Oh dear. This looks like a bunch of bad children's drawings from independent sources have been put together in some form of order, and the author has been forced with a gun against their head to develop a plot connecting them. It's all about as coherent as that implies, with no logical progression until the author packs up and passes the buck to the purchaser. Basically, with that and the very childish illustrations here, if you can't come up with something along the same lines from playing an improv/parlour game with your children, you ought to have them taken off you. There is a right way to be bonkers, and this isn't it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Although I spent most of the book confused, I do think children will like it. I laughed at the bubble-gum-brains spewed upwards.

Mostly, it left me confused

I’ve never seen a book like this and it was such a fun idea. The concept is that it’s basically as random as what comes out of my toddler’s mouth when he’s telling a story, the illustrations are by children (or at least look like were done by children), then the end is left blank for your kid to finish and illustrate the book. I think my kid would love this if he had a physical copy! I think the concept is so cute and fun, I did find myself wishing it were more madlibs like, though. Having your child just write the end means the beginning was just unnecessarily chaotic.

A silly book perfect for lower key stage 2. A great way to introduce creative writing. Novel and unique.

The blurb may imply that Do Over is a pick-your-own-adventure book, but it’s literally what it says: “ends, well, the way YOU want it to end” — that is to say, you write the ending.

With childlike line drawings and a super-silly story, this book will keep kids busy for hours with writing a conclusion (silly, I hope!) and coloring. It’s not a book that will appeal to adults, but does everything have to? Definitely not!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Aubrey Beth Stein in exchange for an honest review.

Do Over -- A silly story where the ending is up to you by Audrey Beth Stein just didn't work for me.

The illustrations are primitive as stick people. I believe the premise is to create your own color, and that includes creating pictures. This doesn't come across on my Kindle -- I've gleaned the information from the synopsis.

The story is sketchy. I read a book before gifting to a child because I don't want to give something like this. I couldn't find a narrative. As I envisioned reading to a young child, all I could answer is I don't know, we'll have to see. Now, maybe factors in, maybe I will be able to explain this at the end? Sadly, I still couldn't. There are blank pages to add-on to the story, but I didn't find a story.

I was disappointed and imagined a child confused. Reading at a young age needs to be interesting not baffling. I wouldn't encourage a child aged 3-8 to color and write in a story book. And, how would they if someone handed them a Kindle? There are too many unexplained issues for me.

Published: 11/17/22

Thank you NetGalley and the independent publisher for allowing me to read and review Do Over.

This was such a fun and quirky book. Read this with my daughter who loved that she could join in with the drawing and colouring, and could imagine her own ending. The drawings that are already in the book feel like kids quick drawings, so even for a child not a confident in her drawing ability, my daughter felt like she could confidently add to these pages.

Not sure how I feel about this one.

The story was, not so much of a story but more of random scenes.

The illustrations were silly though.

I can see kids enjoying adding to the story so I liked that it’s made to spark creativity.

I was a little confused in the middle of the story as it felt like a fever dream my kid would describe to me, but that actually makes me think really imaginative kids might love it. I know my children would love the opportunity to illustrate this book themselves, too, and put themselves in it.

I really liked the idea behind this book. The author has written the book in the way that it allows the reader to be the author and illustrator of the story so that they can make it their own.

I read the book with my five year old daughter and she loved the idea and getting involved. The story is funny and one that was perfectly aimed at her age too – she loves whimsical stories and those with some fantasy so it was a hit with her but as a parent and knowing what she does read, the novelty will wear off so it would be a book that is only read 1-2 times but its still a great concept.

It is 4 stars from us for this one – highly recommended

Do Over by Audrey Beth Stein is a quirky, imaginative, and completely unique story in which young readers can let their creativity soar. Illustrated by children in a black and white style that encourages colouring, readers are taken on a voyage of discovery that invites them to create and shape the story in their very own special way. Young children will delight in this interactive experience, and it is a great way to foster engagement with books as they move forward in their reading journey.

Many thanks to author Audrey Beth Stein for providing an ARC.

Audrey Beth Stein gives the children a fun and silly story, then allows the children’s imagination to take over and bring the story to an end. It is very neat.

An improvisational approach to kid's story telling with the reader becoming an illustrator and an author. The story is fantastical and fun and I think many kids will be drawn in to the interactive aspects of the book. It is not your conventional story, but it flows from a kid's wild imagination and it certainly captures the spirit of anarchic story telling. Looks like the younger set would enjoy.

An interesting interactive book! I found the storyline to be a little unclear, and some of the illustrations were hard to understand, but I can totally see kids absolutely loving adding in their own drawings and stories in this book.