"13 Going on 30 captured our hearts two decades ago because of its touch of magic: 13-year-old Jenna Rink wishes she was 30, and just like that, she is. We laughed as teen Jenna did her best to figure out adult Jenna’s life, and we cried when she realized the life she dreamed of wasn’t the life she wanted at all.
Thankfully for fans of this classic, speculative romances—novels that depart from reality and confront characters with challenges they wouldn’t face in our world—can take us on similar journeys. Whether bringing us on a time jump, into a time loop, or to something else entirely, these books promise to give us all the feels, just like 13 Going on 30.
Ultra-organized Charlotte Wu has no plans of letting anything prevent her from throwing the perfect prom. But when a decorating accident sends Charlotte crash-landing into her archnemesis, J. T. Renner, the two wake up next to each other. In an unfamiliar bed. Engaged. At 30 years old. With each other as their only constant, Charlotte and Renner discover their adult lives as they desperately try to return to their teenage ones, just like Jenna.
After Gemma’s long-term boyfriend dumps her, she doesn’t think anything of getting drunk and performing a spell that promises to erase him from her memory. But when Gemma wakes up, she realizes that the spell didn’t just erase her ex. Her life is completely unrecognizable, the worst part being that her best friend, Dax, has no idea who she is. To reverse the spell, Gemma must convince her once-best-friend-now-near-stranger to kiss her. But as she develops a relationship with Dax in this life, she has to decide if she even wants to go back to how things were before. If you enjoyed the friends-or-lovers relationship in 13 Going on 30, you’ll enjoy Gemma and Dax.
After losing her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend, Sadie jumps at the chance a fortune teller gives her to redo her awful year. But when nothing changes, she makes another mistake: kissing her brother’s best friend, Jacob. Except when Sadie wakes up the next morning, she realizes that her wish has come true. She’s back with her ex, back in her old apartment, and back at her old job. As Sadie navigates her second-chance year, she starts to realize that she may not want her old life back—and that she may want Jacob. Just like Jenna, Sadie must discover the career, man, and life she really wants.
Emilie thinks she’s going to spend Valentine’s Day telling her boyfriend, Josh, she loves him. But she catches him cheating on her instead. And that’s far from the only thing that goes wrong. On February 15, Emilie wakes up grateful that her worst day is behind her. But it isn’t the 15th, it’s the 14th. And she has to live Valentine’s Day all over again. Stuck in a time loop, Emilie does her best to prevent Josh’s infidelity, but she can’t seem to avoid the enigmatic Nick. Fans of the innocence of Jenna Rink’s adult self will love this YA rom-com.
At 26, Lucy Young does not know how much longer she can handle working a dead-end job, going on disastrous dates, and living in a damp flat shared with flatmates who never buy toilet roll. When another bad date lands her in a storm with no money for bus fare, she seeks shelter in a tiny shop, where she stumbles upon a curious wishing machine and asks it to let her skip to the good part of her life. The next morning, Lucy wakes up to a handsome man, a high-powered job, the perfect little boy and baby girl—and her own 40-something face. As Lucy embraces this new life, she has to ask herself: Can she go back, and if so, does she want to? If you loved 13 Going on 30 in your teens, you’ll love The Good Part in your 20s.
Ever since her rock star ex-boyfriend used her to get a record deal from her rock legend dad, Gemma has sworn off dating. But when she crashes into Jack one morning, she feels like fate might finally be in her favor. But why does Jack already know her name? Because this isn’t the first time Gemma and Jack have met. While Gemma has been unaware, Jack has been stuck in a time loop. And he’s convinced the only way to escape it is to get Gemma to fall in love with him.
Lydia has been with her fiance, Freddie, since they were 14. When Freddie dies in a tragic accident on Lydia’s 28th birthday, she has no idea what her life looks like without him. But right when she tries to put herself out there with the help of her sister and Freddie’s best friend, Jonah, something happens that makes her think she might not have to move on at all. Every night, when she falls asleep, she enters a world where Freddie is still alive. But returning to a life with Freddie carries an emotional toll. Because there’s someone in her new life, her real life, who wants her to stay. Those moved by Jenna’s struggle to choose her teenage life or her adult life will love The Two Lives of Lydia Bird.
