The Day Tripper: Book summary and reviews of The Day Tripper by James Goodhand

The Day Tripper

A Novel

by James Goodhand

The Day Tripper by James Goodhand X
The Day Tripper by James Goodhand
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Book Summary

"Witty and wise, The Day Tripper had me pulling for Alex through all of his mixed-up days. James Goodhand brings a fun, fresh voice to the time travel genre in this gem of a novel. I loved it!" —Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

The right guy, the right place, the wrong time.

It's 1995, and Alex Dean has it all: a spot at Cambridge University next year, the love of an amazing woman named Holly and all the time in the world ahead of him. That is until a brutal encounter with a ghost from his past sees him beaten, battered and almost drowning in the Thames.

He wakes the next day to find he's in a messy, derelict room he's never seen before, in grimy clothes he doesn't recognize, with no idea of how he got there. A glimpse in the mirror tells him he's older—much older—and has been living a hard life, his features ravaged by time and poor decisions. He snatches a newspaper and finds it's 2010—fifteen years since the fight.

After finally drifting off to sleep, Alex wakes the following morning to find it's now 2019, another nine years later. But the next day, it's 1999. Never knowing which day is coming, he begins to piece together what happens in his life after that fateful night by the river.

But what exactly is going on? Why does his life look nothing like he thought it would? What about Cambridge, and Holly? In this page-turning adventure, Alex must navigate his way through the years to learn that small actions have untold impact. And that might be all he needs to save the people he loves and, equally importantly, himself.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"James Goodhand takes the time-travel genre and reshapes it into something wonderful. A tender, compulsive, miracle of a love story that's stays with you long after the final page is turned. Essential." —Adam Simcox, author of The Dying Squad Trilogy

"I adored The Day Tripper. Utterly original, moving, and so brilliantly crafted." —Louisa Reid, author of The Poet

"Witty and wise, The Day Tripper had me pulling for Alex through all of his mixed-up days. James Goodhand brings a fun, fresh voice to the time travel genre in this gem of a novel. I loved it!" —Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

This information about The Day Tripper was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Linda S. (West Linn, OR)

Time Travel With A Twist
I'm drawn to time travel books, favorites being Stephen King's 11/22/63 and Jack Finney's two-book series Time and Again; and From Time to Time. James Goodhand's new book The Day Tripper is time travel with a twist. Each day Alex Dean confronts a new place and year, but the days are not in chronological order. One day he might be 36 years old and the next he's 22. He is experiencing his life out of order, often bewildered as to what events have gotten him to a specific place and time. For the reader It would be easy to get frustrated and confused. At the beginning you have no idea what is going on nor why, but neither does Alex! It doesn't take long, however, for the story to begin to take shape and you are hooked. The format is so unique and the book is so well-written that you are swept up in the quest to find out what is happening, how it's happening and why it's happening.
My feelings about Alex Dean were all over the place. Much of his life is fueled by alcohol, laziness, and irresponsibility. However, he also has a loving kindness about him that is so endearing it moves you to tears. As you learn his background story you can't help but root for him.
About half way through the book I decided I needed a visual aid and I made a timeline, with very brief descriptions of what took place on each date. I don't typically interrupt my reading with note taking, but the time line was actually quite helpful. Prepare to put everything on hold as you delve into this beautifully written, one-of-a-kind time travel escapade.

Martha G. (Columbia, MO)

the Day Tripper
The creative brain that mastered the timeline of events in The Day Tripper must be a marvel! Alex Dean finds himself perpetually adrift while trying to navigate his life. I have enjoyed time-travel novels, but this one proved a bit much for me. I found it to be confusing because of the abrupt transitioning. I know, that's the premise of time-travel, but I never quite found the rhythm. In addition, the poor choices Alex made left me wishing that I could stop him! The intricacy of the plot kept me curious about what would happen to Alex. However, it is not a book I would recommend to a casual reader.

Dorothy M. (Maynard, MA)

Is Einstein Correct and time is an illusion?
This is a complicated book. James Goodhand posits that time travel exists, that it is possible with a particular brain injury for someone to live their life out of sequence with no control and little understanding of how time moves. If you move back and forth through time and you are lucky and make better decisions, can you change the future and repair the past? We meet Alex Dean as a young man set to go to Cambridge and in love with a beautiful woman who loves him in return. When we see him next as he travels erratically back and forth through his life, he is an alcoholic busker with no friends. The story that Goodhand tells is how he got there, why Alex makes such bad decisions and whether there is any way in which there might be an alternate ending. I think people who enjoyed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig will find this an interesting premise. I enjoyed this book but I found it somewhat difficult to get into. You need the patience to keep reading.

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Author Information

James Goodhand

James Goodhand has written two YA novels. His YA debut, Last Lesson, was called "a powerfully charged study in empathy," by the Financial Times. This is his adult debut. He lives in England with his wife and young son.

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