she was a little girl, how much is she willing to sacrifice for more time with her mother? And what impact will the decision Faye makes have on her life in the present?
Oh, how I loved this book! Helen Fisher’s writing is gorgeous, instantly transporting me back to my own childhood in the 1970’s, the feeling of nostalgia so strong I almost felt as though I’d time travelled there myself. Space Hopper is a book about love and loss, the importance of memories and how what happens to us in the past shapes who we are in the present. It’s a warm and bittersweet story that sweeps you away on a tidal wave of emotion as Faye comes face to face with her past, not knowing which way to turn.
Should she run towards the mother she loved and lost all those years ago at the risk of sacrificing the future she’s made with her husband and children in the present? Or should she finally let go of the past and move forward with her life at last? What would you do?
I’ve dreamt about going back to see the grandmother I lost when I was a little girl forty years ago. She is part of the reason why I became so enamoured with time travel as a child in the first place. But would I be prepared to sacrifice the life I have now for that one stolen moment with the Nan I miss so much? Would you? It isn’t as straightforward a decision as you might think, is it?
Space Hopper is a beautifully written and memorable book that’s completely different to any other time travel story I’ve read before. Bittersweet and poignant, but also light and humorous at times, it is a moving and thought provoking read that touched my heart.
Helen Fisher has written an impressive debut to be proud of and I can’t wait to read whatever this talented new author comes up with next.
Highly recommended.
Space Hopper by Helen Fisher is available to purchase now: Amazon UK
Check out what these wonderful bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 