This was such a unique read that I feared it wouldn't be as good as it sounded. Thankfully, I was wrong for the most part. The author's writing style saved this from coming off as silly or over the top. It was a pretty good read.

This is a hard book to rate, because I really liked E. Lockhart's writing style in this one, and I also appreciate that she tried something extremely different from, really, any other YA I've read. Some elements I really liked were the relationship between Adelaide and Toby, and the personalities given to the various dogs.

But I also just really didn't enjoy the plot all that much, and I wish the universes had connected a bit more. It's such an innovative concept but unfortunately I didn't love where she went with it.

I think we've all wished that we could have a moment back, or think about what might have happened if we'd taken choice B instead of choice A. Adelaide's story unfolds in multiple directions, giving us multiple versions of what another reality might be in a world of infinite possible options. It's an intriguing concept, but I grew tired of her needy, obsessive behavior. Is this something I want my middle school students to romanticize? To be fair, this isn't truly a middle-school book, but Adelaide is not a character I want to put forward as a model.

I get the concept of multiverses and art installations, but the whole book didn’t land well for me. I liked it insofar as the writing was good. The switching could use some work, though. Situations repeated again and again with different outcomes, and only sometimes did we know which one we were following. And then only when the book was almost finished to go back to the beginning only once, but using some of the information we’d learned throughout the book?

An inventive coming-of-age story told in multiple iterations. The fraught yet loving relationship between a sister and brother takes center stage in every timeline.

If there is a dog on the cover, I am going to read it. I enjoyed Adelaide and Toby's relationship - it was heartbreaking, pure, and real. I love reading about complex sibling relationships and I expected this to be more focused on the love interest mostly but I'm glad it didn't though. Adelaide seemed a little too much in love with each and every boy she met and maybe that is the point of young love but it made her come off as desperate and annoying. I did like that the author included her feelings of depression as I found it relatable. This did end in a way I didn't expect and I'm actually content with how it ended. The alternative endings or situations was a bit confusing and I had trouble figuring out what actually happened and what was in Adelaide's mind. Sadly, that part didn't work out for me and it was what I was most excited for.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Delacorte Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Again Again. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Readers who often think about how their lives might have been different, had things been done in an alternate way, will appreciate Again Again. The story is about Adelaide Buchwald, a student at Alabaster Preparatory Academy because her father is on the faculty there. During the summer, as she is walking the dogs of some of the faculty, Adelaide encounters Jack, a boy she met briefly at a party 2 years previously. As the book goes on, readers are given a view of a girl infatuated, who often daydreams scenarios about Jack.

There is not much by way of actual story. Adelaide wants, but does not execute her dreams most of the time. I was underwhelmed by the character development and the overall plot. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend Again Again to other readers.

While I have loved some of Lockhart's other titles, this one didn't click for me. However, I think our teen and new adult readers will love the way the story unfolds and the style of the writing. We will definitely be purchasing this one for our library. Thank you.

First off, to E. Lockhart, thank you for writing a character with realistic anxiety- I felt seen. This isn't super important to the review, but it was super important to me as a reader. Adelaide's constant worry and continuous imaginings of other scenarios is hyper-realistic to someone who suffers from generalized anxiety. I really appreciated this. I also loved the fact that we got to revisit Alabaster the setting from Frankie Landau Banks.

This book was genuine and funny- I described to a friend while reading it that living in Adelaide's mind was like living in the "darkest timeline" from Community but with all of the realism. I enjoyed the realism of what it is like to grow up with overwhelming concern for those you are about and what it is like to fall in and out of love- because sometimes you don't see the other person clearly. While this book is not a traditional love story, it shows the inner workings of the mind and the heart of a teenage girl in such keen and clear ways. While I did not get the same feeling- "this girl is a badass" as I have gotten from many of E. Lockhart's stories, I do believe that the author has delved into something real, raw, and remarkable which just makes her a badass!

Again Again came out on June 2nd. I will be purchasing it for my library (wait it is already on my doorstep!) and it will be a top recommendation.
http://kaitlynrcarpenter.weebly.com/blog/again-again-by-e-lockhart

I first heard of E. Lockhart when We Were Liars was super popular and read it. It has been several years and in that time I had forgotten how unique Lockhart is as a storyteller. Again Again, while a different type of novel than We Were Liars, continues that same unique storytelling style.

