May 12, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Lily lives with her accountant parents in England in 2025... most of the time. She has an odd habit of traveling back in time at New Year's Eve, and has spent a year in Victorian England and another in ancient Rome before returning to the present day after wishing on birthday candles. Whenever she travels, the people in her life stay the same. There are her parents, her best friend Poppy, nemesis Georgia, and crush Ollie. A classmate, Joey, often shows up as well. This year, she is determined to find out how Ollie feels about her at a New Year's Eve party, but before she knows it, she wakes up in 1621. This time, she and her family are servants living in Georgia's house! Ollie is also wealthy, but still talks to her. The two still exchange books. Because of her odd habits, and her attempt to make chicken nuggets, Lily is almost accused of being a witch, but before anything happens, travels to 1972. While she enjoys Jackie magazine, she is appalled by the open gym showers and the braless feminists. Lily eventually realizes that Ollie will never like her, not matter what time period they are in, and that Joey is a better friend than she has imagined.
Strengths: British protagonist. Check. Time travel to the past. Check. Light romance. Check. This had all of the elements that I would have adored in middle school. Lily takes the time traveling in stride and blends in fairly well with whatever time period she is inhabiting, even though she keeps her modern sensibility. I liked how the supporting characters stayed essentially the same, but changed slightly depending on the setting. This had plenty of humor, and the romance and friend drama that my readers have been asking for.
Weaknesses: I was never convinced there was a particularly good reason for Lily to time travel, which bothered me. Young readers might not mid as much, but I wanted to know not only why she was time traveling, but how.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough time travel books like Saunders' Beswitched or Kelly's The First State of Being, but who secretly miss the late Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series.
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