The core concept of this book was so intriguing and I was really excited to read it. However, unfortunately I just could not "get into it." I struggled to connect with the book and characters and this book took me quite some time to read.

This was such an unusual and enjoyable read. Faye lives a normal, conventional life husband, two children and a job with the RNIB. All this changes one day when she finds a box that many years ago held her "space hopper" in the year before she lost her mother. The box seems to have magical properties both inside Faye's head and in her real life. So begins Faye's adventures in time travel. I loved the characterisation and the almost genteel nature of the time travel although the experience could not be described as gentle. Is it a coincidence that the Aunt and Uncle have the same names as those in "The Wizard of Oz"? In some ways the narrative has the same shades of light and dark as that book without ever making you feel that things won't work out in the end.

The ending was a real turn of fate, I loved it. For a debut novel this has real promise for the future of this author

** spoiler alert ** A fun read,which you'd expect from a book that has a cardboard box as a time travel device.
Also though there are serious moments,how a much missed mother is suddenly in front of you again and you're brought face to face with yourself as a child.
How you must long to go back and see them again,before realising that your visits to the past actually shape the narrative of your adult life.
It was warm hearted throughout,but doubly so at then end.

An original an unexpected read which touched my heart!

Not my usual genre but really enjoyed this! Loved the family links through generations and how actions from our present can almost impact the past!

Time travel in the etas we are all familiar with, nostalgia and heartwarming.

#JumpWithMe into this novel you won’t regret it

Space Hopper - Book Review - 3.5 stars

Space Hopper is an unusual time travelling tale that has Faye returning to a time and place where she can reconnect with her mother and her younger self. You find out that Faye lost her mother at age eight and so she has no history of her beyond that point. Faye manages to get back to a previous time by stepping inside an old space hopper box she has had since childhood and meets and begins a friendship with her mother. However, is there an impact of these actions and choosing to visit the past? I'll leave you to read and find out.
Although there are elements of magical realism, fundamentally, this is a book about loss and grief and love and wanting to get to know your mother as an adult. I think no matter how much time we have with a loved one, we generally want more, and this book explores that topic and the dilemmas that arise as a result.

Throughout the novel, I was more than content to go along with the time travelling aspect, but the ending was a step too far. I believe that part of grief is coming to terms with loss and an acceptance that you do have to try to let go and try to move on. That's not always an easy place to reach but loss is a universal human experience and one most of us will have to bear. With this in mind, personally, I would have liked the ending to reflect this perspective. I found the ending to be too Hollywood for my liking. Perhaps others might disagree. The end is what pushed this from a 4-star book to a 3.5 star one.

Space Hopper is a debut novel for Helen Fisher, and it has a lot of potential. I would have been happy for the author to have taken an even deeper exploration of the theme of loss. If Helen were to write another book, I'd happily read it to see what she comes up with next time as this is an innovative and intriguing way to cover a big topic.

Thank you to the Helen Fisher, Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read an advance copy of this book.

A different sort of book to what I normally read.

Faye’s mom passed away when she was 8. She is now married with children and in finding an old space hopper box she suddenly finds herself travelling back in time to the 1970’s.

An interesting read and a little different.
I enjoyed it especially with all the 70’s references

This is a story that’s a bit different. It starts off in a rather odd way and I wasn’t at all sure I’d enjoy it but as the story developed, I got swept up and invested in the extraordinary story and was utterly blown away by the end twist. A story of family, love and loss - a real feel good read that’s left me with a smile on my face.

I really enjoyed this, it was beautifully written, obscure and full of magic. It has an interesting concept whilst dealing with love and loss. I got vibes of The Time Travellers Wife meets About Time. Bittersweet and heartwarming that the same time.

The plot was interesting about Faye going back in time to visit her mum and her younger self with lots of questions about if you can change things that have already happened. However, this story is secondary to how she lost her mother, how she misses her mother, and totally about how her life is not complete without her mother. That is what this book is about, her relationship and feelings about her mother, which just repeats over and over. If they had more about her space hopping, and less about her missing her mother it would have been a good read. The ending was very good, the plot was interesting, just a shame about it getting lost.

Faye discovers accidentally that the box from her Space Hopper is a bridge to her mother who died when she was just eight years old! This incredible discovery becomes a bridge to her past where she is able to spend time her Mother again and her younger self but there is always a price to pay for looking back.

This book started off just being a quirky story but it ended up being so much more!
Beautiful story, characters and plot - a real feel good read.

It is a story of letting go, acceptance, grief, relationships and love.

I was lucky to read the exract of the book, then I was able pick to read the whole book,
This book had me hooked from the 1st page, This book tells the story of Faye who is married to Eddie who’s training to be in the clergy and they have two daughters , Faye has been telling a lie to her husband

This story goes back in time to when Faye is a child

I would recommend everyone read this book as its so good.



With thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for the extract copy for exchange of this review

What a delight
Simply written and involving. This book has everything, moral dilemmas, the importance of family history, true love and cooking tips.
Gripping from the start, I thought this was a light fantastical summer read, but it goes much deeper than that. Intricate on the analysis of space travel and the intriguing questions it raises.
Laughter out loud funny in parts, and the deep touching emotion of love between Eddie and Faye.
Needs a follow up..

Time travel, space hoppers and a deceased mum what more could one ask for in a book honedyly probably alot but still an interesting read. Who wouldn't want the time back with a loved one they had lost. Although the premise og the story is wildly unbelievable its still an interesting account from our protagonist in almost a diary like format.
Didn't live the book but I didn't hate it. Its not my cup of tea ,but it was still a good read. So if you want a teary interesting story about time travel then this is the book for you. 3_5 stars thank you netgslleru for an arc in exchange for ny fair and honest opinions.

