Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Time and Time Again

       


Title: Time and Time Again
Author: Chatham Greenfield
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA, July 23, 2024
Pages: 330
Genre: LGBT YA Contemporary

Phoebe Mendel's day is never ending--literally.

On August 6th, she woke up to find herself stuck in a time loop. And for nearly a month of August 6ths since, Phoebe has relived the same day: pancakes with Mom in the morning, Scrabble with Dad in the afternoon, and constant research into how to reach tomorrow and make it to her appointment with a doctor who may actually take her IBS seriously. Everything is exactly, agonizingly the same.

That is, until the most mundane car crash ever sends Phoebe's childhood crush Jess crashing into the time loop.

Now also stuck, Jess convinces Phoebe to break out of her routine and take advantage of their consequence-free days to have fun. From splurging on concert tickets, to enacting (mostly) harmless revenge, to all-night road trips, Jess pulls Phoebe further and further out of her comfort zone--and deeper in love with them. But the more Phoebe falls for Jess, the more she worries about what's on the other side of the time loop. What if Jess is only giving her the time of day because they're trapped with no other options? What if Phoebe's new doctor dismisses her chronic pain? And perhaps worst of all: What if she never gets the chance to find out?

Watching Phoebe Mendel learn to love herself was a beautiful thing. Watching her figure out how to love Jess was even better. It wasn't all good all the time. Life isn't either. But this was very very cute.

Time loops are fun. There's a certain air of optimism and endless hope at the start of a time loop. But being alone with people you love would be really hard. I really enjoyed the way that time caught up with everyone eventually. Maybe not everyone, and not in ways that they acknowledged. But when it really mattered, those days weren't just gone. 

Ratings
Stars: 4/5

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