Cover Image: Operation Do-Over

Operation Do-Over

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Member Reviews

What would you do if you could go back and right a wrong at a pivotal moment in your life? Gordon Korman tackles this topic head on in this book for older middle grade readers that highlights friendship, loyalty, and having an opportunity to do better a second time around.

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Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

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I love Gordon Korman, but this one didn't get me like they normally do. I kept waiting for our main character to go back in time again because he kept messing up the redo, or seemed to mess up his life even more, but no. He was stuck with the redo. Even so, there was a happy ending.

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Gordon Korman can do no wrong in my mind. Of course this will be a hit with the young readers! Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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Gordon Korman is the master of middle grade novels. Anytime I see his name, I know it will fly off my shelves.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Ty and Mason were best friends since birth up until seventh grade when they got into a fight over the new girl, Ava. They avoided each other since that fateful day at the town fair. When the boys reach high school, Mason gets in an accident the same day he is expelled from school - days before graduation - for accidentally knocking his favorite teacher down the stairs. When Mason wakes up after the accident, he finds himself back in seventh grade with a chance at a do-over. Of all the things he is disappointed about in his "older" life, the one wrong he most wants to right is his friendship with Ty.

I always like a good Gordon Korman book and usually grab them as soon as they are available. This one was good - as always - but not my favorite. There were some spots it got a little confusing between the dual storylines, one of younger Mason and one of older Mason. I'm also very curious as to how this is going to play with the audience - upper versus middle grades. I do love how well Korman captures Mason's very real emotions: anger of the unfairness of his expulsion, sadness about his parents and dog, and the ultimate heartbreak of losing his best friend. I also like how Mason realizes that a junior high crush should not have come between his very best friend.

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I enjoyed this book far more than the most recent book that I read from Gordon Korman, The Untouchables. I went into the reading of this book with low expectations after that previous experience. While I disagree with the cover choice (nothing to do with the author, of course), I really enjoyed this book. I loved the possibility of time travel that gives the character a "do-over" where he has to deal with the realities of his choices both past, present and future. I would go into more details in what I love about this book but I will refrain simply because a lot of what I love would fall under the umbrella of spoilers.
I think Korman did a really good job with this story and the premise.

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This book has echoes of another amazing Korman offering, Restart, but takes the idea of second chances even further with time travel! I loved how the message that everyone is capable of seeing others in a new light and I especially love that not every loose end gets tied up. It was a favorite of my 4th grade son!

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My students and I cannot get enough of Gordon Korman’s stories. He definitely knows the middle grade audience, and he keeps readers interested with relatable friendship and family problems. In this case, the main character gets to experience time travel and possibly have a “do over”-by preventing a sequence of negative events from taking place. However, this proves to be more difficult than he initially thought. Great story!

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I received a complimentary copy of Operation Do-Over from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

First of all, I LOVE Gordon Korman. Students (and teachers alike!) love his easily relatable and digestible plots in which to get absorbed! This novel was no exception.

This novel is the story of a boy whose one bad decision changes his life, giving the reader time to contemplate Mason's decisions concerning his friends right along with him. Following a freaky accident, Mason has the opportunity to relive the last 5 years, making better choices concerning Ty, his best friend since preschool, and Ava, the new girl who threatens that friendship, the second time around. Overall, this is a very feel-good novel with some fun time-travel thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and Gordon Korman!

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Gordon Korman just never disappoints! I'm a big fan of 'time travel' books AND I grew up when "Back to the Future" was released, so this was a bit nostalgic for me even though I'm not the target audience! A great book for middle grade classrooms. Would make a fun book club pick for literature circles.

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Love this story. Time travel in a way thats not too science like. It's very readable for a wide range of kids.

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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have read a great many Gordon Korman books, and I feel safe in saying this is my favorite, though I’m trying to pinpoint exactly why. It has a lot of what makes Korman’s books great: a school setting, humor, a flawed but imminently likable protagonist, and redemption. Korman really understands the concerns and interests of middle grade kids, and manages to create believable characters time and time again.

I loved Korman’s message that we both are, and are not, in charge of our own fates, and that he forces us to think about what we’d change about our life’s decisions, if we could. When Mason goes back in time and decides to try to do things differently, he almost approaches his life with no fear because he (mostly) knows what’s coming. It is very thought-provoking and I think will encourage kids to consider their choices and relationships. I highly recommend this book.

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After reading the blurb for this book, I was a little worried it would be too similar to my favorite of Gorman's, "Restart" and that my continuous comparisons would prevent me from enjoying it. I'm happy to say that my fears were entirely unfounded because Operation Do-Over is most definitely its very own story, and a really fun one at that.

Mason makes a terrible mistake when he's 12: he chooses a girl over his best friend, and the ripple effects of that bad decision haunt him for the next five years. Then, when he's 17 and everything that could possibly go wrong has, Mason gets in a car accident...and wakes up 12 years old again, before his choices messed everything up. Is he dreaming? Did he time travel? Who cares? Mason has a chance to fix everything, to do it all over again but do it right this time. But what if fate makes certain events inevitable? And what if some things happen for a reason and changing them creates a whole host of different problems that Mason never saw coming?

This was a fun read with important life lessons hidden among laughs, hijinks and the love of a good pet, Gordon Korman's recipe that never fails to entertain.

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I love Gordon Korman books and my students do too so I was eager to read his newest release, Operation Do-Over. This book seemed to target an older audience than his last couple which I appreciate. The story is half set in middle school and half set in high school and in typical Korman form, the story is revealed a piece at a time with different perspectives (and this is an interesting talking point because high school Mason knows different things than current middle school Mason - what do we wish we knew then that we know now?). The ending was perfect - Operaion Do-Over will be a fantastic addition to my class library. Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to preview #OperationDoOver - I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to his next release!

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I am a fan of Gordon Korman. This book was a great addition to his collection. Restart is one of the to checked out books at my school and this will be high on the list as well. This helps readers see the power of one choice.

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Operation Do-Over is another hole-in-one by Gordn Korman.
He really gets his middle grade audience. I read this with my 12 year old and she said it was her favorite Korman since The Unteachables. That's high praise as she was obsessed with that one for quite a while.
We really enjoyed the time travel aspect of this book, as that plot device is not quite as overused in middle grade fiction as it in in the sci-fi world. Finally that cover... well that's just the cutest anyway!

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In true Gordon Korman fashion, this book leaves you wanting more! A fun "what if" scenario: what if you could go back a few years and do over part of your life. What would you do differently? Would your whole life change because of the new decisions you made? Would you be proud of the new person you've become? A fun, thought-provoking MG read! I'd definitely recommend this book to fifth-graders and beyond. Middle school kids would likely enjoy it most, but readers of all ages will get a lot out of it!

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My students and I cannot get enough of Gordon Korman’s stories. He definitely knows the middle grade audience, and he keeps readers interested with relatable friendship and family problems. In this case, the main character gets to experience time travel and possibly have a “do over”-by preventing a sequence of negative events from taking place. However, this proves to be more difficult than he initially thought. Great story!

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Mason’s life spirals out of control in 7th grade when he and his best friend like the same girl. When a freak storm at the annual Harvest Fest leads to an innocent kiss that iis caught on camera, Mason and his best friend now become enemies. 5 years into the future events lead to Mason’s expulsion and a collision with a Furniture Truck sends Mason back in time as his 12-year-old self with the a chance to do it all over again. Mason makes new choices that sets his life on a different path, one that hopefully will save his friendship and his life.
Written in typical Gordon Korman humor, this title feels like a rush of event to even that that will leave readers with bated breathe as to what will happen next. Will Mason make it back to the future and what will the future look like for him.

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