Being a child of the 70's and having recently lost my mother, this book sort of cried out to me and I couldn't wait to read it. We see Faye, who has never quite come to terms with the loss of her mother, come across an old space hopper box and find herself, as an adult, able to visit her mother and younger self and perhaps get some answers to the many questions she still has.

It was a nice enough story and the plot was clear but I never really engaged with the characters. I didn't feel the connections that we were told were there, whether that was between Faye and her mother, Faye and her husband or with her daughters or with her friend, Louis. There was something in her that stopped her being endearing, a lack of charm perhaps.
I have recently read 'Tuned Out' by Keith A Pearson which has time travel in a similar period and I think it was the humour in that novel that was missing in Space Hopper. The characters also felt a bit more fully rounded and of their period. Space Hopper is a nice enough read and I did enjoy it but I didn't love it no matter how much I wanted to.

One day, as Faye is thumbing through one of her late mother’s books, she discovers a photo of herself as a child, sitting in the empty box of a Space Hopper at Christmastime. Faye recognises this as one of the last Christmases she spent with her mother, Jeanie, who Faye tragically lost when she was only 8 years old. 30 years later, Faye still has that box in her attic, and when she stands in it to try and avoid cutting herself on some glass, she falls straight through the flimsy bottom … and straight back to the 1970s – a time before Jeanie died.

Gifted with an opportunity to spend time with her mother again, Faye befriends Jeanie and gets to know her, slowly getting the answers to questions she has been holding onto for the better part of three decades. But now Faye is faced with another question: is she able to avert the course of history, and change the past to save her mother, and if so, at what cost?

When I read the blurb of this book, it intrigued me, as it seemed to be a pretty fresh take on the notion of time travel. Normally, time travel novels and movies take the approach that the protagonist will travel back in time to avert some disaster that will save the world, whereas this book seemed to be centred around a more personal, emotional motivation. I appreciated the slightly softer approach and thought that the book was sweet.

However, I’m not completely convinced by it. Don’t get me wrong – I definitely enjoyed the book, and I never felt like giving up on reading it, but it just didn’t quite deliver for me. The plot, although intriguing, lacked slightly in execution, and I didn’t really believe in the characters – some characters were a bit too up-and-down for me, and I actually felt that Faye was quite flat and almost one-dimensional. I struggled to get emotionally invested in the book, which I think may have been a function of the longer-than-necessary passages that delved into Faye’s thoughts and emotions that became tedious in their constant state of flux.

I think that the book being slightly shorter may have helped, or else more movement in the story. I found that very little happened for long stretches of the book, and I definitely wasn’t convinced by the ending. It was all a bit too neat, in my opinion. Another odd addition to the book was the constant talk of religion and belief in God (Eddie is studying to be a vicar, so this is the segue into this discussion). As a Christian myself, I can appreciate the message that was being put forward in these sections of the book, but from a plot point of view, this felt very empty. I don’t think it really added much to the plot – if anything, I found that a lot of the character building that relied on this part of the book was shattered about three-quarters of the way through. So, I was really left flummoxed by its inclusion, and wasn’t sure what to make of this storyline, other than the tenuous link between religion and belief in time travel.

Overall, I think that this book has potential, but it’s just hidden a bit beneath the surface. The book was enjoyable, and I liked the concept; I didn’t at any point feel like reading it was a chore, and the tone of the book was conversational and easy to read. Overall, I think it is a solid poolside read: something not too heavy, or serious. It was a quirky, fun book, and I’m glad I read it, although I’m not sure if I would necessarily cast aside my current read to rush for this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

This was such a beautifully written book relating to time travel. Even though you know that it is unbelievable, it is so enjoyable to read about Faye, as she travels back to the past to meet her Mother and her younger self again.

Faye was very young her mother, Jeanie, went missing. The only treasure she has to remind her of her mother is a Space Hopper box, and it so happens that the box can take her back in time. But once faced with the chance to finally seek answers to her questions – but away from her own family – how much is she willing to give up for another moment with her mother?

All the characters very lovely especially Louis and for it was nice to read about a supportive husband, which was quite surprising. I loved the way the story focused on the relationships that we value the most, i.e, family, friendship and love. The twist at the end was shocking because that was something I wasn't prepared for.

Overall it was an unique and memorable read for me.

Thank You to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for this ARC!

A soapy time travel tale, where it's less glamorous than a DeLorean and a crazy wild eyed professor, try instead a cardboard box and a daughter missing her mother.

I found this a tricky read. The writing is from the perspective of the protagonist and is confessional in style. Some of the prose is quite clunky, making the book awkward to read. It's written in a very conversational style with some large chunks devoted to chat about God. (Faye, the narrator's husband wants to become a deacon). I found this really distracting - I don't know if the author wanted a spiritual theme running through but it also felt very jarring. The husband was written in a very weird way, kind and understanding one minute, irrational and shouty the next.

I so enjoyed this book. Who wouldn’t want to go back in time and enjoy the time they missed with their deceased loved ones? Particularly when so young when mum passed away. This story was great. Imaginative, heartfelt, compassionate, fun- it was so well written, it flowed and pulled on my heart strings many times. It’s something we’d all love to be able to do. I highly recommend this really endearing read.

This is a beautifully written story with a great shock ending. Yes it is not believable but if you accept it as you do with a children’s story it is a wonderful and different story. It explains a lot about faith, love and acceptance. It is a story I will remember for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Faye discovers accidentally that the box from her old Space Hopper is a bridge to her mother, who died when she was just eight years old and it also becomes a bridge to her past where she meets her Mother again and her younger self, as she time travels back to the 1970's.

This book started off just being a quirky story but it ended up being so much more for me!

It is a story of letting go, acceptance, grief, relationships and love. And I thought it was magical!