Adelaide Buchwald is ready for the summer before her senior year. Adelaide’s summer plans include walking dogs, finishing her school project, mending her broken heart, and falling in love again. While Adelaide experiences all these things, each experience has multiple outcomes and from each Adelaide learns a little more about herself and what love really means.

I’m not sure how to describe this novel in a way that gives the right amount of information, but not too much. I would describe this story as a coming of age novel but NOT a love story. It really reminds me of a modern day “choose your own adventure.” Adelaide experiences multiple scenarios for events in her life before we as the reader get to see which one “actually happened.” The last ⅓ of the book throws in a whole different option, typical to what I was expecting after reading We Were Liars, that still has me asking “so which one is true?”

There were a lot of parts of this story I liked. For one, I enjoyed the final scenario of Adelaide's summer. I think her “previous choices” taught her a lot of valuable lessons and it was enjoyable to see her growth. I also loved the rebuilding of her relationship with her brother, Toby. After becoming an addict at the age of 14, a lot of Adelaide's feelings and trust issues stem from the relationship with her brother. To me the story was more about forgiving him and being honest with herself than it was about falling in love. Lockhart also wrote this book in a mash up between verse and prose in a way that I found really enchanting to read. It added to the air of magic, myster, and wistfulness I felt as I read this story.

My least favorite parts were some of the formatting of the book. This may have been because I read it as an eARC, but at times I wasn’t sure if I was reading an alternate universe scenario to Adelaide’s life or a text conversation that actually happened (or did any of it happen?? See my issue here…). I also am still hung up on the ending. I know (I think?) it is supposed to be philosophical, but I just wanted it more tied up in a bow and clear answer. I’m a fairly black and white thinker and this book wasn’t black and white enough for my brain. It held a lot of gray areas.

This book was an enjoyable and fast paced read. I remember as a teenager playing scenarios in my mind thinking “but what if I had just done this instead…” so I think the heart of this book would be very meaningful for YA readers. I just think I’m too old and cynical to enjoy the magic to the fullest extent it should be enjoyed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte press for providing me an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Again, Again by E. Lockhart was...confusing. Now, to be fair, I read this book as a preview online...so, maybe in a paper copy the different scenarios are in a different font to keep it from being so confusing to the reader? I would like to see a paper copy before I purchase this book for my library. Normally I love Lockhart’s books, but this one was just hard to read. It had a great premise and Adelaide is a relatable character; however, the alternate presentation of what was happening/what she was dreaming of was happening was very choppy and detracted from the enjoyment of the story. I kept wanting to skip the alternates and just get to what was actually happening. And then the end just threw me for a loop. While I appreciate the neat little wrap up and how reality isn’t what we often daydream about, it pretty much said, “forget the whole story”, which made me feel like I had just wasted my time. Maybe I just missed the entire point of the story. I did appreciate her relationship with her brother. It was real and raw. I would have LOVED to read a book where that relationship was the central story and the romantic side was just a side note. All that being said, don’t we all like to rework how something happened in our heads? What we would have said? What he would have said back? Those “what if” scenarios we often play out in our minds, but then snap back to reality is what Adelaide often does, especially when it comes to romantic interests. But reality often comes crashing down and sometimes reality is better than anything we can imagine. #againagain #netgalley

What if we got do-overs when we didn't love how we handled something? Wouldn't that be fabulous? It would. We don't, but Adelaide might. Here's the thing: I have no idea which of Adelaide's attempts on living are the "real" ones. I suspect we aren't supposed to know. I won't lie, it frustrated me a bit as a very logic-driven, concrete thinker. But I can absolutely appreciate that there's something thought-provoking in the not knowing, something that challenges us to almost choose-her-adventure, if you will.

Adelaide, when we meet her, isn't particularly likable. Oh, we feel bad for her because she's just been dumped and is kind of a mess of a person, sure. She's going through a lot of family stuff (which unwinds as the story does, so I won't say much more about that), and it's certainly not easy. But sometimes, as we all do, Adelaide brings on some of her hardships. But during the course of the story, she begins to actually see that she is sometimes her own worst enemy, and somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophet.

So while none of Adelaide's do-overs may even be "real", Adelaide's ability to grow and move forward is very real. That even if she is forced to live with the very first set of events, she has learned so much from them that she will be able to have much better futures, no matter the past. And that is something we can all stand to remember.

Bottom Line: Truly lovely and thought provoking, Adelaide's growth and trajectory made her story worth reading, no matter what version of her life she ends up in.

