Book Review: The Day Tripper

It's 1995, and twenty-year-old Alex Dean has it all: a spot at Cambridge University next year, the love of Holly, and all the time in the world ahead of him. Then he wakes one morning to find he’s fifteen years into his future, broke and ruined, his features ravaged by time and poor decisions. After finally drifting off to sleep that night, he wakes the following morning to find it’s now 2019, another nine years later. But the day after that, it’s 1999.

Never knowing which day of his life he’ll wake up in next, Alex sets off on an emotional journey to piece together what went so wrong in his life, and test whether it’s possible to change one’s fate. Why did nothing turn out like he thought it would? What happened to Cambridge, to Holly, to his music? It turns out that small actions can have untold impact, and causes still have effects, even in a life happening out of order. Perhaps it’s enough to save himself, and those he loves.

The Day Tripper by James Goodhand will be published on March 19, 2024. Mira/Harlequin Trade provided an early galley for review.

I have always been a fan of time-travel related tales, so the description of this one intrigued me. Plus, the title with its nod to the Beatles - hard to resist.

This is a story that puts the reader in a similar confused state as Alex finds himself in. Why does he wake up to different points in his life? What is happening to him? Is it preventable? Any one of us put in the same position would react with panic and concern. Very relatable.

Goodhand crafts an engaging story that kept me interested. Like Alex, I wanted to keep moving (reading) to figure out what was going on. And, like Alex, there are life lessons to be gleaned along the way as well. All in all, I found this to be a very enjoyable read.

I appreciate that each chapter title is a song title rather than a chapter number. Some songs are very familiar, some a bit less so. All in all, a perfect nod to the part of the protagonist who that is a musician. It would make for a great playlist to go with the novel. I hope Goodhand puts one up at some point.