If you’re looking for two books that would make the perfect travel companions look no further than The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and The Lies That Bind by Emily Griffin. I loved both equally and I felt like both took you on unexpected journeys.

The Midnight Library is perfect for those who like time-traveling novels. The book follows protagonist Nora on the night she decides to die. Unexpectedly, she finds herself in the library with her high school librarian. Ever wonder what it would be like to make a different choice? What would change in your life right now if you had said “yes” instead of “no” or stayed when you left? Are we defined by our choices or is our fate more predetermined? Haig explores these heavy-hitting questions in a book that traverses time, place, and age.

“Never underestimate the big importance of small things.”

Matt Haig

In The Lies That Bind, Cecily falls fast only to fall stricken when 9/11 happens and she is faced with a sudden loss, entangled romance, and a mystery that keeps getting more confusing. Will love prevail? Can you forgive the seemingly unforgivable and why? As a native New Yorker who was in the 1st grade during the tragic events of 9/11, recounting that day as well as the change within the city afterwards was a journey within itself, one I appreciated as it reminded me of how we recover in the wake of tragedy and what such wide-spread devastation can mean on both a personal and global level.

“We may not get do-overs in life, but we can always have fresh starts and new beginnings.”

Emily Griffin