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I recently read the sequel to one of my favorite books, The Time Traveler’s Wife, called Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger.
Here is what Amazon has to say:
Alba DeTamble has never lived a life in order. Born with the same rare Chrono-Displacement Disorder as her father Henry, she slips unpredictably through decades, haunted by the secrets of a future she can witness but cannot change. As Alba strives to maintain a normal life with Zach, her safe, supportive anchor, she forms a tight-knit community of artists and activists who fight to take care of each other in an increasingly unstable world.
At once intimate and expansive, Life Out of Order plunges readers into a world of Niffenegger’s dazzling imagination: from the riot-torn streets of a dystopian Chicago, to a digital museum for forgotten memories and lost artifacts. Curating this ever-expanding museum is Isadora, Alba’s mysterious stepsister and an unsettling presence in their family – whose fate may be intertwined with Alba’s in more dangerous ways than she knows.
Told through a kaleidoscope of perspectives, the story moves through a boundless, unfolding universe of virtual reality, skimming the wildest reaches of technology and our natural world. The result is a testament to the power of art and community to sustain us in these fractured times—and an epic tale that’s set to define an entirely new genre in a way only Niffenegger can.
Why I Was Excited for Life Out of Order
I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife the first time I read it, and I reread it a few years ago. I also loved the 2009 movie with Eric Bana as Henry and Rachel McAdams as Clare, and the HBO TV show that came out a few years ago with Theo James and Rose Leslie.
I have been waiting for the sequel for years! It’s finally coming out on Oct 6th, 2026.
I got an ARC from NetGalley, and I have to say, I am struggling a bit with what I thought of it.
It was very entertaining and kept my interest, but it was quite weird. At times it felt like it was outside the universe of The Time Traveler’s Wife. Other times, we got to see how Clare and Alba, Henry’s daughter, were doing.
A Quick Refresher on The Time Traveler’s Wife
The following paragraph includes light spoilers for The Time Traveler’s Wife!
In The Time Traveler’s Wife, we see the relationship between Henry, the time traveler, and Clare, his wife. Their daughter, Alba, also inherited the time-traveler gene. It gets a bit weird because Henry and Clare’s relationship is pretty out of order, at least from Clare’s point of view. She meets him for the first time when she is 6; he meets her for the first time when she is 20. And Henry is constantly time traveling.
What Life Out of Order Is About
In the sequel, we start the book with Alba being about 21 years old, in 2022. As the book moves on, each chapter starts with how old Alba, or any other character we are hearing from, is, and the date. This is super helpful because it can get confusing really fast.
What I Loved About Life Out of Order and What I Didn’t
I do love that we get to see a lot of Clare post-Henry; for the most part, he is a time traveler. So much of her life in the first book had been planned out to a certain extent. In this book, she really gets to live like the rest of us, and I love that for her.
I also enjoyed seeing Alba grow and hearing about her journey. The story goes pretty far into the future. Climate change and digital technologies play a pretty big part in the storylines.
The story also has many diverse characters. A few are from the first book, and some are new. What I didn’t like is that sometimes we moved on from characters and didn’t return to them until much later. I wish we had more time with some of them.
It also got too weird and sci-fi at times. I felt like the original book didn’t have quite that element. Then again, it didn’t take place in the future, really. Not like this one.
Is Life Out of Order Worth Reading?
It’s interesting that this book is coming out 23 years after the original. I wonder if it would have felt different if it came out just a few years after? It would have been a different story then, I suppose.
I’m not going to say Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger is for everyone. I LOVE time travel books and that element of it. I love books that go into the future. But there were some parts of this book I really didn’t like. It won’t be a favorite, but I might think about it for a while.
3.5 stars!!!
Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC for review!
Frequently Asked Questions About Life Out of Order
Is Life Out of Order a sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife?
Yes, Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger is the long-awaited follow-up to The Time Traveler’s Wife and follows Alba, Henry and Clare’s daughter.
Do you need to read The Time Traveler’s Wife before Life Out of Order?
The publisher says Life Out of Order can be read on its own or as a companion to The Time Traveler’s Wife. However, readers who already know Henry, Clare, and Alba may get more out of the emotional connections in the story.
When does Life Out of Order come out?
Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger is scheduled to be published on October 6, 2026.
What is Life Out of Order about?
Life Out of Order follows Alba as a young adult and moves through different timelines, including parts of the future. The book also gives readers a look at Clare’s life after Henry.