It is always heartening to see more queer voices in middle grade—especially bi characters—and the Groundhog Day-esque story will keep young readers turning pages. Another winner from Ormsbee.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Time loops are a solid construct for a middle grade novel since they allow characters at a developmental stage that is really just starting to see beyond their own noses to fully explore relationships and motivations in other people. We have the standard desire - to fit in with the cool kids - combined with some mild family drama. I like some elements better than others.

Whew, this was one of my absolute favorite middle grade novels I've read in a while! It's a challenge to bring something new to the Groundhog Day trope, but Kathryn Ormsbee brings disastrous first day of eighth grade to the trope with huge success. Also, somehow amidst this laugh-out-loud cringy but clever read, the arc about Vivian and her older brother Arlo was one of the most heartfelt, gorgeous sibling relationship I have read in a long time.. It was refreshing to see a middle grade protagonist who was flawed and worked through her mistakes, which really let character development drive the story. I also loved how effortlessly inclusive and queer this book was. And finally on a structural level, there was plenty of variation in the repeated "day" where there was still momentum in the arcs and the trope didn't get stale.

Vivian makes an authentic eighth grader point of view voice and I instantly related to her desire to reinvent herself because she wants to be more popular and make more friends after her bestie moved across the country. The family is heartwarming and I enjoyed the supportive, loving dads that adopted Vivian and her brother Arlo.

The magical system was just okay but since I enjoy the time-loop idea, I was able to suspend my beliefs and keep hoping Vivian reached her goal of breaking her "curse" of first day of school disasters. Vivian has many tries to "get things right" and accomplish her written goals, and I thought her growth arc was well-paced.

I often laughed out loud and even got angry at the bullying Vivian experienced. I cringed at some of her choices, but she ultimately learns what is truly important in life with a little help from her brother Arlo.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for a time loop.

Vivian is cursed. Her first day of school is always horrible. But this year will be different. She has a plan. Alas, plans don't always go the way you expect. Especially not when you are cursed!

Vivian has such a great voice, I was rooting for her the whole way through. There is so much wisdom in this story, and the lessons are learned in an organic way, not in an afterschool special way, which made this book absolutely riveting. This book has everything: mean girls, crushes, friend drama, family drama, and magic. What's not to love?

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review.

The colorful artwork on the cover of “Vivian Lantz’s Second Chances” caught my attention, but the description of the story being the first day of school on repeat (a la Groundhog Day) had me requesting the book immediately!

Vivian is incredibly relatable, and I loved her from the very beginning of the story. She’s been cursed with having horrible first days of school, but Vivian’s determined to make eighth grade different and get a new reputation before high school. However, when her first day begins with getting pushed into the mud and seeing her crush is now dating the ultimate mean girl, Vivian knows the curse isn’t playing games.

Just when you think things can’t get any worse for Vivian, she ends up in a time warp of reliving the same awful day. No matter how hard she tries, something always goes wrong! After redoing the same day multiple times, Vivian slowly begins to realize that her idea of the perfect day maybe isn’t so perfect after all.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book and thought the author did a great job at capturing the essence of first days of school and being an eighth grader. I wouldn’t recommend this book for younger grade school children since it touches on LGBT topics, but it’s suitable for upper middle grades and teens.

I was drawn to this book by the cover, but when I read the blurb and saw that this story was going to be a Groundhog Day (I'm a super fan of the concept of the movie from the nineties) meets Eighth Grade I could not pass it and I'm glad I didn't.

Vivian is a more mature character than the usual middle-grade twelve-turning thirteen years old character. It doesn't mean she has all the answers, and that she is confident, on the contrary, everything seems out of control, she gets her period for the first time, changes her look with style and makeup, and has a love interest as a goal.

Her new goals are meant to break her curse of having a horrible first day of school but this curse gets trumped by a new magical event: reliving the first day of the Eighth grade over and over.

It's awesome.

