Vivian isn't thrilled about starting 8th grade without her best friend Cami who has moved away. But she's determined to do it right, and so she writes a to-do list in her new journal to help her have a great experience. She does not. Slipping in the mud, accidently bringing a bag of dog poop to school, destroying the class fish tank, and getting her first period (and first period stain) in the cafeteria at lunch is just some of what happens.
And when she wakes up the next day, she gets to do it all again (but this time without the poop and with a pad...) She starts figuring out some of the social dynamics that she'd missed before--the boy she was crushing on is a jerk, the queen bee girl is a viper, and Gemma, who used to be tight in that circle of friends, has had enough of them, and is (maybe) ready for a new friend....as of course is Vivian. Maybe even more than just friends.... (though there is explicit attraction, it is not acted on, which makes sense because although Vivian gets to know Gemma through 8 or so days, Gemma keeps meeting Vivian for the first time....)
But there's more going on in Vivian's life than just school. That first day is when her 17-year-old brother leaves with no warning, to go off travelling with his band. She and their dads have to somehow come to terms with this; Vivian feels angry and abandoned. So a few of her repeat days are spent with her brother as her main focus, which is a nice change from middle school awful-ness, and she tells her brother what's been happening to her, and though he has no answer about how to stop the time loop, he does give her food for thought.
Back at school, Vivian keeps messing things up in her quest to have a perfect first day, and is getting fed up. She tells her best friend Cami all about it, and Cami's insights blend with her brother's.... Instead of trying to have a Perfect Day, Vivian is going to simply live it authentically. And miraculously, that works! It isn't, in fact, a perfect day, but it's far from being a disaster.
So reliving a horrible 8th grade day is not exactly fun reading, but it was fun seeing how things played out differently each time. The magic is explained more or less satisfactorily, and the ending is such that there's a teasing though that it might come into play again, which I'd be up for! And though I wanted to shake Vivian at times, I was glad she was able to do some quick growing up. I'm sure this will resonate with many of its target readers, and perhaps even give them food for thought as well.
Glad to have a new one to add to my LGBTQ middle grade fantasy list! (as well as Vivian's crush on Gemma, who is explicitly identified as gay, there are Vivien's two dads, a nice discussion she has with one of them about how he realized he was gay, a brief reference to how they weren't allowed to marry for years, and Vivian's own reflection that she didn't have to choose either/or boys/girls).
NB. This one has been safely nominated for this year's Cybils Awards, but there are lots and lots of great books still waiting to be picked. Please show a book the love it deserves by nominating it before the deadline at the end of the day on the 15th! Here and also here are some (though by no means all) of the books you could pick, and here's where you go to nominate.
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