It's hard to say what the last straw is for 26-year-old Lucy Young. Perhaps it's that she's awakened by her upstairs neighbor's bathtub leaking through her ceiling and onto her bed. Or maybe it's that she discovers her best friend, Zoya, has saved up enough money to move out of the leaky flatshare. Perhaps it's that her boss at the television production company still treats her like a lowly runner, even though she's supposedly been promoted. Or maybe it's the spur-of-the-moment date that goes disastrously wrong.

Whatever it is, Lucy finds herself ducking into a newsagent late at night to get out of the rain. There she finds an old arcade machine that promises to grant a wish for the low, low price of 11 pence. Is it any wonder that Lucy, sick to death of being stuck in her dead-end 20s, wishes to "get to the good part of my life"?

"Sophie Cousens is a master at building emotional impact without becoming maudlin or sentimental. More than a few tears will be shed over the novel's closing chapters, when Lucy has to make some difficult choices."

Lucy's killer hangover the next morning is made even more disorienting when she wakes up next to a handsome older man who appears to recognize her even if she's never seen him before. And he seems to expect that she'll help care for his two children: seven-year-old Felix and baby Amy. Lucy is thoroughly confused until she goes to the bathroom and spots her face in the mirror. She has aged 16 years overnight!

The wishing machine appears to have worked: Lucy is now in her early 40s, living in a gorgeous suburban home with her husband, Sam, and their two children. What's more, she finally found success in her career, since she's the head of her own television production company, specializing in children's entertainment. She can even afford to buy designer footwear and a flaky croissant (or two)! The only problem is that Lucy can't remember a moment of the past 16 years. She has to be reintroduced to everyone, from colleagues to her own children (particularly Felix, who quickly sees right through her).

But dealing with a little social awkwardness, explainable as a bout of amnesia, is worth it for the high thread-count sheets and consistent water pressure, right? As you might guess, Lucy soon discovers that even if her "life is sorted," as she said when placing her wish back in London, there are distinct disadvantages to wishing away time. This becomes ever more apparent the more time she spends in her future self's shoes.

THE GOOD PART will appeal to readers on both sides of Lucy's time-travel divide, whether they're in their 40s and beyond and thinking nostalgically of their carefree, wrinkle-free youth, or in their 20s and tempted to fast-forward through their own bad dates and low paychecks.

Sophie Cousens is a master at building emotional impact without becoming maudlin or sentimental. More than a few tears will be shed over the novel's closing chapters, when Lucy has to make some difficult choices. Cousens acknowledges her book’s debt to classic films like 13 Going on 30 and Big, and it captures some of that nostalgia while also feeling fresh and relevant.

Be sure to read all the way to the end as Cousens and other rom-com authors give advice to their own past selves.