The Do-Over – Book Review

In this riotous young adult romp for fans of Recommended for You and A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, a teen girl has the worst Valentine’s Day ever—only to relive it over and over again.

After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.

Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.

How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?

I have a grown a liking towards Lynn Painter and so I am determined to read all her books. After reading Better Than Movies and Betting on You, I got my hands on The Do-Over.

The Do-Over follows the story of Emilie during the Valentines’ Day. She was hoping to have a nice Valentine Day but ended up having a bad one–she got into a car accident, saw her boyfriend Josh cheating on with another girl, lost her place for a scholarship and above all, her father is moving to Texas. Emilie wished she had a better Valentine’s Day but the next day, she finds herself, repeating the same day again and again–she was in a time loop! And then slowly she realizes and starts fall in love with Nick Stark, a fellow lab partner in Chemistry.

I really like time loop-based stories so this book is no exception. I enjoyed reading this one and really found some parts of the book hilarious and laughable. I like how Emilie keeps re-living the same day over and over again and how in the end she ends up with Nick Stark. Reading this YA book will make you forget everything and enjoy this book so much with a smile on your face and I actually highly recommend this book!

Worth four stars.