Andie was raised on 80's flicks. Her mother is a huge John Hughes fan so Andie's life is all Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller, and Weird Science. Because of this, Andie is a film nerd and she's determined to get her perfect first kiss after meeting a boy in a classic movie-type "meet-cute".

When Andie's parents move her to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Andie is thrust in to "big town life". Her previous school had less than 200 students total and now she's going to start her senior year of high school with hundreds of students who already know each other. Luckily, Andie's already met her true love in the form of Colton, the movie theater ticket taker with whom she's spent almost every day of the summer and on whom she's crushing... hard.

To help her prepare for her first day of senior year, Andie's mom debuts Pretty in Pink, a John Hughes classic that she's been saving for the day before Andie's last year in high school.

What she should have shown her is Groundhog Day because it turns out that Andie's trapped in a first day nightmare. Every time she goes to sleep, she wakes to the same music from Pretty in Pink, in the same stupid pink dress, and with the same problem; she can't get free of her first day of school.

Doing a little research, Andie realizes that her only way out of the horrible loop is to get her first kiss. But is Colton really the one who can break the curse?

Final thoughts: Cotton candy book all the way. The plot is highly predictable and the characters are cookie cutter. The stereotypes are fairly strong and not very forgiving here. There are some fun moments and it has a nice idea or two, but it's not mind blowing or life changing. Fun read but forgettable.

Rating: 2.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

An adorable, endearing story that offers a fresh take on 80s teen movies and high school cliques and cliches, as the heroine continues to live the first day of her senior year of high school over and over again. Andie is a likable narrator, and her journey to acceptance of herself and the people around her is a delight to see. Fun Easter eggs for fans of Groundhog Day (the movie).

No filmmaker has captured the ethos of the American High School Experience better or more completely than John Hughes. If your parent grew up in the 1980s, you've likely been exposed to their personal accounts of how these films made them feel included when they felt marginalized or made them see their peers in a whole new light. Pretty in Punxsutawney is a fun tribute to several iconic films of the late 20th century (not just those of John Hughes), including Ferris Bueller's Day off, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Fifty First Dates, and, most importantly Groundhog Day.

Imagine if you could live your first day at a new high school over and over again until you got it right... and imagine if you ~had~ to do it and weren't sure what it would take to make "tomorrow" finally come. Pretty in Punxsutawney imagines it with all the fun and horror you would expect while also bringing home the point that we're all just trying on personalities and costumes, trying to figure out where we fit in, and sending the message that breaking out of a clique or stereotype is ultimately the best way to find out where we truly belong.

Fun summer read. Strong and insightful protagonist.
Living in a new town and only knowing two people she met at the local movie theater, Andie ends up repeating her first day of high school over and over thinking she needs "true loves kiss" to get it to stop looping. However, it takes her awhile because her true love is not who she thinks it is. She also learns all about the cliques and personalities of her fellow classmates and tries to help out a few in the process.
Will appeal to the female readers looking for a fun read as well to any movie buffs who may be out there.

In general, I enjoyed this one. As someone who grew up with Groundhogs Day and Pretty in Pink, it was interesting to see a spin on those films. The protagonist is self-aware to a degree and notes some of the cringey moments from PiP as cringey, which is good.

But the book itself isn't very diverse, and I'd love to have seen a John Hughes-like concept (like this is) address that particular 80s issue by applying today's perspectives on diversity to the book itself. There are a number of social issues that I appreciated seeing here. I read a few reviews in which the reviewers didn't think this concept worked today because kids don't have cliques. Listen, it depends deeply school by school, but having worked at a half-dozen schools full-time and dozens as a sub (all in four different counties in California) believe me when I say that the 80s cliques still exist in some high schools.

As a librarian, I see the market for this book. But for the most part, that market isn't in my diverse high school library. It's primarily for adults who read YA books for a variety of reasons, and tangentially for a few quirky high schoolers with parents my age or a little older who shared these films with their children.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this story! Tackles the hierarchy of high school without being heavy handed and had the perfect amount of humor to create an enlightening and entertaining read.