The Bookworm says... Maybe. Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds was not my favorite book I have ever read. On an overnight visit to Whittier University with his best friend Jillian (who he is totally not in love with because she is dating their mutual best friend Franny), Jack King meets a girl named Kate Edwards. Kate is a freshman at Whittier, and after spending most of the night together at the party they share a few bowls of cereal. Jack falls for Kate quickly, but after only a few months she passes away unexpectedly. Jack never expected to face the loss of someone he so newly had feelings for, and he definitely never expected to experience it over and over again. Jack gets stuck in a loop; he relives their short relationship over and over again, each time Kate dies returning to the moment they first met on the steps at a college house party. Each time Jack tries something new to save Kate, but he finds that his actions have life-changing consequences on the other people he loves. Jack has to decide how much he is willing to risk to save a girl he just met while also helping all of the other people he loves. Luckily he has a few tries, because he lives those few months over and over again.
The first one hundred and fifty pages of this book were genuinely very good. I was hooked from the first chapter, a glance into the future, and was invested in Jack's story; his relationship with Kate, his friendship with Franny and Jillian, the success of their prom, and more. That being said, when Kate died for the first time and I realized that this was going to be one of those books, I literally groaned in disappointment. I couldn't help but feeling I had read this story before, if only a slightly different variation (think If I Stay). Also, as Jack relived the period of time from when he met Kate to the day she died,I found that it became repetitive (naturally) and boring. There were small changes and subtle differences each time, but nothing I felt was monumental or seriously exciting. Overall, I don't mean to say that this is a bad book. Not by any means. Could it have been half the length? Sure. Is the concept becoming quickly overdone? Yes. Would I recommend it to a friend? Maybe. Lovers of If I Stay will love this book, if they can get over how similar the concept is.
"I'm naturally clumsy and these attached strings are trip hazards."
DISCLAIMER: Review is based on an advanced reading copy made from uncorrected proofs. Tentative on-sale date is March 12th, 2019.