Daphne Bell receives a slip of paper with a name and number on it every time she meets a new man. The number tells her how long they’ll be together—three days with Martin in Paris, five weeks with Noah in San Francisco, and three months with Hugo, her ex-boyfriend turned best friend. When a paper finally lands with only a name, no number, Daphne is thrust into the unknown for the first time. As she grows closer to Jake, she finds herself doubting the paper’s prediction and wrestling with what it means to be both committed and truthful. Like 13 Going on 30, Expiration Dates asks the question: Does knowing the ending help you or hold you back?
On her first day of college, Barrett gets humiliated by the know-it-all in her physics class, botches her interview for the college newspaper, and accidentally sets a frat house on fire. When she wakes up the next day, she’s shocked to find that it’s September 21 all over again. After a confrontation with Miles, the know-it-all from physics, she learns she’s not alone—he’s been trapped for months. As Barrett and Miles decide to team up to try to escape the loop, unearthing their college’s secrets, ditching class for wild adventures, and falling for each other in the process, they will have to ask themselves what happens to their relationship if they finally make it to tomorrow. Those who loved Jenna’s adventures will love exploring with Barrett and Miles.
When Clementine moves into her late aunt’s apartment, she is shocked to find that she isn’t alone. Iwan lives there, too—seven years in her past. Despite this, Clementine cannot help but fall for this man with kind eyes, a Southern drawl, and a taste for lemon pies. After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing. As with Jenna and Matt, there’s just something about two people who are meant to be together being kept apart by something they have no control over: time.
Having just returned to her hometown, Hannah goes out to a bar with her old friend and new roommate, Gabby. There, she runs into her ex-boyfriend, Ethan. Just after midnight, Hannah is presented with a choice. Does she leave the bar with Gabby, or does she stay with Ethan? From there, the novel alternates between the aftermath of each decision. Practically immediately, Hannah’s two lives have very little in common. That one choice has made the difference in Hannah’s relationships with her family and friends, her career, and perhaps most shockingly of all, in the person she believes is her soulmate. Similarly to 13 Going on 30, Maybe in Another Life explores how both the decisions we make and how we choose to feel about them affect our lives.
Twenty-three-year-old August has a lot going on. She has just arrived in New York City, where she has moved in with some people she definitely isn’t sure if she wants to be friends with, and she started waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner. After frequently changing colleges and majors, she’s learned that she is finally at the point where graduation is near. And her mother, who has been searching for her uncle for decades, might have more answers about her family than she’s been sharing. If that isn’t enough, August meets a girl on the subway that she can’t stop thinking about. The problem? Jane doesn’t just look like an old-school punk rocker, she traveled in time from the 1970s and has been stuck on the subway ever since. Now, August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. If you’re looking for a queer 13 Going on 30 with a page-turning mystery, you’ll find it in One Last Stop.
Maelyn Jones may have just ruined her chances of ever being with the man she loves. And worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will spend in a beloved Utah cabin with her parents, her brother, and their friends. After a week that won’t go down as her favorite time spent in the cabin, Mae throws out a simple plea to the universe: “Please. Show me what will make me happy.” Within seconds, she’s in a car accident that lands her in an airplane… back on December 20. Mae quickly realizes that she has to figure out how to spend this holiday right or be trapped in it forever. In a Holidaze is perfect for those who want a holiday season spin on 13 Going on 30.
Ellie has had the worst Monday of her life. She gets a ticket, takes a terrible school picture, bombs both her softball try-out and her class selection speech, and Tristan, her gorgeous rocker boyfriend, suddenly dumps her. But when she wishes for a chance to do it all over again, she never expects her wish to be granted. As Ellie relives her worst Monday over and over again, she will learn that it can take time to figure out what you really want, just like Jenna.
