I purchased this book for my high school library. My students have enjoyed it. and it has circulated well.

Emilia is heading to a party with her best friend Alistair. The party is hosted by one of the popular guys of her high school, Ben. She is totally happy when he starts to like her and asks her out, but then Alistair confesses to her that he is in love with her. Now her friendship with Alistair is never the same again. And she chooses Ben over Alistair.

Months later, she starts to doubt and wonder what would have happened if she had chosen Alistair, and she also just wanst their friendship to be as normal as it was again. But there is no way back..altough..

At a local festival, she stumbles upon a lady selling mineral stones. As if she can foresee Emilia's problems, she offers her a stone that makes past mistakes right again, and gives her the chance to do it over.

So the night after she has put the stone under her pillow, she wakes up and her room has changed, and her father seems to be in a happy normal mood instead of his ''normal'' depression. Her life seems to have reversed in a do-over, but not everything is as it seems.She apparently lost a piece of memory of her life and now has to navigate through it. Her friendship and love life seem just as complicated, her parents are having a divorce and are selling the house she grew up in and now she also can't go back to her normal life again. Be careful what you wish for..

This book is perfect or fans of movies like 13 going on 30 as it at some points reminded me of that movie. What if you could do things differently and all of a sudden woke up in a totally different reality as you wished for? Everything is like it but there is even a lot different that she didn't expected.I really liked the plot and the characters, alt beside Emilia the characters fell a bit flat.

Emila grews and learns along the way. She has to face that she can't control everything ins her life and in the end, she was an improved version of herself at the end of it all.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book!

Honestly, I feel that while the plot is promising, the author hinges it too closely on that of the protagonist getting together with a boy, which is kind of demeaning to the protagonist herself. It made a good fluff read, but I wouldn't recommend it out of a sense of "the protagonist deserved better."

Jennifer Honeybourn has got such an engaging writing style that readers of all ages cannot help but be charmed by her latest novel. The Do-Over.

Emelia has always wanted to fit in with the popular crowd at school. She adores her friends, Alistair and Marisol, and loves spending time with them, but she cannot help but wish that she was one of the cool kids and that she enjoyed all the adulation and popularity which comes so easily to do the A crowd. Emelia cannot believe her luck when Ben, the captain of the basketball team, asks her to a party at his house. Every girl at her high school would love to be Ben’s girlfriend, so she is absolutely overjoyed when things get serious between her and Ben. However, she ends up paying a high price for being popular as she begins to drift further and further away from her two best friends. Emelia’s dream of being popular has come true, so why isn’t she happy?

As the weeks go by, Emelia realizes that being Ben’s girlfriend isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Ben is a bully who likes making others suffer and the more time Emelia spends with him, the more she realizes that maybe she should have followed her gut and not refused Alistair’s invitation to the school dance. Emelia has never felt lonelier in her life and would love nothing more than for things to go back the way they were. When she finds a magical solution that could undo the last six months, Emelia thinks that she has found the answers to her prayers, but will she end up learning that sometimes it’s best to be careful what you wish for?

Will this do-over provide Emelia with the means to untangle the mess she has got herself in? Or has she only made things worse for her and her friends?

Funny, enjoyable and heartfelt, Jennifer Honeybourn’s The Do-Over is a charming, chatty and delightful read that I raced through. Readers are sure to relate to Emelia and find themselves rooting for her as she struggles with peer pressure, fitting in, making the right decisions and listening to her heart and trusting herself.

A witty and immensely entertaining read, Jennifer Honeybourn has written a fabulous YA novel readers will devour in one sitting.

I heart this story. The characters were well written and showed growth. I did have moments where i cringed over the actions of Emilia. I just thought the story was well written and enjoyable.

This one was cute. I little magic thrown in to a YA contemporary. I think my YA students would enjoy this one as a quick fun book.

From Emelia's experience, don't mess with your life's trajectory and just accept what happens. Otherwise, your life may be even more complicated than before.

Em is your typical nerdy teenager who wants to try something new without thinking of the consequences. Unfortunately, she loses sight of what is important and wants a do-over. Luckily, she is able to get that, but then the butterfly effect occurs. I have been in Em's shoes and only wish I could have done things differently in high school, but then I wouldn't be where I am today. I was happy by how Em grew from the changes in her life and how everything worked out in the end. As for the supporting characters, Em's best friend Alistair is a great character and reminds me of Ducky in Pretty in Pink. When you read the book, you will understand why. Also, Violet is also a fun character who is gutsy and creative with her grand gesture towards her crush at work.

Overall, I found this to be a unique and fun YA novel with a paranormal twist that makes one think carefully about the choices one makes in life.

Thank you to Ms. Honeybourn for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

This is my second book of Jennifer Honeybourn's that I've read. I'm also part of the Xpresso Book Tours!

Just after Christmas, Emma makes a decision between two guys; she picks popular Ben over her best friend Alistair. Six months later, at the beginning of summer, after witnessing Ben and his friends be rude to Alistair and another friend, she starts to regret her choice. After talking with Alistair and finding out he doesn't want anything to do with her, she ends up purchasing a crystal that can change one of your past regrets. She uses it and wakes up in an alternate world where she picked Alistair. But she soon learns the grass isn't necessarily greener on the other side.

