I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book just wasn't my cup of tea. I love Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart but I just didn't get this book. I didn't get all the different scenarios for most of the scenes and then couldn't figure out which ones actually happened or if they all happened or what was going on. Especially once I got to the end. I did like the parts with her brother though. Those are the moments that got me most emotional. I just didn't really connect with this book or the characters.

In the wake of a major family emergency, Adelaide’s father takes a job at Alabaster Academy, and she moves with him to attend the prestigious boarding school. Now summer, Adelaide is tasked with pet-sitting her teacher’s dogs while they’re on vacation. While at the dog park, she meets Jack, another dog walker, and the two bond. Told as if the story took place in multiple parallel universes, Again Again explores the impact small consequences have on our overall life.

This book gave me a serious whiplash. Told in the third person, one minute you were being told one narrative, the next you were being told the same narrative only slightly differently. I had a hard time keeping track of what actually happened in the current parallel universe. It was somewhat exhausting. Once I got used to the style I had an easier time getting into the story.

I really enjoyed Adelaide as a character, especially as she came to terms with her family’s situation, and asking for what she really needed. My favorite relationship in the entire book was between Adelaide and her brother. It was unexpected from the synopsis I read, and the first few chapters in the book.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and Netgalley for my review copy! All opinions are my own.

Thanks for the free book @PRHinternational.

I was really curious about this title but this time I'm not really satisfied
I usually need few pages to understand if I like a book or not, and this is a certain DNF. The whole story maybe would be interesting, but it has been very boring from the beginning. Those sort of ipotetical dialogues that were alternated with the real ones seemed rather confusing then interesting and I didn't enjoyed them. They haven't been properly introduced and are mixed with a sort of peculiar writing style... too much.
I haven't connected with the main character too.
It seems the reader is behind a sort of glass looking through a story that even the author finds borign and this is a real problem when this kind of sensation is already present in chapter 1..
A real pity.

What I always enjoy about E. Lockhart’s books is how unique and creative they always are. Again Again is no exception as it explores the idea of the multiverse and all its various possibilities. It does so through the protagonist, teenager Adelaide Buchwald, as she spends her summer living on campus at the private school she attends and where her father is a professor.

The story is unique in the sense that every time Adelaide has an important conversation with someone, be it an ex boyfriend, a new potential boyfriend, a teacher, family member, whatever – in her mind and actually on the page, we get to see Adelaide process how these conversations could potentially go. If she changes just a word or a phrase or tone of voice, there could be a completely different outcome and chain reaction of events. At first I found the repetitive nature of each scene a little confusing, but once I got into a rhythm, I loved exploring all of the different possibilities.

As much as I enjoyed the unique aspect of the storytelling, the biggest draw for me was Adelaide herself. She and her family have gone through some difficult times, particularly with respect to her brother, and not wanting to add more stress, Adelaide spends a lot of time pretending that she’s much happier than she really is. In reality, she’s struggling to concentrate in school and her grades are falling because of it and she just lacks the motivation to try to stop the free fall. On top of that, her boyfriend abruptly breaks up with her so she’s trying to come to terms with that, as well as figure out what’s going on with another boy she has just met on campus. I found many of her experiences, as well as her frustration and confusion, just so relatable, and I also found her especially endearing because of her attachment to all the dogs she has been hired to walk during the summer. How can you not love a dog person?

The synopsis of Again Again advertises it as mostly a romance, but I personally viewed it as more of a coming of age story for Adelaide as she comes to terms with everything that has been dragging her down. It’s a story that can definitely be funny at times, but I also found it quite moving. If you usually enjoy Lockhart’s unique brand of storytelling, I think you’ll enjoy Again Again as well.

I’m honestly not quite sure what to make of this book. Although there were some very honest, heartfelt and deep moments throughout the story, I just never completely understood what I was reading. The format felt all over the place to me. Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC.

I have a confession: I was not looking forward to finishing this book.

This had nothing to do with the quality of the writing and everything to do with my own inability to handle bittersweet outcomes. Any mention of missed opportunities or doomed endings and my heart just starts aching on command. I don't even like reading second-chance romances for this very reason - and every one of those couples end up together.

