My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book was super popular this summer and I was really intrigued to pick it up. This book has been advertised as a nostalgic trip back to our youth and that it’s the perfect time travel book that everyone can relate to.
Unfortunately, I thought that this book is okay but not amazing. It didn’t change my life the way it changed others.
I think the main reason that this book didn’t hit home the way it did for others is because I never was able to relate to the typical high school student. Sure, I had a close best friend like the main character in this story but I was never boy crazy. I was never anybody crazy.
I wasn’t so boy crazy that if I travelled back in time, I’d be thinking about getting together with my crush and throwing a high school party, I would be thinking about how I can spend time with my father who’s very sick in the present time.
I’m just really conflicted about this book because I can understand why the main character in this book acted the way she did in the beginning of the book. She’s a thirty something old woman in her present time, working, dating, and living in the same place she grew up and went to school at. There’s no better place to work at then your old school in your old town where you’re constantly reminded of how merciless time passing is and how merciless it is in the way you’ve aged with it. You’re constantly in contact with your peers who appear to be doing so much better than you and thriving with the passing of time rather than drowning in it. Trust me, I can relate.
I can imagine that if you’re constantly encountering situations like that, you’d be questioning: “What if I didn’t make that choice when I was young? What if I did this differently? Would my life be better?”
So I really do get why the main character acted the way she did but at the same time, she seems to be close with her father in present time but acted a bit differently in the beginning when she travelled back in time. I didn’t understand her actions. It felt very high school-y and I really don’t resonate with that mentality anymore.
The second half the book, got me though. The second half of the book really dove into the father daughter relationship. I loved the parts with her and her father and how they explored their relationship. I especially thought the ending was great. Emma Straub’s writing was the strongest when it came to the main character’s relationship with her father. When you’re deep in that second half of the book, you can almost feel the desperation of the main character as she tried to understand why, how, and what when it came to her and her father’s sudden gift of time.
So while I didn’t like the beginning, I did enjoy the second half. I think it’s a book that I’m going to have to reread in the future.
Have you read this book, what do you think of it?