The blurb on the back of The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger reads: "When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. He is a hip librarian; she is a beautiful art student. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six." That paragraph will either intrigue you or give you a headache. Or maybe a little bit of both.

Henry DeTamble has been time traveling since his fifth birthday. He has no control over when he goes, when he ends up or how long he is there. It is during one of these trips that Henry first finds himself in a field behind Clare's house, knowing the six-year-old child will become the woman he eventually marries.

The Time Traveler's Wife has wide appeal with its combination of science fiction and romance. The science fiction plays a relatively minor role. Enough time is spent trying to explain Henry's condition to satisfy the reader's curiosity. However, the science fiction is not so prevalent that it distracts the readers or turns off readers who are not science fiction fans.

The novel also contains elements of adventure. Henry often finds himself in precarious situations. However, although Henry refers to these adventures, we see very few of them, just enough to get the idea that Henry lives a very dangerous life.

Most of the novel is spent on the unique relationship between Henry and Clare. Romance fans will love how Clare and Henry seem destined to be together. Clare realizes at a young age that she is married to Henry in the future.

Henry's inability to change anything when he visits the past adds to the idea of the couple's romantic destiny. However, Niffenegger also shows the sad aspect of this concept of fate. In a couple instances, he views tragedies knowing he is helpless to change them.

During a rare jump into the future, he learns the actual date of his death.

The magic of the couple's romance gradually becomes overshadowed as they begin to realize their happiness will not last.

With her first novel, Niffenegger creates a modern day fairy tale. Readers will fall in love along with the couple, and they will share the couple's heartbreaks. And, at least for short time at least, they will believe in magic and the power of love.

Harvest Books, 2004: ISBN 015602943X