My thanks to Simon and Schuster U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Space Hopper’ by Helen Fisher in exchange for an honest review.

“They say those we love never truly leave us, and I’ve found that to be true. But not in the way you might expect. In fact, none of this is what you’d expect. ... I’ve been visiting my mother who died when I was eight. And I’m talking about flesh and blood, tea-and-biscuits-on-the-table visiting here.”

I began reading this novel with little foreknowledge of its whimsical plot. Faye has a happy life with husband Eddie, who is training to enter the clergy, and their two daughters. Yet she has always deeply felt the loss of her mother.

One day while storing the Space Hopper box that she had preserved from her childhood, she steps into it and whoosh.....after an Alice in Wonderland-like descent she is back in her living room under the Christmas tree in 1977, some thirty years previously. She manages to avoid being caught, though later engineers a meeting with her mother and younger self. I won’t say more in order to avoid spoilers, but the narrative takes a number of interesting turns.

Helen Fisher’s debut was beautifully written and sensitively addressed a range of issues including aspects of faith, both personal and spiritual, love, grief and loss as well as various time travel theories. In addition, Faye works for the R.N.I.B., the British charity that assists the blind and partially sighted, and through this and Louis, Faye’s friend who has been blind since birth, she explores issues linked to blindness and ableism.

This is an extraordinary novel that provides a great deal of scope for discussion making it an excellent choice for reading groups that are looking for something different.

I am struggling to find the words for this review. This book spoke to me in ways I was NOT expecting, but the emotions I feel upon finishing are difficult to process.
When I first started it, I knew this book was going to break my heart but also fulfil it. It is worth pointing out that I had no prior expectations or knowledge about this book but thought I would give it a try. This week my family has just 'celebrated' my mother's birthday, as well as the 17 year anniversary of her death, and I was unsure whether this was something I should be reading whilst my emotions are so raw. Having finished it, I am so glad I read it during this time. It helped me through the grief and whilst some readers were frustrated by Faye's decisions to continuously go back and visit her mother, I championed it throughout. If I was ever given the chance to visit my mother, I would not hesitate to do it, even though I am happily engaged at present and planning my future.
My only frustration lay with Faye's concealing of her activities to her husband Eddie, as I had no doubt he would fully support her.
The ending was spectacular, and my heart broke and soared simultaneously. Helen Fisher, you have a real talent for beautiful writing and wonderfully emotional stories.
Stunning read.

Unfortunately this was a DNF at 31%

I didn’t like main character Faye enough to continue and found that the premise of time travel may not be for me.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book but I was left quite perplexed at what the end goal would be.

I was completely and utterly hooked by the end of the first chapter.

Faye is happily married, and has a seemingly picture-perfect life. But she's never quite recovered from losing her mum at the age of seven. After she stumbles across a Space Hopper box in the attic, her life is turned upside down -- and she's given the chance she never thought would be possible: she's been taken to 1977, and has been given the chance to reconnect with her mother.

It was a gorgeous, heartfelt story about love, loss and faith - and the kind of read that it was just impossible to actually put down. I loved reading about how Faye developed as a character; how she managed to stay grounded in an otherwise out-of-this-world experience -- and how she navigated the difficult choices she had to make: how much of her life with her family is she willing to give up for another shot at a moment with her mum?

I went into SPACE HOPPER without reading too many reviews so wasn’t sure what to expect. It starts off quite a mystery which pulled me in. What was Faye doing and why wouldn’t her husband Eddie believe her?!! 😅 So yeah...I was eager to find out what was happening. Basically Faye has the chance to finally ask her mother, who died a long time ago, all the questions she has wanted to ask. I really enjoy stories like this where it jumps through time. This story was moving and emotional as at the heart of it is a strong mother/daughter relationship and figuring out how to let go of the past. I don’t want to say too much about it as it may give spoilers. 🤫BUT....it got me thinking about whether I would want to go back in time to meet family. I think I would if I had the opportunity even though it would obviously be emotional. Also this book got me feeling nostalgic for my childhood. I was surprised by the end....Overall I enjoyed it and it’s a solid debut. 👍

“Stop worrying about the future, and leave the past behind, live for now, enjoy what you have. Try not to hanker for things that are beyond reach.”

A charming and quirky storyline.

Faye finds a photograph of herself at a very young age. She’s sitting in a Space Hopper box. The box has travelled with Faye everywhere she’s been since she was a child and knew her entire history. When she takes the box up to the attic to put it out of reach from her two young daughters, who would love to cut it up, she accidentally breaks some glass and as she’s barefoot, decides to stand in the box until her husband, Eddie, can rescue her from cutting her feet. Except that isn’t what happens, Faye suddenly finds herself back in the 1970s standing in front of her mother and younger self.

