Book Review: The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas

“When you’re a time traveler, the people you love die, and you carry on seeing them, so their death stops making a difference to you. The only death that will ever change things is your own.”

Purchase on Amazon! $12.99 Kindle | $27 Hardcover

Published: February 12, 2019

Pages: 336

My Copy Came From: NetGalley

Read Via: Kindle

My Like Level: 4 out of 5

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Book Synopsis From Amazon:

Perfect for fans of Naomi Alderman’s The Power and Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures comes The Psychology of Time Travel, a mind-bending, time-travel debut.

In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project―and future of time travel―in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team―erasing her contributions from history.

Fifty years later, time travel is a big business. Twenty-something Ruby Rebello knows her beloved grandmother, Granny Bee, was one of the pioneers, though no one will tell her more. But when Bee receives a mysterious newspaper clipping from the future reporting the murder of an unidentified woman, Ruby becomes obsessed: could it be Bee? Who would want her dead? And most importantly of all: can her murder be stopped?

Traversing the decades and told from alternating perspectives, The Psychology of Time Travel introduces a fabulous new voice in fiction and a new must-read for fans of speculative fiction and women’s fiction alike.

My Thoughts:

This is the third time travel book I have read in a row.  First, I read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, a timeless (pun intended) classic. Next, I read an upcoming release called Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen (review to follow), and last I read The Psychology of Time Travel. I didn’t seek out three time travel novels to read in row, dare I say, they found me? Maybe my future self was planting these books in my life for some reason? I’m kidding. But really…?

The Psychology of Time Travel was different from the other two books in one very specific way. The genius scientists who change the world when they invent time travel are ALL women! Margaret was a baroness turned cosmologist, Lucille came from the slums and wound up making radio waves travel faster than light. Then there was Grace, an expert in the behavior of matter, and Barbara who specialized in nuclear fission. Between the four of them, they created a miracle of science. The day they tell the general public about their stunning break through, Barbara has a mental breakdown on live television causing the four scientists to remove her from the group. Barbara gets well, then goes on to live a normal life while the remaining three continue their work. Work which later becomes an entire network of time travelers and a world wide organization. The rules and laws created for this very new and amazing technology are overseen by the ever increasingly powerful and ruthless creator Margaret. She will stop at nothing to protect her creation, even if it means putting her goals before the well being of her fellow scientists.

One day, a woman’s body is found in a room locked from the inside at a local toy museum. It is unclear who the mystery woman is, and the young lady who found her finds herself unable to move forward until she figures out who she is,and why she was killed. Around the same time, Barbara, the scientist who was booted from the group years earlier, receives a mysterious folder paper rabbit. The rabbit is an inside joke between the group of scientists, but why would they be reaching out to her after all this time. When she unfolds the rabbit, she is startled to discover it is a death certificate from the future. Even more startling is the fact that there is no name listed. Who is going to die?

This book was a ton of fun to read. I definitely found myself going cross-eyed a few times reading the Science-y parts, but one of my favorite things about speculative fiction is reading all of the details an author has put in about the world they have created. It is so cool to read about the future and to visualize the cool new technological advances that will be made past my lifetime through the writers eyes.

I read a lot of books that sound outside of a casual readers taste. My Mom always looks at me sideways when I recommend a book such as this one to her. But each time she gives a unique book a try, she is always pleasantly surprised. So, pick this one up! I think you will also be surprised. 🙂

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this Advanced Readers Edition of The Psychology of Time Travel.

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