In a world full of thrillers, this might not stand out, but was still an immersive and page turning read. I enjoyed the theme of regret, as it is so universal.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in response for an honest review. 

I just couldn't get past the writing in You Again. I found a lot of the word choices to be strange. The book was written using sentance fragments strung together with commas, and I really dislike this writing style. The premise sounded interesting but not enough to force myself through this one.

I wanted to like this book. The premise is interesting, and I thought it would be full of twists and unsettling moments, but a lot of the time, it just seemed confusing. It does have a very unreliable narrator, so that could be part of it, but I struggled to follow the story at times and had a hard time keeping track of who was who and what was actually happening. I went into it expecting something with a Twilight Zone vibe, but finished the book feeling bewildered and a little bit cheated out of time I could have spent on something better. I did like a lot of the ideas presented in the book, and the possibilities of what it could have been, so I can see myself trying something else by this author in the future.

You Again features 46-year old Abby, a used-to-be artist, turned family breadwinner,  who has begun seeing her 22-year old self around NYC. At first she’s stunned, shaken, but slowly she wants to know this girl, to warn her younger self about what’s to come. Part of the allure of Abby’s story is the slow unveiling of how she became the woman she is and why she’s compelled to warn her other self. But. that’s not the only mystery, interspersed with Abby’s story are email communications between a doctor, a physicist and a detective, all focused on “what happened to Abby.” Those parts of You Again felt a little separate from the rest of Immergut’s story, but they did come together in the end. Other parts of this book also seemed like a bit of a stretch, but overall I enjoyed Abby’s story very much, finishing it in only two day! 

Note: I received a copy of this book from Ecco (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book is  fascinating, quirky, and original. Abby is in her mid-40's.  She's a career mom with a lot going for her. So why is she seeing her younger 20-something self around town? Is she losing her mind, or is something else going on? This book is structured so that you don't see the whole picture and you are left to interpret what might be happening. For some readers, this might be frustrating. If you don't mind following Alice down the rabbit hole, you will likely get a lot of enjoyment out of it like I did.

The writing in this book was really beautiful but I had a hard time connecting to the story. There was just so much going on in the main story and then there was a side story added in.

It didn't do it for me as I thought it was ok. Took a while to get into it and figure out what is happening to Abby. She is 46 and sees herself at 24 or 25 around town. Is she losing her mind, what is going on and why can't she remember what happened to her and her time with her former lover, Eli Hammond. Abby is married to Dennis for 20 so years with two boys and life for one of her sons is spiralling out of control like her life. Is this like an episode of the TV show Fringe with a parallel universe or is she sick. Things kept happening that was explained. Story ended and still didn't tie up the loose ends, which left me frustated.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel explores visiting with one's younger self and exploring the road not taken, perhaps giving advice,  and sometimes having regrets over choices made.

Abby is an artist in her 40s working in product marketing, but she’s content with her work and home life...or is she?  Seeing her younger naïve self (over 20 years younger) reminds her of all the dreams and aspirations she had for life.  This catapults her into assessing how her current life compares to what she wanted and how she has changed as a person, for better or worse.  While dealing with the appearance of her younger self, she also begins to realize how much, or how little, she knows about the men in her life, her husband and two sons.  Throughout the story, we see how Abby confronts the following questions:  If you, in your 40s, could tell your young adult self something to alter the course of your life, would you?  Does your attempt to change your past indicate regret your current life?  If your younger self gave you advice, would you take it?  Who should listen to whom?  Are you experiencing an unfulfilling life due to bad decisions or a loss of self-identity?

I found this novel to be an enjoyable read.  Debra Jo Immergut does an excellent job taking the reader into the minds of Abby and “A”, Abby’s younger self.  The novel has a dual timeline with different relationship dynamics which impacts the progression of the story.  I do feel more insight into a couple of these relationships would have been helpful in understanding Abby and her choices during the course of the novel.  The novel also briefly explains how race is a determinant of how teenagers involved with the “wrong crowd” are treated by law enforcement.  Through “You Again,” Debra Jo Immergut shows readers how finding yourself, or re-finding yourself, can occur at any age.
#YouAgain #NetGalley

This was interesting. Abigail keeps running into her younger self. Can she convince her to not make the mistakes she knows are coming? Does she even want to? What would her life be like if she had gone down a different path? Does she really want to change the way her life is now? The job, husband, kids? What would you tell your younger self? Also, is she just going crazy or is something else wrong? It's interesting. I definitely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars for this one.  Interesting little story with our MC Abigail who continues to see a younger version of herself on the streets and around her old haunts.  In addition, she finds herself in a troubled marriage with 2 teenage rebellious boys.  Is she hallucinating or is she traveling through time?  As time passes we learn more and more about her past relationships and previous life goals of becoming an artist.  Possibly she is going through a mid life crisis?  You'll have to read to find out.

I liked this story but found it a little slow and dry to read through.  Nothing gripping to peak my interest.  I did however like the touch of sci-fi thrown in to make you wonder about how on earth Abigail is interacting with her past self.  A thought provoking book on self reflection and how past events can mold your future.

There is the supernatural at work in this book. Abigail, 45, encounters a younger version of herself at 22, who goes by the name of A. Abigail tries to warn A of the problems ahead. For me there was just too much going on to make a cohesive story line.

I have been at the book for a few days but unfortunately I haven't been able to make either head nor tail about what is happening and why. The story seems to be in riddles and structurally fantastic sentences but then nothing concrete comes of it. I hope its just me and the book is otherwise well received.

