This book just did not work for me.
I understood what the author was trying to do but I was mostly confused.

It got to be too much work trying to figure it out that I gave up on the book.

In theory this book could have been great. I really enjoyed the premise. Especially the idea of alternate realities. The execution was a little off. It was difficult to figure out what exactly was going on. I did enjoy the last part, but the beginning was so confusing that I almost didn’t stay around for the end.

I think this book will do great things for the right reader. For me it was too abstract, but again that will absolutely work for someone who is looking for a poetic, lyrical, whimsical book that actually deals with some pretty hard-hitting topics. I’m very interested to see how this compares to E. Lockhart’s other books, one of which I already own and am planning to read in the near future.

This book did some cool things with "alternate paths" and realistic life issues, but ultimately fell flat. While the main character Adelaide was fleshed out and I felt I could understand her motivations and feelings, most of the other characters were one-note. The piecemeal way that the different "realities" were presented made it hard to care about the results of any one of them, let alone all. I can envision a book that's written such that the reader ends up torn between what ending she wants to be real/successful - this was definitely not that.
2.5

Every E. Lockhart book gives me this particular feeling of deep thought/reflection with a mix of deja vu. Again Again, was truly a book that was thought-provoking for the heart (feeling provoking?). I could not put this book down.
This is not a book where I need to praise the plot, because that is clearly not the focus. The characters are the stars of the show and each provides such a perfectly captured piece of the world we live in. Adelaide is going through so much in the story and the way E. Lockhart writes each situation in a multitude of possibilities provides an interesting glimpse into Adelaide's mind.
Adelaide is dealing with so much in her life and seeing her tackle everything that comes her way is refreshing because she is not that perfect hero that solves every problem with wit and strength. She is strong because she has faults and overcomes them with time.
As much as there is romance in this novel, I found the most important relationships in Adelaide's life is with herself and her family, which is developed throughout the story. Her relationship with herself is closely tied to art and there is so much more symbolism in all of the art that I can't even begin to try and untangle it. It is beautiful though.
Again Again is a story I will never forget.
ps: As a dog lover, I also feel the need to mention there are plenty of cute dogs in this story which is always a plus!

Again Again follows Adelaide Buchwald the summer after her break up. Or, it follows multiple Adelaide's after her break up. We see events play out differently throughout the main story, kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure type of book. The concept was different than anything I've read but I still found it easy to jump into. It was interesting to see how small choices, or even the words you say, can lead to a big change. While the main plot was Adelaide and her new, possible summer romance, I enjoy the plot of Adelaide and her younger brother Tody, who is a drug addict, more.

Adelaide Buchwald is a quirky teen who is always looking for love, whether from her boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, the cute dog walker, the dogs she walks, or her troubled brother. Join Adelaide for one special summer, or more accurately, lots of versions of a special summer, as she explores what it means to love, to hurt, and to discover herself.

Another surprising tale by E. Lockhart.

E. Lockhart's book "We Were Liars" has been on the summer reading list for ninth graders at my school for a few years, and so many of my kids love it. I was excited to see another book by her, so I picked it up on NetGalley (despite having 20 other books to read and review...)

During the summer leading into her senior year, Adelaide is struggling with her first heartbreak. Her junior year wasn't great -- she has struggles at home and issues with her own mental health that lead to her school work spiraling out of control. Now she has to spend the summer working on a project in order to remain academically eligible.

The plot and conflict of this book was simplistic and not incredibly engaging. But there is still real complexity with this novel, and not just in the form. Lockhart explores the idea that there may be alternate realities in which one decision could lead to an entirely different outcome. I found that aspect to be a little less successful (the alternate realities seem to follow their own plot line throughout, but it's confusing to follow). The real complexity to me was her work with the theme. In fact, I think she could have left out this whole multiverse thing out, and focused only on the relationship between Adelaide and her brother, Toby. Without spoiling anything, I thought that 300 pages for what she wanted to achieve with the timeline(s) was too ambitious. Even so, I did find myself enjoying the last quarter of the book, and even got a little teary-eyed.

I read this in (almost) one sitting. It's a quick novel and Lockhart's writing is great throughout most of the book. I think this would be great for younger high school readers, and even something that I can see as part of a literature circle in my classroom. It has a lot of resonance with some of the themes and essential questions we think about in that curriculum.

This book is creative but confusing. Its like Choose your own Adventure scrambled.
I requested this book a long time ago so I lost interest in reading it.
I did not finish it but I could see potential.

Thanks for the arc.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Adelaide starts the summer after her junior year with a broken heart. After being dumped by her boyfriend of 8 1/2 months, her new summer plans aren’t giving her much to look forward to. Then she meets someone at the dog run, and finds herself falling for him. Over the course of the summer she imagines many worlds, many lives, and a chance to do things right. I wanted to love this one more than I did, but it felt like the author was trying to do too much. The extra scenes from other realities were too much for me, and I wanted her to focus more on Adelaide’s family troubles. I am not sure this one will hook middle school readers; perhaps high school readers will appreciate it. It is out 6.2.20.