Faye’s disappointment has always been that her mother died when she was young. She died under mysterious circumstances. The couple who adopted her after the event never discussed the event, and Faye feels a massive hole inside her. Travelling back in time – thanks to the Space Hopper box – means that she can find out more about her mother and spend more time with her. However, there is one huge problem – she can’t tell Eddie about her experience. She’s terrified he will react badly to her news.

Seldom have I listened to such a beautiful story. The narrator, Sophie Roberts, captures every tiny detail and keeps you the listener enraptured with Faye’s discovery that she can time-travel to visit her mother.

The ending……..I’d love to discuss the ending with someone who read the book. It’s pure magic and well worth travelling with Faye just to reach it. A genuinely perfect book. Thank you to Helen Fisher for writing it and Sophie Roberts for narrating the story.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

Brimming with 70s nostalgia this is a brilliant book that poses the question, would you time travel to meet your late parent? Of course there are always consequences to these actions. Space Hopper is a brilliant, quirky read, full of love and loss.

Where do I begin? How can I do this book justice? Before I write anything else all you really need to know is that you MUST read this book!
This is a marvellous nostalgic time travelling book that had me laughing, crying, sighing and frowning. I laughed because a lot of the events are funny, I cried because the central character Faye has never got over the death of her mother when she was just 8 years old, I sighed because of the profound and reflective comments often made by Eddie, Faye's husband, (as well as owner of the shop Serendipity, and Louis who is Faye's sightless friend), and I frowned because at times I really did need to puzzle over the logistics of travelling back to the past without altering events then or in the future which happen to be the present!
Given that I was born in 1970, this is the perfect book for reminiscing and I could identify with the metal roller skates attached to your shoes but I wasn't so lucky as Faye in that I never had a space hopper. Memory is a fascinating subject, how and what we remember and how details can change over time or be influenced by others.
One Christmas photo of herself as a child in 1977 is all it takes to spark a fantastical adventure for Faye, desperate to see and spend time with Jeanie, her Mum, and find a way to hold on to the love she felt as a child. A mother herself to Esther and Evie, Faye is faced with a real dilemma. After that first unexpected trip through time, does she risk her safety and the ability to return to the present day by going back again?
All Faye can remember is her Mum having a cold and then she was gone for good. Lucky to be taken in by middle-aged and childless neighbours Em and Henry (there are some brilliant references to The Wizard of Oz, a film I adored as a child), Faye seems desperate to understand what happened. It seems a huge risk in that she has such a doting husband in Eddie, but things are changing in the present day as Eddie is studying to be a vicar, and maybe Faye in trying to come to terms with a huge change in lifestyle, wants to cling to something very familiar and comforting.
I enjoyed the discussions between Faye and Eddie about God and faith (complements rather than intrudes on the plot) and found Faye's memories, the old ones and then the much newer ones, given her ability to see, speak with and touch her Mum again, tender, poignant and extremely emotional.
The build up to the very end completely captured my heart and my imagination and I LOVED it.
There isn't a single thing I didn't like about the book. I am simply envious that I do not have the skills that Helen Fisher clearly does, in creating a charmingly original and very readable journey through time for one woman.
I will NEVER see a carboard box in the same way again and I will definitely be watching where I tread!

If you could speak to your mum, back when she was young, and have a real conversation with her. What would you ask her?

Ignore the impossibility of time travel, as you follow Faye on her visits with her (now deceased) mum. I really loved the premise of this book. It gave Faye the chance to find out more about her mum and herself as a child. And more importantly, all about her relationship with her mum. She missed out on all those important “preparing you for adult life” conversations, and it’s really affected her. And what’s worse is she hasn’t been able to grief the loss of her mum as it was shrouded in mystery.

You really feel for her as she’s pulled between the important people in her life; husband Eddie and their daughters in her present, and mum in her past. I loved the moments with her mum, and her friend Louis (particularly the conversations about time travel!) I must admit I was trying to work out how this ends - but I didn’t really see that ending coming!!

Where to begin with the concept of time travel? And if it's possible would you alter history and life's events? Faye lost her mother when she was 8 years old. What happened has always been a bit vague - she was taken in by older neighbours and enjoyed a happy childhood. Now in her 30s, happily married to Eddie and with two daughters, Faye finds herself falling back through time to the 1970s when she still lived with her loving mother. Adult Faye meets Jeanie and her younger self and they get on well. She finds one visit isn't enough, but the journey there and back takes its toll on her body, and it's having an effect on her relationship back in the present day. Will anyone believe her? This is a rollercoaster of emotions and the ending made me draw breath. You have to suspend disbelief and join Faye on her life changing journeys. Alongside this story the concept of faith is explored and parallels are drawn that give pause for thought. A good read. #netgalley #spacehopper

Completely original and a very different read.

