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A review by mimifrancis
Happy Birthday to Me Again by Brian Rowe
2.0
Cameron Martin thought his luck had finally changed. He was going to marry his beloved girlfriend Liesel and hopefully live happily ever after. But when Cameron gets cold feet and tries to cancel the wedding, Liesel lashes out at him with another life-altering curse. Except this time, Cameron is aging backwards—one year every day. Even worse, Liesel has disappeared and Cameron can’t do anything but sit back, watch himself shrink into nothing and hope Liesel shows up in time to save him, again.
This book follows the same story line as the original, albeit with a twist. This time, Cameron is getting younger. The same characters appear as in the original, though this time they are a bit more likable. We as readers are introduced to a couple of new characters and fortunately, we get to know Kimber, Cameron’s sister, a bit better in this book. I really enjoyed this, as she was probably my favorite character from both books—she was definitely the most likeable. Rowe utilizes the same techniques as in the first book—great concept, original story, as well as a well-organized and well-thought-out plot.
Unfortunately, the flaws I pointed out in the first book are present in this book as well. Shout was still the most overused verb in the book, capital letters to indicate a loud volume or being upset were still there and vomiting took center stage in nearly every chapter. For instance, I don’t think it is necessary to have Kimber shout “Yes. Twice” at her mother when calmly asked if the dog pooped while on a walk. Every time I turned a page, the capital letters jumped out at me, to the point that I started to unconsciously keep track of how often they appeared in the book (I lost count). And again, vomiting was discussed so frequently that you could pretty much count on it appearing at least once per chapter. I sometimes felt as if I was reading a book written by a male teenager, rather than written from the viewpoint of a male teenager. And believe me, there is a difference.
I do think this book could be read by older junior high school students and up, as there was less discussion of sex and male body parts this time around.
This book follows the same story line as the original, albeit with a twist. This time, Cameron is getting younger. The same characters appear as in the original, though this time they are a bit more likable. We as readers are introduced to a couple of new characters and fortunately, we get to know Kimber, Cameron’s sister, a bit better in this book. I really enjoyed this, as she was probably my favorite character from both books—she was definitely the most likeable. Rowe utilizes the same techniques as in the first book—great concept, original story, as well as a well-organized and well-thought-out plot.
Unfortunately, the flaws I pointed out in the first book are present in this book as well. Shout was still the most overused verb in the book, capital letters to indicate a loud volume or being upset were still there and vomiting took center stage in nearly every chapter. For instance, I don’t think it is necessary to have Kimber shout “Yes. Twice” at her mother when calmly asked if the dog pooped while on a walk. Every time I turned a page, the capital letters jumped out at me, to the point that I started to unconsciously keep track of how often they appeared in the book (I lost count). And again, vomiting was discussed so frequently that you could pretty much count on it appearing at least once per chapter. I sometimes felt as if I was reading a book written by a male teenager, rather than written from the viewpoint of a male teenager. And believe me, there is a difference.
I do think this book could be read by older junior high school students and up, as there was less discussion of sex and male body parts this time around.