Reviews with content warning for Death - See You Yesterday

I really liked the romance here between Barrett and Miles. Miles was sweet and dorky and respectful and I’m learning that I can only do allocishet romances when the guy is like that. I thought him and Barrett had lovely chemistry and their banter wasn’t obnoxious or annoying but felt kind of natural and loving.

I loved that character development was a huge part of the novel for both Barrett and Miles. Barrett is realising her self-worth and processing some trauma related to bullying, while Miles is learning to engage in life without fear. I think it’s super important to me personally to see romances where the people involved have their own things going on outside of the relationship. It makes the overall story much fuller, and the characters involved so much more dynamic.

The time loop underpinning the whole plot was essential to my enjoyment of this book. It is honestly one of my favourite sci-fi tropes. I just love seeing how the same day can produce totally different results, and the characters involved get to take risks and be playfully chaotic. I thought Solomon did a pretty good job with the trope here; it definitely gave the story the direction it needed. I do think certain parts could have been cut out or pruned, because the middle did start to sag with repetitiveness.

Finally, I loved the college setting! Solomon captured the campus vibe really well, especially how that first day of college feels. Reading this has really urged me to seek out more new adult stuff.

So this book was sitting around a 4.25/4.5 stars, but then the ending happened. Without spoiling anything, I believe a large part of it wasn’t necessary, but if Solomon really wanted to include it, it could have been done in a much better way. So I dropped my rating to a four. I did consider dropping it lower but this book is genuinely good and my reasons for disliking the ending in particular are probably down to personal taste.

Rep: Jewish MC, Jewish Japanese-American LI, sapphic Jewish SC, questioning SC

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yaoipaddle's review

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funny lighthearted mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

1.25

If you think the following are charm points for a main character, this book is for you:
- knee high socks that say "ringmaster of the shitshow"
- tying together a 6ft long t-shirt cape and walking into class with it

This story is a 1 star because I had to force myself to finish it cause I spent money on the book.

What I like about the story:
- representation of Jewish characters as real full-fledged people. So often in fiction they are reduced to just comedic reliefs to contrast against non-Jewish characters.
- the main character's relationships with their family are sweet and well balanced

What I dislike:
- Barrett sucks. She is an annoying main character and I cannot stand how she acts and treats other people around her. The author tried so hard to get me to like her but sorry. She is not for me. She is obnoxious and "quirky".
- Cheesy. Cringe. Secondhand embarrassment galore. There were times I had to almost close the book and skim with one eye open.
- Unrealistic in all the wrong ways. Of course a time loop situation is unrealistic, but that's not what the problem was. So much poor characterization and worldbuilding took me out of the story.
- A lot of the writing felt juvenile and middle-school level creativity. It's YA but a lot of it feels like it's written for middle schoolers. (minus the obviously not kid-friendly content)
- The way the author writes about university feels like she has only ever seen it in movies and has no experience or research into it.
- Barrett sucks.
- Poor pacing. So many scenes feel like they could have been cut out entirely. Very sluggish to read.
- I felt the relationship between Barrett and everyone around her including the main guy interested and her "nemesis" from school was so poorly developed and surface level.

Also I hate the 'mean girl' is actually gay!' thing so many authors do to try to make their books seem diverse or their 'mean' characters be likeable.

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lonely_tardigrade's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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nicolesreadingbooks's review

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emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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