Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction
Student Reviewer: Livi G.
The Do-Over was an overall enthralling rom-com that had many comical elements involved
in the plotline yet serious topics that were artistically and beautifully executed throughout
the book. This novel follows the talented, smart, goal-oriented, people-pleasing Emilie and
her everyday life as the girlfriend of Josh (who is also very smart and talented), and what
happens when she is stuck in a time loop of the day when he cheats on her on Valentine’s
Day. With the repeating tragedy, Emilie tries with all her might to prevent this conflict from
occurring throughout the days. While doing so, she always runs into her chemistry lab
partner, Nick, in the mornings when they keep getting into car accidents with each other or
just randomly seeing each other. Nick and Emilie don’t really hit it off and Nick always
seems to have a hatred towards Valentine’s Day, which Emilie doesn’t really know why.
She later finds the answer to her question when she decides to rebel for a day. She thinks
she has unlimited days to waste with being whoever she wants to be for 24 hours at a time.
She calls this the DONC (Day of No Consequences). On the DONC, Emilie drags Nick out
of class, and they travel the many miles of Downtown, doing whatever they please. An
unbreakable bond between the two of them forms and they both end up catching feelings
for each other, not wanting the day to end. Sadly, when the day does end and February 15th
rolls into play, Emilie must pay the consequences of all the trouble she created the day
before, while realizing that everything she did mattered, and the time-loop will never exist
again.
This book really shows readers that conforming to everyone else’s standards, expectations
and “bending over backwards” for everyone will not make you happy or be the person you
truly want to be. If I were Emilie, I would tell myself that it’s okay if someone disagrees with
what I do or what I say- I'm my own person with my own opinions, and that’s how it will
always be. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves YA romance books and who
just needs a quick read. In conclusion, Lynn Painter continues to impress me with her
writing abilities and how she so beautifully puts stories together that will have the reader
hooked on the book, not being able to put it down. This book reminded me a lot of another
one of Lynn’s books, Better Than the Movies, with how the two characters grow as people
and in loving each other, and I look forward to reading more of her novels.