This book starts with an interesting idea - following a teenage girl through her summer but periodically seeing alternative futures for her. The problem is that they are incredibly random and not always clear about which path we are following. And then, for some reason, the entire ending is one completely alternate path, unlike the others that were woven into the regular story. It was just a confusing way to read a story. I think this definitely would read better to a truly YA audience, as well.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever wondered... what if you did something different in the past? Would you be in the same place you are today? Could one small change alter your future course in life? This book, Again Again by E Lockhart is about these alternate realities. 🌎

Adelaide has your typical teenage problems- academic probation, a bad break up, a brother in rehab... ok so not entirely typical. This book is about her accepting a break up and moving forward. In one universe she talks to a boy, Jack, and then in alternate universe a different boy. Each story is played out and what would happen if you change one slight thing in your life. One thing is straight though, she is a dog person. Maybe she should give up on boys and just have a dog for awhile. I don’t understand why teenagers NEED a boyfriend all the time?! Anyway...

This book was ok. Not bad, but when I was done reading I didn’t have any substantial feelings toward it. Maybe I’m too old for young adult novels?.. boy problems always seem so trivial to me now. Adelaide just seemed so needy. There’s too much angst! 😂

This read like it was a ‘light’ book but then the brother with an opioid problem was thrown in, giving it more depth. Adelaides relationship with her brother (where they came from, how it’s changed, how they move forward) was probably the most interesting part of the book and it was just a side story. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @randomhousechildrens for the advanced digital copy of this book! If you like YA, teen angst and teen love pick this one up on June 2!

I went into this book not knowing a whole lot and I think that’s the right approach for this one. For the most part I enjoyed the reading experience, as the story is fairly simple while also being complex.

The plot follows Adelaide, a high school junior, who is working as a dog walker during the summer while on campus. After struggling at the end of the school year she must complete a final project for her set design class. Adelaide is navigating relationships while considering her future plans and processing her feelings about her family.

I liked the first half of this book, as it’s told in a unique way and it was interesting seeing how Adelaide processes her thoughts while narrating her life to the reader. The tone and setting were light and summery filled with opportunity and analysis.

The second half of the book took a turn and that’s where it kind of lost me. There’s a way the story is told, through a sort of “what if” scenario set up, which I could get behind, but those what ifs quickly became more alternate universes? And that’s where I fell away. This could partially be because of the ARC formatting, so I’m curious to see the final copy and how the story is presented, but overall what I liked about the first half was a bit lost to me in the second.

I would recommend this book to anyone that likes summery YA contemporary stories with a unique twist. The story is definitely complex and thought provoking, with the formatting supporting the ideas shared throughout.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher and netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Again, Again

Author: E. Lockhart

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommended For...: romance lovers, second chance romance, and multi-verse storylines

Publication Date: June 2, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 16+ (romance, substance abuse TW, heartache, second chances)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 288

Synopsis: If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?

After a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, Adelaide Buchwald finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility, during which she will fall in and out of love a thousand times—while finally confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind.

Review: For the most part I thought the book was well done. The story-telling is unique and I loved the attention to detail the author had when crafting the book. The character development for the most part was well done and the world building was amazingly well done. I also loved how thought provoking the book was and how much the book had me flipping back and forth between scenes!

However, I did feel like the book pacing was a bit slow in spots and that the book could have done a bit better on some of the side characters developments. I wished that the book focused on the brother than our main characters love life as well, but it’s still well done.

Verdict: Amazing read! Definitely a must read!

I'm a fan of E. Lockhart's earlier releases, and have been eagerly awaiting the chance to read Again Again. It was one of my most anticipated YA books of this spring, and I had high hopes for it. Usually I love the way Lockhart switches up her writing style with every book, but it didn't work for me here.

I'm sad to say hated the structure of this book. Again Again was trying to do too much. It was this odd blend of a "normal" writing style, prose, texts, and another dimension in bold letters. The prose felt out of place, even though Adelaide is into poetry. I found myself wanting to skip over the broken sentences. The bold dimensional stuff felt redundant, even though I knew what it was trying to accomplish after a bit. I liked the texts, but added in with everything else it just felt like just another thing added to make the story different. All of that made it hard to focus on what was actually going on with the story.

I am frustrated about that. There is a great story about Adelaide and her brother Toby somewhere within all this other extra stuff. It's a story about addiction and family. Even the romance of the story felt like it took away from time I would have rather spent with Adelaide and Toby's relationship than everything else going on here.

Hopefully, the frustration with Again Again is just a me thing. I hope other readers enjoy what this book has to offer more than I did.

I was really hoping to love this book because the concept of different possibilities in life and love could have been amazing.

"If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?"

However, I just found it confusing. I was unsure as to what exactly was going on, and why exactly it mattered. There were some examples of different scenarios/alternate universes (?) throughout, but I don't think it actually made sense the way it was written.

I did not connect to our main character, and the writing style was very random. It would change between very short, terse sentences, to very poetic descriptions and verse.

Part 4 of this book was completely different from everything else, and I almost wish that the whole book was just Part 4, but expanded upon.

