On the verge of being forced to live in an underground bunker due to climate crisis, an ordinary woman with an extraordinary memory is recruited for a time travel program to stop environmental disasters before they happen. But when she falls in love with the program's mysterious founder, she must learn to believe in herself and her abilities before she's sent to sixteenth-century France with no way to save the world or return to the love of her life. Advance praise for The 23rd Hero "Rebecca Anne Nguyen is so fierce, funny, rollicking, racy, unsparingly insightful about our talent for making a mess of things and irrepressibly optimistic about our chances for fixing them that she makes us eager to follow her anywhere, whether to times past or futures newly imagined. The 23rd Hero is a page-turning, wild and marvelous ride.” — Susan Choi, Pulitzer Prize finalist, National Book Award Winner and author of Trust Exercise “A love story that transcends time with a hero the reader will never forget. This compulsively-readable debut will transport you from a dystopian future to the idyll of 16th century France, all on the wings of a love story for the ages. Nguyen’s razor-sharp humor, gorgeous prose, and lush world-building had me turning the pages late into the night. A writer to watch.” — Jessica Pearce Rotondi, author of WHAT WE INHERIT: A Secret War and a Family’s Search for Answers "Rebecca Nguyen’s novel THE 23RD HERO is a breathtakingly original and gripping story of one apparently ordinary woman’s struggle to reverse climate change by revisiting the errors of history. Seamlessly bringing together modern Vancouver and 16th Century France, Nguyen weaves a beautiful and compelling narrative that is ultimately about our universal search for identity and connection—even across the centuries. I stayed up late reading, utterly captivated by this surprising and magical combination of dystopian science fiction, call to environmental action, and passionate love story. A fabulous debut!" — Melodie Winawer, critically acclaimed author of THE SCRIBE OF SIENA and ANTICIPATION “The 23rd Hero is a thrilling, escapist ride through time, an old-fashioned romance, a modern parable about climate change, and, most importantly, the story of a woman finding her purpose. This is a delightful page-turner by an exciting new voice in fiction. Do yourself a favor and get lost in this story; you’ll return feeling a little more hopeful about everything.” — Mandy Berman, author of THE LEARNING CURVE and PERENNIALS