Night I Borrowed Time by Iqbal Hussain

A funny, heartbreaking and uplifting tale about family, bravery and living in the here and now, perfect for fans of Time Travelling With a Hamster and Wonder.

A funny, heartbreaking and uplifting tale about family, bravery and living in the here and now, perfect for fans of Time Travelling With a Hamster and Wonder.

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…

‘Spectacular’ Sophie Anderson

‘Funny, exciting and tense . . . A wonderful, wonderful read’ Phil Earle

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

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

‘Astonishing . . . A beautiful book’ Philippa Leathley

About the Author: 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.

01 Jan 2026
 

The Night I Borrowed Time by Iqbal Hussain ISBN 9780241742624