My dread with regards to this book can be mainly attributed to two causes, the first being the crossed fates of Adelaide and Jack. In the "main" universe (and perhaps even in most universes) theirs is a relationship that isn't meant to last - there's enough foreshadowing to prepare the reader for the likely inevitable outcome. But apparently, that won't stop my heart from instantly supporting their coupling, and dreaming that now will be the perfect storm that produces the outcome where everything falls into place. When Adelaide got carried away with the idea of love in the little gestures, I let myself get carried away too, because I am nothing if not an absolute sucker for a romance you can get swept away in. So despite any warning signs in her interactions with Jack, I still held onto hope that this will be the universe where it all works out. Not that this helped ease the impact on my tender soul when things fell apart in one alternate universe after the next.

The other source of melancholy for me was Toby - specifically the boy he used to be. Of course, what he deals with is not an uncommon issue, and even if I asked that the book never had Toby be sucked into addiction (which I am not), it's not like that's a possibility for any of the countless real life addicts who've gone through a similar experience. It also wouldn't erase the fact that Toby's addiction was a symptom of other issues. And I really have to commend the compassionate treatment of Toby in this book as well - it conveys his struggles in a way that strikes a chord with the reader. But again, that doesn't stop my poor heart from wanting to shelter tiny puppy Toby from it all in the first place.

But isn't that part of the point of Again Again? Each glimpse into a parallel universe bolsters the idea of more possible outcomes, more worlds where things transpire differently, more happily. And by the end - if you're me, at least - you're left unable to stop running scenarios in your head where, this time, things turn out differently.

That's kind of the beauty of this book. It's a slightly more literal interpretation of all of humanity's missed chances. But just because they're missed chances doesn't mean that there's a happy ending in store if only that one chance was taken. There are no guarantees. We're stuck with the choices we made, so just embrace what you have and trudge forward.

Again Again definitely isn't a book for everyone, though if you're a fan of E. Lockhart, you know what you're getting yourself into. Even I was wary of the inclusion of poetic writing at first, and I say this being a fan of both We Were Liars and poetic writing in general. My initial instinct was fear that the poetic element might be gimmicky - however, I quickly realized the purpose it serves. Like the world(s) inhabited in the book, the writing is a slightly more magical version of typical prose. It's a manifestation of Adelaide's inclination towards magical thinking. What happens in this book is not everyday life.

That isn't to say that every instance of the poetic elements struck a chord with me. Oftentimes it worked, but sometimes it didn't. I can't ever hold it against the author for taking a chance, though.

My only other main criticism is with regards to the ending. For me, it didn't feel like enough in the story had been wrapped up. And I suppose it's possible that may have been the point, that everything is all ongoing. Nevertheless, I can't help but think that the story of the "main" timeline cut off too abruptly, and almost all of the threads hadn't been tied up at all. At the very least, there wasn't enough resolution to satisfy me personally. I get why its last line is what it is, but that doesn't mean I'm happy to leave everything else where they stand before reaching that point. It's all a little too open-ended for my liking.

The feeling of dissatisfaction is the main reason why I was struggling about how to rate this book. Despite my quasi-aversion to bittersweet melancholy, I did appreciate what most of Again Again achieved. It made me feel a certain way - only for the ending to leave me feeling a different way. In the end though, I have to give credit where it's due. What matters is that I felt something. And any novel that achieves the feat of making me feel the book's emotions is a successful work in my book.

3.5 stars
Again Again is a story about a teen girl, struggling after a breakup and watching her younger brother deal with a serious opiate addiction. Within this plot, certain experiences play out in different universes with what could've happened, but didn't.

It could be poetic at times. It was deep and thoughtful. It was a good coming of age story where she learns about herself and makes herself a better person.

