5 favourite time-travel books

I confess to being confused – and bemused – by time travel. I was terrified of Doctor Who as a 90s kid and then wowed by Back to the Future. Messing with time (and fate!) made me pay more close attention to the threads of the characters’ journeys. 

When I first had the idea for Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime, I wanted to do some research into time travel – see what was out there already for children. I enlisted a film critic friend to help me out with this as I didn’t think I’d read much time travel since perhaps Five Children and It! 

We broke it down into these categories across film, television and books, to help me feel less muddled: 

1. Travel IN something. Device either made purposefully or discovered and stumbled into, but basically a travelling piece of kit. I think this might be the most common form of time travel, definitely the one my mind leaps to first. 
2. Time loops. Oh, I love these. Groundhog Day, the same day or hour or similar repeating again and again. 
3. Time ‑slip books. I don’t think I consciously read any of these as a child myself but as an adult the slightly more magical realism vibe of some of these stories is really captivating. 
4. Travel THROUGH something. Doorways in anything or everything, this is maybe where science fiction and fantasy overlap – black holes, fairy doors, anything ​‘portal‑y’. 
5. Universe-hopping. Sometimes moving time means moving world or opening up lots of different ​‘alternative’ pathways. 

I can’t exactly tell you what type of time-travel my protagonist Netta experiences but I was aiming for a sixth option: something like a haunting, the past reaching out and pulling someone backwards. She feels prickles all over her body – and then sees scenes from Ancient Greece, the Minoan period specifically. And the rest is a mystery I’m hoping you’ll solve yourself! 

I’m sure I’ve missed some sub-genres of time travel but as an entirety, time travel itches a part of my brain that loves the scratch and I know it is something I’ll always read. Here are five of my favourites: 

The Time Tub Travellers series by Claire Linney 

I first became a fan of Claire Linney when she visited my daughter’s primary school and sparked so much excitement amongst the children for Black British History via time travel. Pacy and fun, The Time Tub Travellers and The Silk Thief also addresses important racist biases in education: Zula and Milo’s teacher doesn’t believe there were Black Tudors. And what can be more fun than proving your teacher wrong?! 

Elle is a ​‘Leapling’ as she was born on the 29th of February and has the The Gift to travel through time. Elle is an autistic and brilliant narrator and athlete we ​‘leap’ with as she works out how to use her powers. The world-building here is complex and brilliant and this book is almost never on the shelves of the children’s literacy charity, Ministry of Stories, where I work, as it is always ​‘leaping’ into children’s hands. 

The Time Travellers: Adventure Calling by Sufiya Ahmed  

This is my current read – and I haven’t reached the end yet so there is a lot I still don’t know! Suhana and her friends have been shortlisted in a design-a-Christmas-card competition which takes them to the Houses of Parliament. A whirlwind adventure crammed with the history of protest, the author’s time spent in Parliament really shows through in the passionate and empowering writing. 

Charlie is lost in a forest in this time-slip adventure with a moving emotional core. Reeling from changes at home, Charlie must quest his way home with a friend – a boy from the Stone Age. I can’t imagine writing time travel that goes back as far as the Mesolithic period, but togetherness wins out, even with thousands and thousands of years between Charlie and his new friend. 

The Eternal Return of Clara Hart by Louise Finch 

In YA, an always-recommend is The Eternal Return of Clara Hart by Louise Finch. A story of second chances, our protagonist Spence gets a do-over and the opportunity to rethink his life and his friendships. A book to press earnestly into the hands of all young people facing the risks of toxic masculinity and peer pressure. 

Writing my own time travel story in Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime was completely joyful. And editing it was hard work! There were timelines and spreadsheets and plans for where the characters were at what time all over my walls to help with how muddled I got! 

Personally, I won’t be writing time travel ​‘backwards’ again: in Book Two, Netta and her brother Remy are going to jump out of time completely. And in Book Three, they’re headed for the future. That’s where I’m going too – the only way we can go! – see you there? 

Netta Becker and the Timeline Crime by Jennifer Claessen is out now.