'Funny, touching, thought-provoking . . . Richly imagined and deeply inventive' Guardian

I’m going back in time to save this family.

Eleven-year-old Zubair is a seventh son. This means a LOT of big brothers. But when Zubair’s granny arrives from Pakistan and gives him a mysterious amulet, he discovers it means something else, too: he has inherited a gift. The seventh sons in his family have the ability to time-travel.

With his dad a shadow of his former self since his car accident, and his mum always tired and angry, Zubair has a genius idea. He’ll use time-travel to fix things between them.

But each trip comes at a cost. If he changes something small in the past, it can have a huge effect on his future. And if he gets it wrong, the results could be devastating . . .

An uplifting, unforgettable story about family, bravery and living in the here and now, perfect for fans of Time Travelling With a Hamster and Wonder.

'Spectacular' Sophie Anderson

'I loved it' Ross Welford

'Funny, exciting and tense . . . A wonderful, wonderful read' Phil Earle

'Will break your heart and make it soar . . . A triumph' Rashmi Sirdeshpande

'Witty and poignant' Louie Stowell

'Refreshingly inventive and gorgeously written . . . I could not put it down' Clare Harlow

'Astonishing' Philippa Leathley

'A small miracle of a book' Max Boucherat

Funny, touching, thought-provoking . . . Richly imagined and deeply inventive * Guardian *
Tender and engaging . . . Blends time travel with a contemporary story of love, loss and the endurance of family * Bookseller *
Moving * Observer *
It takes immense talent to blend the fantastical and the everyday so effortlessly, but Iqbal Hussain delivers on every page. Funny, warm and tense, The Night I Borrowed Time is a wonderful, wonderful read -- Phil Earle, author of When The Sky Falls
Spectacular - beautifully woven, full of warmth, wit and wisdom, and characters who live on long after the last page is turned -- Sophie Anderson, author of The House With Chicken Legs
I loved it -- Ross Welford, author of Time Travelling With a Hamster
Witty and poignant, this wonderful time travel story explores what it means to change your fate, and to accept it and let it change you -- Louie Stowell, author of Loki
Warm, funny, tender -- Patrice Lawrence, author of Orangeboy
A beautifully constructed time travel adventure that will break your heart and make it soar. It's funny, evocative, immersive and so sensitively written . . . Iqbal Hussain is an astonishing new voice. A triumph -- Rashmi Sirdeshpande, author of Hari Kumar: Ultimate Superstar
Hilarious and heartfelt . . . I loved it -- Lui Sit, author of Land of the Last Wildcat

Iqbal Hussain has been writing since he could hold a pencil. As a boy, he churned out Famous Five and Hardy Boy pastiches. In his teens, he appeared on Blockbusters, Countdown and The Crystal Maze. He studied Maths at Bangor University, then worked as a journalist for the Guardian, the Young Telegraph and the children's magazine Aquila. Originally from Blackburn, Lancashire, he lives in north London, by Epping Forest, with his partner and uber-friendly labradoodle. His debut adult novel, Northern Boy, about being a butterfly among the bricks, was published in 2024. This is his debut children’s novel.