I struggled a bit with the different universes. For example, she would meet a guy and it would go through different scenarios of what could happen. After the scenarios it was hard to decide what (if anything) happened. This happened multiple times and I never quite got used to it. At times the writing was choppy. She meant for it to be this way because of how it was spaced, but it didn’t flow and I don't feel it gave the reader the experience Locke was going for, at least with me. I felt the main character's self esteem was wrapped up in her boyfriend relationships and I don't like that message for teens. I wanted her to break away and find herself without a guy.

The opiate addiction her brother had was heavy. It brought such a good light to what people (him and his family) actually go through. While it was hard to read, I feel it gave a good description about her feelings and the battle it was for him each day. I think there is a lot to be learned from his experience.
Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is out tomorrow, June 2, 2020.

An interesting take on plot and time.

Let’s start with what I loved about this book: the relationship between Adelaide and her brother Toby. That was the one relationship in the whole book that felt authentic and true. Their texts, calls, how they spoke to each other, their inside jokes and funny names, their anger at each other, and their love for each other is so real and believable. I loved it!

I understand that this book plays with time and alternative versions of the same story — Adelaide’s falling in love with a boy over summer — but it was confusing at first.

Besides Toby and Oscar, who we only get to know at the very end, I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters or like them for that matter. I like Adelaide’s relationships to her family, but not necessarily her. I wanted to like her, but couldn’t fully get there.

The writing is very lovely at times and I love all of the mentions of art and poetry and music, but I don’t feel like I “got” the point of the alternate versions of time.

*a 3.5 is much closer to my rating of this novel*.
I became interested in reading Again Again because I loved We Were Liars.
Again Again takes a completely different turn, but Lockhart’s beautiful prose do not fail to be present..
Adelaide is a young girl trying to cope with her sadness. She has built for herself a bright persona, and throughout the novel she reflects upon the emotions she keeps hidden.
As the blurb says, Adelaide falls in love many times in many universes. This means that the narrative consistently switches between one universe and another. For me, it was confusing to keep up with. We are following the same conversations/events but they do not always go about the same way. Nevertheless, it was an interesting way to show how small decisions can change the course of a life. I think the more you read the easier it becomes to follow all the universes.
Personally, I was uninterested with the romantic relationships Adelaide has throughout the book. What I really appreciated was Adelaide’s discoveries about her own unhealthy behaviors with romance/love/partners. She romanticizes the people around her, falls in love with only the ‘idea’ of someone, and bases her happiness on their feelings. I think many people will be able to relate to her in that sense. She is vocal about her inability to be truly open while badly wanting to be loved.
What I truly loved about this novel was Adelaide’s relationship with her brother Toby. Much of her sadness stems from Toby’s addiction. She fears she will lose her brother forever. A large portion of the novel centers around the two of them reconnecting and rebuilding their relationship. Lockhart shows how addiction not only affects the addict but their loved ones. I really enjoyed reading about them being open with one another. While I was not head over heels for this novel, I would recommend it for the two of them alone.

4.5 Stars.

I was going to give this 4 stars but I decided to round up because of the interesting premise. In general I enjoyed seeing multiple ways a scene in the book could play out, but it also confused me a little. I kept trying to figure out if each time there was a different scene option it was supposed to line up with another of the scene options before like if they were from the same parallel universe. Sorry if that’s confusing. I’m not sure how to explain it.

And I was confused again by the full story told again from another parallel universe, without the scenes from other parallel universes coming in.


But even through that confusion I still really liked it. It was different, I cared about the characters and I really like how her addict brother Toby was portrayed. I definitely feel like I could read it again and get even more from it. I recommend it if you want to read an entertaining but also thoughtful YA story.

*ARC copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

E. Lockhart writes reality with a passion similar to some of my very favorite YA Authors; ie. Rainbow Rowell, Becky Albertali, and Nick Lake. The characters in Again, Again are developed in such a way that you can reach out and touch them. They are familiar, they are friends, neighbors, or loved ones. Their actions and feelings are real to the nature of the persona they characterize.

I really enjoyed this read, I loved the juxtaposition of the alternative realities. At points, I felt as though I had the privilege of picking and choosing my adventure, even though I truly didn't. There were portions of this that were difficult to read as Adelaide (our heroine) deals with the realities involved with having an addict as a family member. Often she was heartbroken, unsure in the surety of her feelings, unsure of her place in her family, or at the school, or in the turbulent nature of her romantic entanglements.

