eekoeblintz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lindy_b's review against another edition
3.0
In the late 1960s, four women invent time travel. Fifty years later, an unidentified elderly woman is found dead in the basement of a toy museum. Time travel is necessarily involved.
The Psychology of Time Travel is okay, but could've been made much better with a little more professional polish in differentiating and combining characters, choosing a few thematic elements to bring into sharper focus, mitigating infodumps, and formatting dialog correctly. I often felt like I was reading a late draft. First novels are hard?
The Psychology of Time Travel is okay, but could've been made much better with a little more professional polish in differentiating and combining characters, choosing a few thematic elements to bring into sharper focus, mitigating infodumps, and formatting dialog correctly. I often felt like I was reading a late draft. First novels are hard?
skylar_m's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
kitrook's review against another edition
4.5
This was really good, but it would have been perfect if two things had been done differently.
1. The main romance felt SO out of the blue. I don't care that it didn't feel terribly romantic as yes- it is an atypical relationship, but there was no significant build up for anything that happened which lead to me feeling no emotional connection to that plot
2. I feel as if the story could have been wrapped up a bit better. I fear Ginger didn't get a proper ending, and the end felt imperfect.
With that out of the way, here are the things I loved
- The idea of this book. The title speaks to what it is: the trials and tribulations of time travel on mental health. Such an interesting concept I haven't seen done before and I really enjoyed how it was interwoven with mystery.
- The interweaving of all the stories is so so so! interesting! Many unpredictable moments of revelation that make you want to keep going deeper into the book
- There are quite a few characters in this book, but I never once felt confused about who was who, as I often do in books with many characters. It's not confusing, which is something a lot of authors fail hard at doing.
- No one ever questions the women in this book for doing what they do based on their gender, their roles in science, or their roles in power. It's just not there in the book. It's refreshing.
- Lesbian calls herself a lesbian. Nice!
- The way time travel works here is fabulous. Theres no hang ups on paradoxes, such as the baby hitler paradox/grandfather paradox which was definitely the right choice as any hang ups on that would have taken away from the novel, in my opinion. I liked that it was just a norm to time travel, and the fact that you could not change the future or past no matter how hard you tried, as it was all pre-determined. The way people would walk around at certain ages certainly bends your brain when you think about it at first, but in the end its a relatively easy concept for the reader to grasp. 10/10 time travel universe rules
1. The main romance felt SO out of the blue. I don't care that it didn't feel terribly romantic as yes- it is an atypical relationship, but there was no significant build up for anything that happened which lead to me feeling no emotional connection to that plot
2. I feel as if the story could have been wrapped up a bit better. I fear Ginger didn't get a proper ending, and the end felt imperfect.
With that out of the way, here are the things I loved
- The idea of this book. The title speaks to what it is: the trials and tribulations of time travel on mental health. Such an interesting concept I haven't seen done before and I really enjoyed how it was interwoven with mystery.
- The interweaving of all the stories is so so so! interesting! Many unpredictable moments of revelation that make you want to keep going deeper into the book
- There are quite a few characters in this book, but I never once felt confused about who was who, as I often do in books with many characters. It's not confusing, which is something a lot of authors fail hard at doing.
- No one ever questions the women in this book for doing what they do based on their gender, their roles in science, or their roles in power. It's just not there in the book. It's refreshing.
- Lesbian calls herself a lesbian. Nice!
- The way time travel works here is fabulous. Theres no hang ups on paradoxes, such as the baby hitler paradox/grandfather paradox which was definitely the right choice as any hang ups on that would have taken away from the novel, in my opinion. I liked that it was just a norm to time travel, and the fact that you could not change the future or past no matter how hard you tried, as it was all pre-determined. The way people would walk around at certain ages certainly bends your brain when you think about it at first, but in the end its a relatively easy concept for the reader to grasp. 10/10 time travel universe rules
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent and Infidelity
Minor: Self harm and Eating disorder
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those twisty, many-tentacled novels that eventually come together in the end in surprising ways. It all starts in 1967, when a group of four women scientists invent a time machine. The machine only allows travel to time periods after the machine was invented, and time travelers aren’t able to substantially change events. Some sections of the story take place back in the ‘60s, some take place roughly in present day, and of course some characters exist in multiple timelines at different ages.
When I describe the nitty-gritty details, the book sounds dense and confusing, but the reading experience isn’t like that at all. It feels like you’re unraveling a mystery like a tightly wound ball of yarn. Barbara, one of the scientists who suffers a mental breakdown after time travel, and her granddaughter Ruby are incredibly compelling characters, and I was completely sucked into their lives. Intense, brilliant but callous Margaret was fascinating in an entirely different (scary) way. I think this would appeal to readers of both literary fiction and speculative fiction--it’s very smart but doesn’t get bogged down in the scientific minutiae. It’s more concerned with the effects of time travel on people and what power like that could do to change a person.
When I describe the nitty-gritty details, the book sounds dense and confusing, but the reading experience isn’t like that at all. It feels like you’re unraveling a mystery like a tightly wound ball of yarn. Barbara, one of the scientists who suffers a mental breakdown after time travel, and her granddaughter Ruby are incredibly compelling characters, and I was completely sucked into their lives. Intense, brilliant but callous Margaret was fascinating in an entirely different (scary) way. I think this would appeal to readers of both literary fiction and speculative fiction--it’s very smart but doesn’t get bogged down in the scientific minutiae. It’s more concerned with the effects of time travel on people and what power like that could do to change a person.
bee_kerr's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
tsarge's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
readergal1150's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I felt that the title of the book and the contents didn’t really correlate too much and that the book doesn’t justify the title. It was a really boring read and the author’s lack of experience in writing comes through. Not recommended to any fans of time travel.
xosirenox's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
daria_be_reading's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0