Starred review from March 14, 2022
Refreshing more than one classic trope, Solomon (Today Tonight Tomorrow) creates an emotionally savvy and genuinely romantic story of opposites attracting within a time loop. A far cry from her dreams of reinventing herself after high school, the first day of college classes isn’t going well for aspiring journalist Barrett Bloom, who is white and Jewish. Barrett’s roommate turns out to be her high school nemesis, she blows her interview for the university newspaper, and she accidentally sets a frat house on fire—all before finding that she’s set to endlessly repeat that first day. But she isn’t alone; physics classmate Miles Kasher-Okamoto, who is biracial (Japanese and white) and also Jewish, is stuck in the same loop. They’re not a natural fit: shy, uptight faculty kid Miles is interested in solving the science of the loop, while pop culture–savvy Barrett is brash and sarcastic, wondering if maybe there’s something she—or they—need to learn. And so begins a month of do-overs in which they study science, argue, confide in each other, and undertake stupid pranks. Through Barrett’s cranky, funny voice, which softens as she changes, Solomon deftly shows that reinvention can happen relationally, as the flawed characters find themselves in time and with each other. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (May)■