Overall this was a really delightful read, but it let me down in one area. I received no closure for Adelaide. Where the end was open, it was hopeful, but it was just one of many alternative universes, and one that hadn't even been portrayed throughout the story, and even for those that were... well... I wasn't a fan of how they ended.

Let me know if you feel differently. I am very curious to see how people receive this book.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is one of those books that I find myself thinking about even though years have passed since I read it for the first time. Lockhart's writing and characters struck me.

Again Again is no different.

Once again, Lockhart has created a world and a cast of characters that I continue to think about days after finishing the book. The thought of alternate realities and multiverses is something I can't always wrap my head around, but this is usually in regard to BIG things - like world changing things. Lockhart's approach to alternate realities has to do with small moments - how someone ends a sentence, she decided to not walk the dog that one time, she didn't text a boy back. The drastic changes in the characters' shared realities due to these small decisions have made me think about small changes in my reality.

I haven't read as much YA recently, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Basically, I'll read anything E. Lockhart writes :)

Interesting concept but I was unable to really get into this book. The alternate versions of the story made it hard to follow. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just hard to focus on with everything else going on in the world.

Adelaide starts her summer with an egg yolk of misery and a secret she's been suppressing all school year: her misery stems from her boyfriend dumping her right as the summer begins, and her secret is that she's actually unhappy because her family has been coping with her brother's recovery from drug addiction for the past year. And then she meets a boy, and they hit it off - in some universes. In others, not so much.

The idea of infinite universes allowing infinite possibilities has of course been done before, but what makes Lockhart's version so affecting is that it's not about Adelaide finding the right universe or making the right decision to save her romance. From early on, we realize that it's about Adelaide facing and coping with her own unhappiness. She is so used to covering it - for the sake of her brother's recovery, her parents' ability to manage the situation, and the comfort of the people around her - that she can barely admit her own grief, fear, and anger to herself. That pain hinders both her schoolwork and her relationships - not to mention her ability to plan beyond those immediate concerns.

It's such a real portrayal of unhappiness, especially as unhappiness as a teenager, that it truly touched my heart. Breakups and falling in love, despite how much time Adelaide spends worrying about it, is actually quite secondary in the long run. I admit, this challenged my own preconceptions a bit, as I kept wanting at first to find the universe in which Adelaide gets her happy ending. But as Adelaide starts contemplating the true reasons for her unhappiness, I was far more emotionally affected than I would have been by any romance.

My biggest challenge with this book was that I occasionally found the jumps between universes confusing to track. The way the different fonts were used was extremely helpful in realizing that jumps were happening, but it was sometimes hard to keep track of which events had happened in which story line. Despite this, I really enjoyed the story and will probably keep it in mind for a while to come.

4.5 stars
A little bit difficult to follow at first, once you get into the groove this is a breathtakingly heartbreaking--and yet at the same time, heart-affirming novel. I just loved Adelaide and the many manifestations of her life and her romance.
Where the deepest strengths of this novel lie, however, are in its depiction of addiction and its real effects on a family. I was moved to tears at different times during the interactions between Adelaide and Toby. How awkward and difficult and still absolutely loving they were when the siblings were trying to find their way through the terrible circumstances.
There's humor here, and some definite room for reflection--what could my own life have been if I had lived each situation in a parallel universe with one tiny change? What would have changed and what would have stayed the same? Would I even be the same? Lots of pondering in a very good way.

I was so happy when I was approved for this eARC, as I really enjoyed Lockhart's "We Were Liars". This is a story of a girl named Adelaide and her summer of relationships (family/romantic). What makes this book unique is that it also follows different multiverse's! It threw me off at the beginning, but I liked it SO much! It really makes you think about your own choices, and how things would have played out if you had made different decisions.

