The best novels about ordinary people in extraordinary situations (including time travel and paranormal)

In this debut novel Odd Thomas, the title character is an engaging 20-year-old fry cook living in the small town of Pico Mundo, CA. 
Odd Thomas is an ordinary guy, except that he sees dead people. They seek him out. They do not speak, but they communicate with Odd telepathically, frequently leading him to their killers. He is a reluctant hero determined to do the right thing in a world full of wrongs. He’s a character that you wish good things for. Guided by love for his soul-mate girlfriend and dead souls, he fights evil, against all odds.

This book imbues the reader with hope that, no matter the evil or how seemingly insurmountable the odds (pun intended), a good heart can triumph. It’s a great series.

It was the concept that sucked me in right from the start: A regular guy who is diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock is reset and he finds himself hurled through time to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past, present, and future, with no control over when it happens and where in time he is sent. 

He meets the love of his life when he was thirty-six and she was six, yet they marry when he was thirty-one and she was twenty-three! I mean, really!?! Talk about ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances.

A great concept and a satisfying read.

First of all, I think Stephen King is a terrific writer and, strangely, I seem to enjoy his non-horror books the most. 

11/22/63 has some key elements that drew my attention: time travel, an ordinary guy, and an alternate reality. The protagonist, Jake Epping, suddenly discovers a portal through time. With this newfound ability, he takes it upon himself to change history in what he believes will be for the best. And to do this, he becomes determined to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

I loved the detail into which King delves, and the time Jake takes to accomplish his goal. The story will totally engross you and the 867 pages will fly by, as will the time.

Wealth, Power, Murder, Magic. It sounded like a great combination, and it was. 

The main protagonist, Alex Stern, is a very troubled young woman with a very troubled past. Yet, her loyalty to her fellow purveyors of magic, all members of one of the many secret societies that abound in this part of the world, leads her to risk her very soul to save her mentor, who is half-trapped in hell. 

Set in the Ivy League of Yale, this story weaves reality (as we know it), myth, and legend into an intriguing tale of possible redemption.

OK, this is an oldie by today’s standards. I read this when I was much younger (high school) and it’s just one of those books that stuck with me. Heinlein is a master of science fiction, and it shows in Stranger.

Between the 2nd and 3rd World Wars, an expedition was sent to Mars.  While on its way to the red planet, one Valentine Michael Smith was born. As the only survivor of the expedition, he was raised on Mars by Martians. Upon his eventual return to Earth, now post WWIII and run by politically powerful organized religions, and The World Federation of Free Nations, which includes the demilitarized US, and a world government supported by Special Service troops. 

As Smith shows special abilities and roams through the world, fear of the unknown and prejudice raise their ugly heads, forcing Smith to learn the ways of his new world and attempt to overcome those very fears and prejudices.