In 2003, Audrey Niffenegger brought us a story that transformed the way we thought about time travel. The Time Traveler’s Wife was a story of love, loss, and fear, and it was quickly adapted into a movie — and later an HBO series that lasted just one season.
Since then, there have been all sorts of wishes and questions. Then, in April 2026, Niffenegger announced that she would bring a long-awaited sequel, and that story is coming out in the fall. Life Out of Order is now one of fall’s most anticipated reads on Goodreads.
It’s the sixth most anticipated science fiction release, but this is far more than sci-fi. It’s romance, fantasy, and magical realism mixed into the story of time travel, and that brings hope and heart to the fear and longing told within the pages.
Life Out of Order follows Alba DeTamble, the daughter of time-traveler Henry and his wife Clare. She was born with the same rare genetic condition, Chrono-Displacement Disorder, and just like her father, she is unable to control when and where she goes through time. All she knows is that there are secrets of the future that she can’t share with anyone, adding a weight to her shoulders no one would ever wish for.
At the same time, she finds her heart captured by two people in two different timelines. How does she deal with that, and what happens when she finds another time traveler like her? Is it possible to be happy, and can you ever truly belong to the present when you have this gene?
The original tale was a metaphor for all of Niffeneger’s failed relationships at the time. This sequel helps to expand the universe that she originally developed, bringing multiple POVs and new characters to get to know, while also exploring what happened to various characters from The Time Traveler’s Wife.
Life Out of Order is coming out on Oct. 6, 2026. While that is a bit of a wait, early reviews are in, with readers sharing their praise and excitement.
One reader says, “This book is so much more than a love story (although it does have it). It’s a sharp commentary on our present as well as a peek into a possible unnerving future Audrey has imagined.”
Another shared, “Haven’t stopped thinking about this book since I read it. It’s beautiful, brilliant, entertaining. I will never get enough of the DeTambles.”
Get ready for another look at time travel and what it means to know how dark the future can be.