21 Comments
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Laurel Cummings's avatar

Its like you read my mind. Have been searching for a Yesterday chaser all week . Thank you!

Lisa Morrow's avatar

Thank you for this list! I am a huge fan of "When You Reach Me" and "Howard's End" (and the movie is great--I hope you enjoy it when you eventually see it!). NB: Zadie Smith's "On Beauty" is very loosely based on "Howard's End" if that's of interest (though that may not be really germane to the themes of this conversation--it's a more contemporary setting and has no time travel, etc). I'll have to check some of these others out--thanks!

Meg McKenna's avatar

I have Howard's End on my Kindle. Started it, lost interest. But I'm going to give it a more steady try, based on your encouragement!

Ruth's avatar

THESE IS MY WORDS!!!! I'd completely forgotten about this gem!

Arden Ratcliff-Mann's avatar

"Running Out of Time" is the reason I sat through hours of the M. Night Shyamalan movie "The Village" going, "But... the twist is so obvious? Surely this isn't gonna be just like that book I read in the 4th grade?" (It wasn't just like it, because the book did it so much better.)

Kathryn McCord's avatar

Ooh lots of bangers!! I would add Kindred by Octavia Butler for actual 19th century time travel.

Alexandria Faulkenbury's avatar

Thanks for mentioning Somewhere Past the End!

Running Out of Time sounds like a great one to read with my daughter. Will be adding it (along with some others from this list) to my TBR.

For a fascinating nonfiction look at influencers and the cost to their kids, I would recommend

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Libby Beer's avatar

Oooh, the ones I've read of these, I loved so much!

Not time travel, not tradwife, but riffing along from Everyone Is Lying To You (which I have not read but am putting a hold on at the library): I enjoyed (and was *enormously* creeped out by, so take that into consideration) Ellery Lloyd's People Like Her.

Second Andrea Holme's recommendation of (and warning about!) Kindred.

I haven't read Running Out of Time either (how have I not??) but it made me think of Penelope Farmer's delightful Charlotte Sometimes, which *does* have time travel. And I read that one because it was mentioned by Jo Walton in her heartbreakingly wonderful My Real Children, which doesn't have time travel but does have alternate timelines.

Whole different kind of time travel, with various proportions of fun and heartbreaking, is most of Connie Willis's oeuvre -- we just recommended To Say Nothing of the Dog (100% romp) to the household 12yo. :)

Jo Walton writes about Charlotte Sometimes, and links to her pieces on Kindred and Blackout/All Clear (also Connie Willis, also fun, but with a much bigger mix-in of heartbreak) here: https://reactormag.com/time-travel-and-the-bewilderment-of-childhood-penelope-farmers-charlotte-sometimes/

Carol King's avatar

Bernadette is hilarious!

Kin by Tayari Jones is a stellar read - Couldn’t put it down.

Esther Bright (she/her)'s avatar

I would personally include The House of My Mother by Shari Franke. In many ways I thought the main character of Yesteryear resembled Ruby Franke, as well as my own mother.

Cori George's avatar

I’ve read a few of these and they were all really good! And I put a few others on my list. I have one on hold called The Mad Wife, which I’m really looking forward to. I’m not sure it’s in quite the same vein, but it does feel like it fits in with the trad wife stuff.

Andrea Holme's avatar

Kindred by Octavia Butler is also in this space with time travel and navigating 19th century life, but allllllll the trigger warnings.

Amy Colleen's avatar

I haven't read this or The Handmaid's Tale yet but I want to!

Andrea Holme's avatar

Cannot believe I've read TWO books you haven't haha Kindred was definitely uncomfortable, but it's so well written.

Elizabeth Richardson's avatar

Thank you so much for including TRAD! And if you want the full book, shoot me a DM and I can email it to you!

Sarah Allen's avatar

Yes!!!! Such a great list. One side note, Tara Westovers family wasn't really Mormon, or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were maybe tangentially related, but...yeah, whatever they were doing it wasn't that. BUT Tara did end up escaping and going to BYU, my alma mater in Utah, which IS run by the church 😊

Anna Lewis's avatar

Haha came here to write this exact comment! 🙌

Sarah Allen's avatar

Hahaha speaking of real rep, did you happen to watch the Tony’s last night? *facepalm*

Amy Colleen's avatar

Oh that's totally my bad!! It's been so long since I read it.

Sarah Allen's avatar

Not at all!!! It's not entirely clear in the book even, although it's SO well written. Just me hoping one day for actual representation for me and my peeps 🤦🏼‍♀️