Reviews

A Year to the Day by Robin Benway

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wistyallgood's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hallht98's review

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1.0

DNF @ 50% (Skipped to and read the 3 chapters before and the climax chapter)

Listen, this book is a VERY cool concept, especially that it is written with time moving backwards. However, the execution was not very good. I found myself bored after the first ten chapters, not only because they were repetitive, but because they were alluding to things that I felt like I would NEVER get to read (there is one particular fight that you read about for 20% that is just not climatic enough for the drama of it all). The drama was anticlimactic, I felt like I was doom-scrolling about grief, and, because of the repetitive nature, it felt redundant.

Also, the dialogue in this book is AWFUL to read at times. Of course this is a book about teens and I understand that the language will be a) slightly less poetic than an adult novel and b) if it's good, slightly cringy or awkward like all teens are. However, some of the lines felt unrealistic or so cliched that I physically winced reading them. It was just not for me.

Finally, this book was about grief in a tragedy. I have lived through almost the exact same circumstance unfortunately. However, the grief that Leo experiences alongside her parents, East, and a whole other cast of characters felt so linear and so steadily progressive? Grief is not linear, much like is often said now. Even in the first year of experiencing that pain, the grief grows and shrinks from day to day, sometimes minute to minute. I felt like Benway occasionally made attempts at a non-linear grief progression, but I feel like she didn't quite capture it or even the essence of it. Grief is not just sobbing or just the occasional fond memory or sitting in their bed at night or dreading scrolling through their phone. Grief is living everyday after that, knowing part of your existence has disappeared, and it will never return. Sometimes that means recognizing that and giving into the feelings that come with it, but most of the time it just means moving forward and living life more fully so as not to take advantage of the gift of the one life you're given.

Idk... from my perspective, the book lacked a lot in terms of its handling of grief, its repetition, its dramatic moments, and it's dialogue. But that's just me.

rkreads's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

heremireadz's review

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4.0

A little slow and a bit discombobulating due to the reverse timeline, but the ending is worth the wait. I read the first chapter after finishing and it brought it full circle.

cynsworkshop's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A Year to The Day goes backward to tell the tale of grief and loss, building up to this momentous and emotional moment.

An emotional novel, A Year to The Day tells the story in reverse, following Leo from the anniversary of her sister’s death to the moment of the accident.

Compelling Storytelling

I love the way this story played out. The way A Year to the Day moves backward is unique, unlike anything I’ve ever read.

The story starts on the one-year anniversary of Nina’s death, Leo’s older sister. She is at the wake with East and her mother, and once she gives her mother Nina’s phone after keeping it to herself, we begin the journey back in time toward the accident.

The way the story came alive gave a different outlook on grief while also feeling cinematic. It was like one of the scenes in a movie where the character thinks about redoing something, and you’re watching it play backward. But instead of it being a silent scene, we’re seeing the emotional toll Nina’s death took on Leo.

There is an emotional connection formed between the reader and the story. Grief has no end, and that is the point of the story. She feels her loss as much at the end as she does at the beginning, a year later.

What she has found, however, is a way to live on despite not remembering the events of the accident.

Leo constantly struggles to remember the night of the accident, and East, her sister’s boyfriend, can only tell her about the night’s events. Yet he refuses.

And when we learn why, I can say my heart broke a little.

I will say the relationship between East and Leo was a little confusing. There were times early on when their friendship seemed more romantic, even as we approach the accident. Clearly, these two characters have a bond formed from their love for Nina and the night of the accident.