I was disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, thanks NetGalley, E.Lockhart, and RandomHouse for the ARC.

This story deals with some serious topics like depression, addiction, and being a teenager. However, it's still written in an easy light way. I believe the idea behind the book was to show how the same situation can be perceived in different ways. Not the less, I didn't care much for it. I did enjoy Part III which was the revised story.

I loved this story, but not the telling. Adelaide is struggling through her life and thinking of all the "might have beens" and "might still bes" following a near tragedy.

She finds herself being what she thinks people want her to be on the outside while struggling on the inside. Trying to forge new relationships and find a love that makes her feel safe, she puts on a facade that sadly fools people into thinking she is okay when in reality, she is struggling both academically and personally.

Adelaide both wants and fears a relationship with the one person who let her down the most: her brother.

It is a great story but the telling felt fractured, maybe it would have worked as a series of short stories, all telling the same story but following a different arc each time . I love E. Lockhart's other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is not a love story, or, at least, not a romantic love story.

I feel like that’s what the cover might suggest and what you could interpret the blurb to be, but it’s not. Maybe it is part of why I went into this book with a sort of wrong idea, but then, I learned a long time ago to never truly expect E. Lockhart’s books to be any specific way to begin with. I quite enjoyed her earlier chick-lit-esque work (for those of you who followed her career and are fans of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, you’ll get a fun little easter egg) but was truly the most enamored with We Were Liars, which was what I would consider more in the mystery genre. Now, Again Again, doesn’t really fit into either category and proves once again that E. Lockhart won’t be confined to any genre.

Again Again is partially written in verse and takes place in a multitude of universes, although mainly two. I think this approach could go over either way with the reader. Sometimes it felt repetitive in a tiresome way, other times it showed you how one moment can unfold in such vastly different ways that you yearn for a different outcome. It definitely takes time to get used to this unconventional style of storytelling, although I think the visual formatting helped get the point across. Still, I’m really torn on this matter myself, because I would be lying if I told you that the final universe wasn’t my favourite and I was so very relieved that it existed – imperfections and everything.

As far as the characters go, I found it a bit difficult to really fall for Adelaide. She was putting on this bubbly front of happiness, which didn’t reflect her inner sadness and turmoil at all, bordering on obsession in so many departments of her life. Her erratic behaviour made me dislike her sometimes, especially when she was impulsive and neurotic about boys that were only an escape, but not a solution. I understood why she acted the way she did.
Grieving for someone, even if it wasn’t the kind of grief related to death, and being burdened by constant worry will change you. It makes you act strange and impassive and everyone deals differently, but even though I got that on some level, it didn’t prevent me from getting frustrated with her sometimes. I appreciated the realness of her brokenness, while also resenting it. I am contradictory that way.
I did really like her creative side though! I would love to see some of the stuff she made in this book in real life!

However, as I said at the very beginning of this review, this is not a romantic love story, because all these boys (which were really only three) couldn’t have been more inconsequential, if I’m being completely honest. The most important relationship in this book, at least in my eyes, is the one between Adelaide and her brother Toby. Theirs is a love story of a different kind, because loving a family member can be just as hard and disappointing and necessary. Them finding their way back to each other was the only thing that really mattered to me.

Lastly, I just want to mention that I always love it when dogs are in the mix! I want to warn all of you that a dog gets punched in the face in this book (out of defense), but that they also seem to be able to talk to the main character in a way and that was surprising and quirky and I still don’t know what to make of it.

Fazit: 3.5/5 stars! Hit and miss in a lot of ways.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of "Again Again" by E. Lockhart. This book was so different and I really enjoyed the "multiverse" approach to a YA romance. I loved how the author weaved some verse into the prose and the alternative universe versions of many of the scenes were so interesting. It always kept me in suspense about what was going to happen in the "real" one.
SPOILERS: The author really put into question which version was the "real" one and kind of left that up to your interpretation as a reader by throwing basically an entire alternate book at the end. I might actually lean toward giving this a 4.5 stars rather than the full 5 (I always round up my ratings though), just because I was disappointed that we didn't go back to the "real" timeline at the end and see how things worked out in the version I'd been invested in for the whole first two-thirds of the book. I wanted to be able to see that. But, I realize that would have been kind of contrary to the whole point.
I just loved this different approach to storytelling that I've personally never seen before. I also loved the theme of it, that when we're young we fall in love over and over, learning more about ourselves and how to love each time, growing and hurting ourselves and others and figuring it out as we go. It showed how we each have our own baggage we take to each relationship, especially as conflicted, emotionally immature teenagers, and especially when you're so young and have so much of your life to figure out and create ahead of you. It showed how relationships as a teen aren't supposed to be forever—not that they never are, but often they aren't. It just felt real and I could see and feel some of my own life experiences on the page, and I think that's what good literature is all about.
Finally, there was also a subplot about the MC's brother recovering from an opioid addiction that was really well done and added a great level to what this girl brought to her romantic relationships because of all that was going on with her family. It showed how much our relationships affect each other and showed the different aspects of all sorts of relationships in our lives.
In summary, I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. I'd definitely recommend it.