Lockhart shows her versatility and wit with this experimental narrative approach to a summer love story. As an added bonus for fans of the earlier Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Lockhart nods toward the boarding school setting of Alabaster once again, but this book is in no way a sequel.

This book was very well-written. I loved the way some of it felt like it was written in prose, especially when Adelaide was emotional or she seemed to be thinking in fragments. It gave more weight to her feelings. I also liked how it would split off to go into the other universe, alongside what actually happened.
However, this did get confusing at times. I almost wish that a different font style was used for each of the different multiverse theories, like how the last Part of the book was. It also got confusing sometimes because I would forget what each character knew as we jumped in between universes.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Kristin Cashier's Jane, Unlimited or who is interested in multiverse theory.

I was so excited to read the next book from E Lockhart. We Were Liars is a book I recommend a lot. Unfortunately, Again, Again is not in the same caliber. I did really enjoy getting to know the main character Adelaide and her family, but other than that I wasn't hooked.

This book is honestly hovering between a 3 and 4 star read for me. I love E. Lockhart's writing style and I enjoy Adelaide as a character. Also the issue with her brother hit home with me and at times I teared up, but the alternate realities got confusing for me. I skimmed through them in the first part of the book. The ending was satisfying.

"Human beings were capable of creating beauty and strangeness far beyond what nature offered. Their minds could be weird and grandiose."

I'd like to start by thanking NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ebook galley I received in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike a lot of people on the online book community, I have not yet read E. Lockhart's We Were Liars. This is the first of E. Lockhart's books I've read, so I don't really have any feelings about other books to compare this to.

"This story takes place in a number of worlds. But mostly in two."

This book follows Adelaide Buchwald and her experiences coming to terms with herself and her grief in multiple universes. I wouldn't say it's a romance, exactly, though there is romance in it. Adelaide falls in love constantly and immediately, and you'll meet the people who catch her eye and hold her heart.

Mainly, this story is about her and her brother, Toby. He's a recovering addict, and her relationship with him was once central to her life. The tragedy and chaos surrounding Toby's addiction has strained her dynamic with someone so important to her, and its affecting how she experiences the world. I think, at it's heart, despite all the worlds and romances and moments, this is about Adelaide finding her brother again.

I liked this story. I liked the way it was written, with occasional lyrical poetry in her thoughts and actions, because Adelaide is a character who sees art in the world. I liked the possibilities, the unfinished stories, the way you were exploring all the outcomes of one moment.

My main problem was simply that I didn't care about any of the characters in Adelaide's world. I didn't care about her love interests, I didn't care about the teachers (whose dialogue was written so strangely it felt inhuman). The book spent a lot of time telling you that Adelaide was in love with this person or that person, that Adelaide loved the dogs that weren't hers, but I didn't feel it. The only relationship I cared about was hers and Toby's, and even that fell flat sometimes. I didn't ever really like Jack, who was supposed to be some epic multiverse soulmate for a good majority of the book.

I will most definitely recommend this book to fans of poignant, touching contemporary YA. It was a good read, and it made me think, made me ponder on the nature of love itself. You may not love the ending if you're a fan of perfectly tied up romances, but I did like the ending, because to me, this story wasn't about romance. It was a story about family and grief and the way our decisions affect the world we create.

What if your relationship never happened? What if the break up was for a different reason? What if you met at a later point in time?

Again Again takes a look at different emotions and situations and changes them. The emotion changes with each new perspective, as the the outcome of the situation changes as well.

This to me was a kind of glimpse into time travel. if we could go back and change things, what would be effected? How?

This was a very emotional read, although it is fairly short. There were a lot of situations and ending all crammed into one, and it really made me think a lot about the “what if’s”

I normally enjoy Lockhart's books more than I enjoyed "Again Again." I've been trying to think why that is, and overall the book just seemed jumbled. I felt OK about Adelaide but I think she does seem like a realistic teenager in the way that she made bad decisions, was chatty, etc. I liked how she and her brother texted and made their relationship work again. I almost wish the book had been more about her family without any boy drama. I didn't enjoy the verse or the alternate worlds where something else happened. Also, screw Jack! He really stunk. I will say there is so much politically going on in the world I wonder if I wasn't in the head-space to read this book.

I enjoyed the protagonist herself but the story itself was confusing and lacking. It has the premise of being a very good book that just missed its mark. I love E. Lockhart and really enjoy her books but not this one. Take a look though because this is just my opinion and you may see something different that I didn't. The writing is wonderful as always. Happy reading!