Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty | 544 pages | 2026Three strangers’ lives are forever changed when they’re all drawn to a mysterious agency claiming to have unlocked the secret to time travel.
Anna, Teddy, and Jade are on a collision course. The Agency is the cause. It is also the solution.
On a quiet road nestled within the bustle of Sydney lies a nondescript storefront known simply as the Time Travel Agency. At once a confounding mystery and a beacon of hope, the Agency seems to attract those who need it most. Single mother Anna is in desperate need of change, and the Agency gives her the chance to begin her career—and life—anew. Teddy is a genius at salvaging businesses but needs saving himself, and he’s drawn to the Agency hoping to travel back in time to untangle his troubled childhood and his recently imploded marriage. Jade has no interest in the Agency at all, because there’s no way people are literally time traveling, right? Jade’s present is challenging enough, with her spirited, increasingly bad-tempered daughter and a deeply buried secret too painful for words. As Anna, Teddy, and Jade’s paths converge, the question of just how legitimate the Agency’s ventures into the past are becomes a mysterious, provocative, tantalising, and even heart-wrenching one to parse—but there is no denying that the ripple effects through all three of their lives are very, very real …
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)
The premise of this book sounded so great - magical realism, time travel, family stories, maybe a hint of romance... but the execution of this particular book just didn't work for me.
The story had some redeeming qualities in that the time travel was interesting to explore, there were some deep things to think about, and we certainly had some heartwarming moments. You explore the relationship between a teen girl and her mom, siblings brought up in toxic homes, and the nature of regret. The final part of the book pulled together in an interesting way.
Unfortunately, there was a lot that missed the mark. Most of the characters I found frustrating, especially Anna, who is thoroughly immature and insecure. It was difficult to convince myself to keep reading because I wasn't connecting well to the characters and it felt like nothing was happening through most of the book. Usually just a rinse and repeat of teen angst, parent anxiety, and "is time travel real?" I wasn't a fan of the formatting, which entirely gave up on connective tissue and just opted for page breaks, literally multiple times per page, sometimes even after each paragraph (or even a single sentence). This made for a very jarring reading experience, further adding to the confusion of the story. Certain portions were a complete jumble of randomness, quite literally, and it didn't land for me. And then once everything tumbled all over itself into a conclusion I was back to reading a terribly slow resolution and wishing it would just end.
Some folks will love this, truly. The quirkiness will be exactly what they enjoy, the family drama will be just their cup of tea, and they'll love these characters in a way I simply could not. If that sounds like your jam, please give this a try. It just wasn't my taste.
