Scan barcode
ciaracat's review
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
stuffwiththing's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
3.5
ruthsturm94's review
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m conflicted because I really liked the premise, but was underwhelmed by the last third of the book. It seemed to me the authors felt the same — I could feel their enthusiasm for the characters and the setup, but the end felt like they knew where they were going from the start but the characters hadn’t really earned their way there. Conflicted!
whitmayo's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kelbs42's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Love how the authors have no faith in Megan and Harry.
aceschwarz222's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
angengea's review
4.0
I received a copy of A Second Chance for Yesterday book to review. Other folks have drawn a comparison to [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1380660571l/18619684._SX50_.jpg|2153746], but I enjoyed this more. It's faster-paced, the stakes are higher, and I think it demonstrates more character development while highlighting more interesting aspects of time travel. As soon as I finished A Second Chance for Yesterday, I started recommending it to people.
It took me a little while to get into this book but when I finished it I was left with a serious emotional hangover. The premise is that in the future quantum mechanics and an innovating tech firm have developed an implant that grants users the ability to jump backwards in time by 5 seconds whenever they make a mistake. But right before the rollout of a new version of the code, the lead programmer finds herself trapped in a glitch that causes her to live her life backwards. Each morning she wakes up and it's the day before.
What I really loved about the book is how it shows the main character, Nev, confronted with her mistakes and choosing not to repeat them. I appreciated that so many times the sequence of events was: 1) Nev learns she did something she wouldn't have done and has a moment of 'why did I do that' 2) some action happens 3) Nev does the thing she wouldn't have done because she's grown as a person, but she never says 'aha! that's why I did the thing!' She changes as a person without even realizing it and I just thought that was neat.
I'm so heartbroken about Nev and Airin never getting their moment, though. I thought the way the authors handles the relationship was very poignant and beautiful. Nev starts out not caring about Airin, who has already fallen in love with Nev. Then by the time Nev is in love with Airin, they don't care about her. It was a really compelling love story without any kind of resolution or even acknowledgment that there IS a relationship between the two characters.
It took me a little while to get into this book but when I finished it I was left with a serious emotional hangover. The premise is that in the future quantum mechanics and an innovating tech firm have developed an implant that grants users the ability to jump backwards in time by 5 seconds whenever they make a mistake. But right before the rollout of a new version of the code, the lead programmer finds herself trapped in a glitch that causes her to live her life backwards. Each morning she wakes up and it's the day before.
What I really loved about the book is how it shows the main character, Nev, confronted with her mistakes and choosing not to repeat them. I appreciated that so many times the sequence of events was: 1) Nev learns she did something she wouldn't have done and has a moment of 'why did I do that' 2) some action happens 3) Nev does the thing she wouldn't have done because she's grown as a person, but she never says 'aha! that's why I did the thing!' She changes as a person without even realizing it and I just thought that was neat.
I'm so heartbroken about Nev and Airin never getting their moment, though. I thought the way the authors handles the relationship was very poignant and beautiful. Nev starts out not caring about Airin, who has already fallen in love with Nev. Then by the time Nev is in love with Airin, they don't care about her. It was a really compelling love story without any kind of resolution or even acknowledgment that there IS a relationship between the two characters.
proseamongstthorns's review
4.0
This was a really enjoyable read. It took a little while for me to wrap my head around the logistics of the time travelling, but once I did I was fully committed to this one.
The actual world building is done really well - you’re slowly introduced to aspects of this future world very naturally. This helped give you more brain power to think about the whole time travelling glitch thing.
Nev was a fairly likeable character, particularly by the end of the book. And I loved Aierin. The way their relationship worked was so wonderful (and heartbreaking). I was rooting for them and would have liked to see a little more of their relationship.
The ending was so sudden and abrupt. It was a brilliant ending in a way, but I felt it needed a little more context to really make it clear what had happened. I also wanted to know what the effect was - did everyone remember what had happened in the last month? It left me feeling like the story was unfinished.
All in all, a fun queer sci-fi set in a future which doesn’t feel too unobtainable.
The actual world building is done really well - you’re slowly introduced to aspects of this future world very naturally. This helped give you more brain power to think about the whole time travelling glitch thing.
Nev was a fairly likeable character, particularly by the end of the book. And I loved Aierin. The way their relationship worked was so wonderful (and heartbreaking). I was rooting for them and would have liked to see a little more of their relationship.
The ending was so sudden and abrupt. It was a brilliant ending in a way, but I felt it needed a little more context to really make it clear what had happened. I also wanted to know what the effect was - did everyone remember what had happened in the last month? It left me feeling like the story was unfinished.
All in all, a fun queer sci-fi set in a future which doesn’t feel too unobtainable.
salvus's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25