Abby Willard, once a promising student at the Rhode Island School of Design, chose a more conventional path instead of pursuing her art. In her forties, she is married to Dennis, mother to teenagers Pete and Benjamin, and head of the design department of a pharmaceutical company.

One rainy evening, from the backseat of a cab, Abby sees a young woman leaving a club in a raspberry coat and silver shoes, clothes she recognizes because they were once hers when she was living in New York City with a taste for wild abandon, an “experience junkie.” At first, she thinks it might be her imagination, a fleeting memory, but she increasingly encounters her younger self who has a corporeality she cannot deny. Seeing “A,” unencumbered, Abby questions her choices, wondering why she abandoned her art. 
Meanwhile, her marriage teeters on the brink as Dennis’s secrets are revealed and Abby yearns to explore, hearing “change the outcome,” repeated in her mind. When Pete becomes ensnared in a radical group, Abby at first forbids him to associate with it but then feels its pull.

On one level, A’s appearance, whether real or imaginary, leads to self-doubt and revaluation, but on another, her case presents a conundrum to others: if A is real, how is it possible? And if not, why did Abby conjure her?

I foundYou Again’s concept fabulous, and I was intrigued by the clues sprinkled throughout the novel as well as the author’s framing device to present the story. I liked, also, the resolution. I wasn’t sure, though, that Abby was the correct character to realize the plot. I found her older self irritating. Dennis didn’t have many redeeming characteristics as a husband, and I didn’t like her sons very much. So, it was difficult to have empathy for the family, and their behavior made this even more challenging. 

The book did have interesting meditations on the excavation of memory, the elusiveness of the past, and the impact of mid-life crisis on the self.

How many times have you thought "I wish I could tell my younger self..."? 
Hindsight is always 20/20, and I would love to tell my younger self things like "he's not the one" or "ask for that raise" but those are all hypothetical mental conversations I have between my current and younger self. Now, consider if you stepped out of a cab and literally saw your younger self? You'd think your mind was playing tricks on you. What if your younger self started showing up in your daily life? Who would you tell? People would think you are crazy! This novel really did have me intrigued with the concept and I was very impressed with how the author brought big themes (art, antifa radicals) to the otherwise formulaic thriller of late (mid-life/identity crisis, marriage problems, affairs). I thought this novel was very smart and unique. My suggestion is to read this in a physical format or check to see if the finished e-format has a full table of contents because I wanted to flip back a few times to check the dates of different events. ⁠

I loved the concept of this book but did not like the way it was written.  I did not like most of the characters nor did I understand the motivations.  Furthermore, I did not enjoy the way the book was set up which became very confusing at times.  Thank you to netgalley for the book!

What did I just read? This should be labeled literary fiction instead of mystery or thriller. It's not my genre and this book was not my cuppa, but it seems like it could be a hit for others. If you like to read books where you don't like any of the characters at all, this is the book for you. The writing was very good and the premise was interesting--the main character SEES HERSELF, her younger self--how intriguing! I probably wouldn't have finished it but I wanted to know how the author was going to wrap that BS up in a bow. My smarty-pants husband is a science guy so I asked him some questions about some things near the end and he just about broke his face rolling his eyes. This was my first netgalley book; my thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins.

“The best way to explain what I’m beginning to think: Imagine your life as a stack of photos. All the pictures in the stack exist all at once, but you may view them only one at a time. Maybe Abigail Willard’s stack includes multiple exposures—sequences captured with some degree of transparency, one atop the other. Multiple spacetime moments visible all at once. But visible solely to her. That’s the why. Why her?”

You Again was an intriguing blend of theoretical physics, hallucinations, and brain chemistry. I quite enjoyed the deliberation over Abby’s mental state and the pursuit for scientific truth. I was very taken by the synopsis of this book, and the first quarter really had me hooked. This whole concept of the younger-self apparition proved entrancing. The points of contact between present and past Abby were sometimes confusing, but I feel like the ending of this book did a nice job of evening out the rougher edges around this central story element. Some of the side plots felt a bit sluggish to me, notably all of the romantic relationships. I also don’t feel as if the protagonist’s belief in (or condemnation of) the antifa movement was fleshed out nearly as thoroughly as it should have been. Abby seemed to waffle constantly between unrest and conformity, and her role in the final violent activity felt inconsequential and unconvincing to me. I appreciated the recurring commentary on the commercialization of art (selling out). This was all in all an interesting statement about time, memory, regret, and romanticization of the past self.

This was an interesting novel. Some plot threads worked better than others for me; while I think the emails were meant to amp up intensity and pacing, I actually thought Abigail's thread was strong enough to entertain on its own. I also found the handling of the antifa protests to be a little too surface-level, and felt that it was too easy. That said, I think a lot of people will relate to Abigail, as she journeys back into repressed/lost memories of a traumatic relationship in her twenties, and too, how she finds herself as an artist after focusing on her career and family for two decades. For a lot of readers, this book will very well be a page-turner, but for me, some of the threads just didn't hold up as well as others, and I wasn't consistently invested with Abigail's story. But I still recommend the book, especially if you're interested in aging, motherhood, and similar themes.

I am pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book.  From start to finish, it kept me wondering and debating whether Abigail was haunted by her younger self because 1) She was hallucinating and was suffering from some psychological break as a result of an unfilled artistic life; 2) She was suffering from symptoms that were physiological in nature and perhaps manifestation from traumatic injury to her brain or 3) From a physics standpoint, can she and her younger self co-exist in the same time and space.  I rarely reread fiction once I am finished but I would definitely reread You Again because I want to make certain I didn't miss or gloss over some small clues here & there.