A review by life_full_ofbooks
The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.0

I’m not always a big fan of time loops so I wasn’t really sure I wanted to read this one. My youngest daughter (14) read this and thought it was ok (more on that later) and my middle daughter (18) read this and loved it. In fact, this was the first book she has read in a while and she read it in a day. I thought it would be fun if I read it so we could discuss it and I was right!

Emilie Hornby has had the worst Valentines Day of her life. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong so she goes to her grandma’s house to sleep there and get a little comfort. She is shocked when she wakes up the next day in her bed at home and even more shocked to discover it’s Valentines Day again. After weeks of this she decides to live life pushing her boundaries knowing that everything will reset “tomorrow”. In doing this she finally learns who she really is and discovers there’s more to life than just trying to make others happy. 

I really enjoyed the concept of this but like my youngest daughter, I found the things Emilie did while pushing the boundaries to be anxiety provoking, which made it a bit less enjoyable. My middle daughter didn’t have any of the same anxiety issues we had and found it to be quite enjoyable. 

While this is only the second book I’ve read by Lynn Painter she’s quickly become one of my favorite YA authors and I’m looking forward to reading her backlist books.