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genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Grief, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Cursing, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, and Car accident
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Vomit
micaelamariem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I just finished one of my first books of the month, a Book of the Month pick from a few months ago, Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds.
Essentially, Opposite of Always is a Groundhog’s Day retelling. Jack, the main character, meets Kate, the girl of his dreams. They could have had a whirlwind romance. But she dies. And while that should be the end, Jack finds himself back to the same day he met Kate. Again and again, stuck in this endless time loop trying to save Kate.
The author, Justin A. Reynolds, is an author from Ohio. Opposite of Always was his debut and it won the Indies Introduce Top Ten Debut Title and became a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Apparently, it’s also being adapted for film.
My initial impression is that while I enjoyed the book, I’m not sure I’m the kind of reader that likes time loops or time travel. I wasn’t sure before, but now I think those are things I’m just going to steer clear of. That being said, the story was still compelling. Particularly because the crux of the narrative lied with the characters.
Jack, the main character, always feels like he doesn’t measure up, especially against his two best friends. Kate is working against an illness she doesn’t want to define her life. Both Jillian and Franny are coming to terms with nontraditional families and troubles with their respective fathers. Through it all, Jack is working on who he is, how he can save his love, and how he can be a good friend. The main lesson, or theme, I took from the storyline was that sometimes instead of fixing the issue, it’s important just to be there and do what you can.
“Don’t be afraid. Take chances. And when those don’t work out, take more.”
For the most part, the book was also well-written. As a YA romance/science fiction, the chapters were short and sometimes, the main character was frusturating in his shallow thoughts and mistakes he made. But hey, that’s being a teenager. I think, perhaps, the main thing that annoyed me about Jack was how quickly he changed from the girl he was pining after to claiming affection for a new girl. It was all very “insta-love” and I really am not a fan of that.
Overall, however, I think the book met my expectations, if a little frusturating at times. I suppose I didn’t have as high hopes for this one and was still entertained. Still, I’d give the book three stars and I’d recommend to those who do like time loop stories.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Cursing
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
bujo_bellel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Medical content, Chronic illness, and Death
Moderate: Terminal illness, Racism, and Abandonment
Minor: Gun violence, Car accident, and Alcohol
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Medical content, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Gun violence
Minor: Violence and Infidelity
meeklovestoread's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
But it sucks because this could've definitely become a comfort read for me if it weren't for the "3rd act breakup"
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Racism
grizzlysnack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
- the concept
- Jack's support system
- the execution of concept
- characters
- character interactions & dialogue
This book is very forgettable, to be honest. If I didn't write out the different scenes for this review and journal entries I probably wouldn't be able to tell you anything significant from the plot
Graphic: Death and Medical content
Moderate: Chronic illness and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, and Gun violence
Part 4 was by far the worst piece of text I've read in a good while. The rest of the book wasn't AS BAD but the rest of it was still badnila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death and Chronic illness
Minor: Car accident and Alcohol
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This also reads very young. The height of emotion and sense of stakes only works because this is a teenager's perspective, and even then it still strains belief. Ultimately I'm glad this book was published, but it's most definitely not for me.
Graphic: Racism, Medical content, Gun violence, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Police brutality and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol and Car accident
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Car accident, Infidelity, Violence, and Gun violence
Shooting based on racial profiling