I like that it wasn't just following romantic relationships, but also family dynamics as well. After her brother Toby's relapse, it is hard for Adelaide to talk to him. She doesn't know who this version of her brother is, which makes it hard to trust him or know what to say to him. I loved reading about their relationship, and how it differed in each multiverse.

The end multiverse was very bittersweet, but you could tell how much Adelaide matured in that summer. I don't want to give anything away, so you're just going to have to read it!

I have received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, E. Lockhart, Random House Children's, and Delacorte Press for the ARC.

Adelaide and her family were still coming to terms with her brother's addiction. As her family supported him through multiple stints at rehab, Adelaide wanted to be the good daughter, the easy child. She found comfort in assuming these roles, but the longer she played them, the more she lost touch with herself. Now dumped by her boyfriend and on academic probation, she finds herself adrift, but not lost, in a sea of possibilities.

The hook of this book is supposed to be the idea of the multiverse. That the entirety of our world is the sum of a group of universes. Heady stuff, but don't worry, because it's not that complicated in AGAIN AGAIN. In the book, we follow Adelaide over the course of a summer. We watch her fall in and out of love, confront her fears, reconnect with her brother, and complete her design project. As the story plays out, there are points, where multiple possibilities are explored, and we get to see how each choice she makes affects the outcome. I read these little branch points, and found it interesting, but when I saw how it all came together at the end, I was a bit awed. I tip my hat to you, Ms. Lockhart.

I loved seeing the different potential outcomes. It was fascinating to imagine how big an impact small decisions could make. Each thread had Adelaide making different choices for her love life, but in all of them, she was a sister desperately trying to restore her relationship with her younger brother. It was the moments she shared with her brother, that hit me the hardest. Those scenes were touching and heart wrenching, and I think they impacted me more, because I lost a cousin, who had lived with my family, to addiction, and was therefore, I understood her pain and fear. It was also fantastic seeing her grow in each possible universe. Different choices yielded different outcomes, yet each augmented Adelaide's understanding of herself, her brother, her parents, love, and life.

When I finished this book, I wiped my tears, and just sat back, so I could quietly appreciate the beauty of the story. It was a little bit sad and bittersweet, but it was also imbued with hope. It reminded me that life is full of endless possibilities, and that I do wield some power over it via the choices I make.

While I appreciate what Lockhart was trying to do, I just wasn't feeling it. This is my 3rd Lockhart book, having read "We Were Liars" (which I loved) and "Genuine Fraud" (which I liked). I've read other books with alternate paths/choices for the protagonists and found Lockhart's format to be choppy and abrupt, which worked for this particular book due to the difficult and heartbreaking subject matter being dealt with within the story. For me, however, I had trouble connecting with any of the characters on a deeper level making it tough to empathize with any of the decisions the protagonists makes or doesn't choose. I felt separated from the action.

This book completely confused me. I couldn’t follow where it was going or what I was presently reading. The flow of the story didn’t make sense. When reading the alternative scenarios, I didn’t understand their purpose. To me it didn’t enhance the story or my understanding of the characters. It just seemed like misplaced information.

The story was not captivating. I would find myself reading the story and immediately forget what I had just read. I felt such a disconnect with Adelaide. I couldn’t understand her or relate to her situation because I was completely lost on what was happening in the story. I couldn’t tell the difference between the alternative worlds which made it hard to follow the correct versions of the characters.

I feel like the author tried to accomplish a unique way to write a contemporary YA book but for me it fell flat. I do appreciate the originality of it and reading the bond between Toby and Adelaide. I enjoyed that they explored that type of family dynamic, but overall I don’t think this book was made for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this ARC

I think I can definitively say that E. Lockhart just isn't the author for me. While the writing was absolutely beautiful and had a graceful rhythm that pondered along with Adelaide's thoughts. I don't actually know what the hell was going on. I think this might be a book I need to physically hold in my hands and see the words on a page to try and understand what was happening. It's a good story, I think, with Lockhart's expected pretentiousness, but I don't think I'm mentally capable of getting anything from the story other than a huge question mark. But if you're looking for a weird time and want a cerebral book that engages you with a stream of conscious style narrative, I think you'll enjoy this.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review