The author takes us and Vivan on a journey from being a clutz, to having specific goals (but are they the ones she should be pursuing?) in the end this is a journey of self-discovery and identity, finding priorities, trying to take control of one's life, making mistakes, taking revenge, you name it... all her choices have consequences, some good, others bad, on a path to honesty.

I love that Vivian loves fantasy novels and writing them as well. She is a very relatable character. I saw myself in many of her scenes and many readers will identify with a few of her predicaments, even if her experiences aren't exactly the same as ours, the themes are.

Explores themes such as interest in romance, first time having the period, bullying, coming out, acceptance from peers, changes that are out of control like a close best friend moving away, distance relationships, new friendships, seeking validation, love for writing, pursuing favorite interests, shared interests, learning kindness, standing up for friends, adoption, two Dads and older brother as a family structure, LGBTQ+, bisexuality, acceptance that leads to confidence. Great novel for Pride Month.

I loved repeating the same day with Vivian, it wasn't a repetition at all, (it's actually a very readable book), it felt that we were growing together, sharing valuable lessons that even some adults should be reminded of.

An author to keep following. Looking forward to reading the next project.

Vivian Lantz has the worst luck when it comes to first days of school. Every year something different happens, whether it's being forced to sing in front of her entire class or having your appendix burst in fifth grade. 8th grade is going to be her chance for a fresh slate.

However, it turns out, 8th grade is the worst first day yet. So, when Vivian wakes up the following day and finds herself stuck in her first day of 8th grade again. Now is her chance to right all of her wrongs and create the best first day ever. But as it keeps happening, Vivian has to figure out how to escape the first day time loop.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy to review! I love Kathryn Ormsbee; she writes great middle grade that just hits the voice just right. And this one was no different! Vivian has such a journey of self-discovery in this book, one that a lot of middle schoolers will relate to. Finding her voice, finding a new friend after her best friend moves away. It's got it all.

Vivian also discovers that she might be attracted to girls in this book, and her dads just roll with it. The entire first crush moment was adorable, and Vivian learned more each time she was stuck in the time loop. She also had some great family relationships, and we get to explore those too as she's stuck.

All in all, if you like time loop stories and stories about finding yourself, you'll definitely love this middle grade!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free review copy.

Vivian Lantz has had a terrible first day of school every single year. When she has her worst first day ever, she wishes for a second chance to have the perfect first day, and gets one. And a third, fourth, and fifth.

Time loops are one of my absolute favorite tropes and this was no exception. I loved reading about Vivian finding out who she is and who she wants to be and realizing it's okay to not be perfect.

Rep: main character who identifies as liking "both guys and girls", lesbian side character, side character who likes "girls, guys, everyone", queer side character, main character and her brother are adopted and have two dads

CW: bullying, sexism, homophobia, blood

“It’s not about getting it right. It’s more about getting it wrong”. Wise words from Vivian’s older brother Arlo. This is the perfect Groundhog Day middle school book. Vivian wants it to be the BEST first day ever, since all the first days throughout school have been horrible. However, she has to do it on her own, without her best friend Cami, who as moved far away to Florida. She creates a list of second chances, which blows up in her face, resulting in living the same first day over and over. By the time she hits day 4, her brother’s wise words start to make sense. There are no perfect days; we all learn from our mistakes. I loved the character of Vivian; so raw, so honest and so full of sass! Can’t wait to grab a copy for my library collection!

Vivian Lantz's Second Chances is a MUST READ for kids worrying about middle school. To combat her non-stop string of Worst First Days, Vivian has a multi-pronged plan to make 8th grade different. What follows is Disaster.

Making it even worse, each time she wakes up, she relives the first day of 8th grade, and it gets even more awful each day. You can't stop reading this train wreck! However, throughout the "week" Vivian learns from her mistakes and errors in judgement in high comedic style, while sneaking in some excellent lessons on how to reframe your wishes.

