A review by sarahesterman
Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale

3.5

On the whole, I really liked Cassandra in Reverse. We read it for book club in July, and given it was the first book we’d read that I liked in a few months, I was relieved. 

From the beginning, it’s clear that Cassandra is autistic. I am not autistic, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of the representation, but the portrayal of ableism in general was spot-on. I also appreciated Cassandra’s self-awareness as she continued to go back and tweak things. She seemed to have some sense of responsibility when she realized she was affecting other peoples’ lives, and even guilt over manipulating things. 

But the problem with time travel stories is I’m always going to be trying to make sense of the how. Though I read this before The Ministry of Time (I’ve been behind in review writing, le sigh)—and also they are very different books—I was better able to accept the why and how there than I was here, simply because the narrator told me to accept it. 

In this one, though, we’re not given a reason for her sudden ability to go back in time. I kept expecting one—or an end to her abilities—it never comes. In some ways that was refreshing (I didn’t end up dissecting the reason to death), but it was also frustrating. 

Because if Cassandra is able to go back in time and change things not just in her life but in the people around hers, we have three possibilities: 1) other people have this ability, as well, 2) she’s creating parallel universes with each change she makes, or 3) she’s the only person who can do this and thus she is the center of the universe. 

And maybe it’s not that deep. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. But I could not get that out of my head. 

I also hated the end of the book, but that’s another story. 

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