The Do-Over
by Jennifer Honeybourn
Pub Date 14 Jul 2020
Read Courtesy of NetGalley.com
The Do-Over shouldn't have done it over. Many others have already done it, movies like Big, 17 Again, 13 Going on 30, Peggy Sue Got Married, etc. "But these are movies," you might argue... OK, here's a sample of just one list of similar books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/125747.Peggy_Sue_Got_Married, and without having read them, I'd bet at least some of them are better than The Do-Over.
The main character's all-or-nothing thinking probably is a real teen's thinking; however, in The Do-Over it gets repetitive and whiny rather than coming across as true self-insight. Even before she finds a way to do-it-over, she says if she "could take it all back, I'd do everything differently." She can - it's called making amends and being humble. This is a character with low self-esteem who acts like a victim. She has every opportunity to do things differently, and she doesn't take the steps to do-over. She wants magical thinking, literally, to make things right for her. Her character growth is as translucent as her wishing stone is.
This is only for teens who thrive on wish stories.
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