Magical realism
Queer rep
Healthy friendships
Anti-bullying
Positive thinking

Yes, this is a middle grade book that is a take on Groundhog Day. That part is true. But like the movie, the repeating the day serves a purpose. Vivian thinks it is make it a perfect day, as she has never had a perfect first day of school. Only thing is, she can’t figure out what a perfect day is? Is it having revenge on the school mean girl? Is it being part of the mean girl squad? Is it getting angry at her brother, who is about to leave home for good without telling anyone? As the days go on, and things keep not turing out the way she hoped, she finally decides to confide in her brother, who tells her that perhaps her idea of perfect is not what the magic is supposed to do. He says in the movie that it teaches the main character to not be a jerk, and then it all clicks in Vivian’s mind. Perhaps having a perfect day isn’t getting revenge? Perhaps it is just being herself.

I love how each thing Vivian tries makes things worse, until she lets go. If we all had to go through days as she did, what would we pick? Would it be public humiliation over being right?

I love how Vivian’s dads are there, and not made a point about anything. I love how Vivian is not quite out, but has told her father that she thinks she is probably bi. I love how this is just part of the story, and not the center of the story.

A lot of the advice in the story is spot on too. When Vivian realizes that when her best friend moved away, that she would have to make new friends, and that’s ok. And its ok that she still has her old best friend and her new.

There is a lot going on in this book, but it was so much fun to read to see how Vivian was going to solve her problems, and stay true to herself, as we all should.

Highly recommend this delightful tale, which comes out 13th of June 2023. Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. And just look at that cover, too.

Y'all, let's talk (again) about how much I LOVE a Groundhog Day inspired story. This one takes place on Vivian's first day of eighth grade. Vivian's first days of school have been historically cursed. She's determined that this year will break the curse, but it doesn't. However, she gets a chance to do it all over again. With her second (and third and fourth) chances, Vivian has to decide what she'll do differently, what she can do with the information she learns, and who she wants to be. This was just a delight, and Vivian was such a wonderful character to follow on this journey of the chances to do things all over again. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this June 2023 release!

Vivian is stuck in her own time loop reliving her first day of eighth grade. Her cursed first day continues to be a nightmare over and over. Vivian discovers how to get out of the time loop while learning that a first day curse is not as bad as she thought.

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me this arc in exchange for a honest review.


A middle grade Groundhog Day?

I had no idea I needed this in my life. I loved Vivian and the discussion about sexuality and bullying had me tearing up.

This was a lot of fun to read, it reminded me a lot of the books that I grew up with. It was a fun story and did everything that I was hoping it would. I thought the characters were really interesting and did what I was hoping for in this situation. I enjoyed the repeating day elements and was invested in what was going on. Kathryn Ormsbee wrote this so well and I look forward to read more from her. It was a lot of fun to read.

"I have to chew on Gemma’s words, but in the end, I think I get it. Writing last year’s book report for Bridge to Terabithia felt very different from writing my Relevane stories. When I wrote for Cami, I wasn’t worrying about if my spelling and grammar were perfect. I was just creating."

Vivian Lantz’s is cursed... okay not really, but she’s constantly having bad first days. After her best friend moves away she think’s its time to start the new year with a whole new plan: get herself a new look, befriend the popular kids, and get her crush to date her. It’s going to be a great start to eighth grade. Armed with a new look, a new hair cut, and a message from her favorite author, Viv thinks its going to be a great start... except it’s probably the worst first day ever: she’s late and runs smack into someone and gets covered in mud ruining her outfit and makeup, she forgot to throw our her dog’s poop and its in her pocket making her smell, and she’s gotten her period.... in front of everyone... and then she finds out her crush is dating a mean girl and her brother has decided to go on tour without telling anyone. Vivian wants a do over to get it just right.. and when she writes it in the journal her best friend gave her before she left, suddenly her wish is granted. Yet no matter how many times Viv goes through the day, working out different issues and things, she’s beginning to realize that having the perfect first day isn’t the best and that maybe having the worst day could be what she’s needed all along. Filled with funny moments, a sweet crush, dealing with the difficulties of school and trying to make friends, and so much more, this was such a fun read!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperCollins for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*