Faye has a happy marriage and loves her family, but as her daughters approach the age she was when her own mother died, she thinks about her more. When a strange quirk of fate returns her to the seventies to meet her mum, there is so much she wants - and needs - to know, but what about her own children; will being in the past mean she can't also be in the present? Which family is more important to Faye, and can she make that decision?

There is no doubt that this is an excellent debut. It's different, it's quirky and it's well-written. However, it's not one for me - it's not the book I thought it was! I fell for the pre-publication day hype; described as 'general fiction' and with no mention of time travel, I honestly thought it would be one I would like. However, time travel / time slip / magic realism/fantasy just leave me cold. Had I realised what the book was about, I wouldn't have requested it, so there are no surprises that it was a struggle for me to read. My imagination just doesn't work with this genre but it is a good debut and I'm sure the author will go on to write more novels. Sadly, I have to give this one 3.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Very good. In parts so fun. Space Hopper - “Lies are like toes, where there’s one there are more close by.”

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I am so disappointed that I didn’t enjoy it after hearing so much about it. I found it very wordy and over descriptive and confusing at times. I’m guessing that time travel books just aren’t for me.

I was so looking forward to read this book, seeing it popping all over Twitter and hearing such good things. I love the sound of it and even if it’s not something that I read regularly, in the past I enjoyed books with time trave in their plots and I was also truly captivated by the synopsis, really hoping for a story about “mothers, memories and moments that shape life”.

Sadly, very quickly I determined that I absolutely can’t get into the book. It was very, very wordy, with excessive descriptions of things that didn’t seem to have anything with the story itself, I felt like I am reading one very, very long monologue told by a person that simply can’t tell a story and spends all her time explaining, justifying, trying to paint herself in the best possible light, focused on herself only and it simply felt too forced. Faye was a very one – dimensional character and I missed some personality in her, some depth, some changes.

The whole time travel thing I could buy – but the characters and their actions seemed simply too ridiculous and overdone and I found myself feeling more and more frustrated and impatient with the story that felt as if it was leading nowhere.

I didn’t finish the book. It was not one of the “exceptions” I was hoping for. I am truly sorry.

A really unusual book and totally different to my usual genre. I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought it well written and a real page turner

Delightfully quirky.
This book has several themes running through it - live, friendships, grief & loneliness.
This is a well written book with an unusual plot that works. It isn't your normal type of time travel book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Interesting time travel story - you need to be able to 'go with it' so if you are a stickler for reality this probably isn't the book for you. The premise of the tale holds up well and I did not foresee the twist at the end - I am not the greatest detective but I do usually sniff out a twist, but not in this case.

So far so good, but I have a slight feeling of 'meh'. I think my ambivalence is down to the pace and in some cases the character. Faye spends so much time telling us how handsome, gorgeous, trustworthy her husband is that it seems inconceivable that she would live such a whopping lie. Perhaps she is one of those people that posts wonderful life stories on Facebook but you find out later it was all a cover for a torrid marriage. My other issue was the pace, at one point we are treated to a recipe paragraph on how to make tortilla chips the way the husband likes them best. There was a lot of meandering and repetition - how many times did she need to be told that time travel probably was not the best and safest plan?

Anyway apart from those quibbles I did enjoy it and it is a good, easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy. I've also received an audio copy from NetGalley and so will leave a full review on that one, thanks!!

Faye lost her beloved mother Jeanie when she was eight. When a photo of herself as a child falls out of a cookery book, she wishes she could step into the photo and spend time with her Mum once more. In the photo is a Space Hopper box, and this box is in her attic. She goes to find it, but when she steps inside, she finds herself falling - through time. Waking up, bruised and battered, she is able to engineer a way to spend time with her mother, and herself as a 6 year old. She gets to know her Mum in a way she never could before.

But back in her present life, her husband Eddie is upset because he senses she is hiding something from him. A dramatic event sees Faye telling him everything and he persuades her that she must let the past go, and let the box go.

In a quiet cove, they release the box into the sea. But that is not the end of this story, for things are about to get stranger still.

A sweet, leap of faith story about life, love and looking ahead, not behind.

A brilliant read, all about mothers and how they are always such a huge importance and have a huge presence or gap in our lives.