Space Hopper by Helen Fisher (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 the 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. It's out on the shelves from February 2021.