Author: Lynn Painter
Reviewed by Chloe Fuksa
Looking for a cute young adult book for Valentine’s Day? Author Lynn Painter has you covered. Released in paperback in November 2023, The Do-Over is a fun romantic comedy with a hefty dose of Groundhog Day and a dash of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off thrown in too.
Emilie Hornby is certainly flying high: she’s on track to be valedictorian, she’s going to attend a prestigious academy in the summer, and she’s dating the smartest guy in school. But when Valentine’s Day rolls around, not only does she total her car in the snow, she is disinvited to the summer program on a technicality and she catches her boyfriend cheating on her. Emilie wakes up the next morning, expecting a fresh start, to put it all behind her, only to discover that she has to relive the horrible day again. And again. And again.
As the time loop continues and she’s at her wits’ end trying to change things for the better, she decides to instead just have a Day Of No Consequences. As she and Nick, a distant, surly classmate, have an unforgettable skip day around their city, Emilie realizes that maybe she doesn’t have to do things just to please other people. She can loosen up a bit and do what makes her happy too. And maybe that boyfriend who checked all her boxes, who was perfect on paper, isn’t the right fit after all.
I didn’t think The Do-Over was quite as good as Painter’s Better than the Movies – this one had some plot holes and wasn’t as crisp in the writing – but nevertheless, it is very funny and entertaining. The romance is clean, and the book ends with a cheesy, adorable scene with Emilie and Nick and their friends.
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