This book, holy wow, gets so much right.

While the premise may sound like something you've read before, Reynolds breathes fresh life into these tropes. I genuinely don't think I've ever seen the time loop presented quite this way, but it absolutely kept my attention and interest engaged through each new iteration; it's frustrating in its believability, satisfyingly unsatisfying. And the ending brought well-earned closure without cheapening everything that came before.

The characters are nuanced and wonderfully diverse, their relationships ring true; plenty of mistakes are made, but they're all understandable and evoked sympathy rather than scorn from me — which definitely takes skillful writing! I also love, love, love that the importance of friends and family is established as fact from the very beginning, and that

Spoiler

when Jack does get too wrapped up in his romantic relationship with Kate, he's called out and genuinely faces the conflict between his values and his emotions (or hormones, if you're more cynically inclined)

.

I'm not #ownvoices so I can't speak to the specifics of the rep, but for what it's worth I liked the way it was portrayed: a significant element of the characters' identity, an influence on their daily lives and values, a shared background and culture. I felt there was a good balance, with regards to maintaining focus on the characters and plot — while the rep isn't the main point of the book, it's not a throwaway detail either.

My biggest gripe, as is usually the case for my reviews, was the writing style. Sometimes the narration and dialogue seem a little too Teenage^TM (abrupt and seemingly arbitrary use of slang, jokes dragged out) and there are a lot of cheesy lines. (Unfortunately, having the characters call themselves and each other out on it only works so many times.)

So all said, Reynolds has crafted a fantastic narrative. I don't generally recommend books to everyone, but this is one that lives up to its hype with wide universal appeal.

content warnings:

Spoiler

major character death(s), chronic illness (sickle cell), racial profiling, gun violence, police brutality, on-page car crash

rep:

Spoiler

Black MC & family, chronically ill (sickle cell) Black love interest & family, biracial (Cote d'Ivoire/Italy) major character [best friend/love interest], Puerto Rican major character [best friend] & abuela, diverse minor characters

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CONVERSION: 10.9 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 3 / 5