What drew me to this book was one, I was familiar with the author and two, a "what-if" universe scenario. And I love how Emma finds out that making one wish to change one thing doesn't mean she's going to wake up in a perfect new world.

Some of the other characters I enjoyed we're lesbian Violet and Alistair, who in this new world seems to be trying to help all the people he cares about, even if it means withholding facts from another friend.

I would have loved to see her reveal to someone (hopefully Violet or maybe Alistair) about the world she came from. It would have been interesting to see what another person in her life thought.

Anyway, this is a good romantic-comedy teen book with a good "what-if" world twist.

Emilia wishes she could erase the past six months and make a different choice, and thanks to a carnival fortune teller, she gets to do just that: Six months ago, she chose popular boy Ben over her longtime bestie Alistair; now, she never started dating Ben but somehow she never got things going with Alistair either. Can she get a do-over on her do-over?
I’m a fan of the premise of The Do-Over because I think we’d all like to see how making a different choice might have changed our lives, but that’s because making different choices should ultimately make us different, too, right? We’re making a different choice because we’ve realized that we could have been smarter/braver/happier/less lonely/whatever. Meanwhile, Emilia just wants a different boyfriend, which she could achieve by — wait for it — breaking things off with the guy she’s just not that into and telling her best friend who has a gigantic crush on her that she likes him, too. There’s no need for magic fortunes, you guys — this is just dealing with, you know, actual life. The problem isn’t Emilia’s choices; the problem is Emilia, who is so self-centered that she misses everything happening in the lives of the people around her and can’t be bothered to ask a direct question or give a direct answer. This is the last thing young women need — the idea that they can rely on a magic potion to make everything better while they passively go along for the ride in a cute outfit. NOPE.

This was a cute story that I will definitely be recommending to my students. Emelia is a teenager finds a way to redo her past and fix a mistake that she thinks that she made in her love life. This is one that I think fans of YA fiction will really enjoy!

**Visit me at Smada's Book Smack **

Emilia has a crush on one of her best friends Alistair but doesn't want to ruin her friendship so she ignores her feelings and jumps at the chance to date cute, popular Ben. When her friend confessions his feelings to her, she rejects him to give her new feelings for Ben a shot. Emilia has no idea that her one action would cause her whole life to change and that she would be so unhappy. When she meets a fortune teller at the night market(fair) she is drawn to a crystal that "will change her life". Not believing, but still hoping, Emelia wishes on the crystal so she can have a chance to choose better for love. But one action can have far reaching consequences that Emelia never saw coming- be careful what you wish for because your second chance may not be what you want.

I picked up this book mainly due to the author since I have enjoyed her past stories. This is the third book I have read by this author and I can report that all her books are adorable, lighthearted, fun and quick! I started this one morning and was shocked to find I had finished it by the evening, reading it here and there throughout the course of the day since the chapters were nice and short and the plot kept moving. Any of this author's books are the perfect, light escapism reading that I enjoy. I hadn't read the synopsis when I started reading the book, instead I went into the story blindly and expected a straightforward contemporary romance with a love triangle, and next thing I know, there was a fair and a psychic and a second chance life! I grew up on the movie Big, so I know how making wishes on anything at fairs/carnivals never plays out as expected. I really liked how this had a touch of magic, more like an idea of it to help keep the story going, but the main plot was very down to earth. The main take-home message for this book is to not make wishes from mysterious fortune tellers at carnivals!

Overall this was an easy, engaging read, heavy on the romance and angst and light on the magic. I love that this is a standalone read and wraps up the story, even though I wish there was a little bit more about the status of the parents/school situation at the end. I recommend The Do-Over for anyone who enjoys ya contemporary romances with a touch of paranormal flair.

The Do-Over feels reminiscent of a lot of the fun teen rom-coms, notably 13 Going On 30. I also felt it had some slight vibes of the more recent Isn’t It Romantic, but for the teen set. It’s fairly predictable, in the sense that the moral is to “be careful what you wish for,” but the story also provides some comfort in that predictability, particularly when things fall into place at the end.

Emilia isn’t always likable…she makes bad, self-serving choices, and that’s the whole reason for wanting to do things over to begin with. But on some level I could still identify with her, as I remember what things were like for me at her age and not really belonging.

I love her relationship with her friend-turned-love-interest, Alistair, and how they complement each other. I wish the plot had allowed for more exploration of their relationship, instead of her figuring out how to make things right with him when things kept going wrong, but I understand why.

This is fairly cute, but I do think this is a book that is solely for teen readers going through this stuff right now, and I don’t think it should be critiqued too harshly for accurately suiting the audience it’s meant for.

I really like the magical realism that seems to be Jennifer Honeybourn's recurrent theme, and I can never resist it. For this book, we meet Em, who had to choose a boy over her friends, including Alistair, for whom she notices too late her feelings. One day she gets an only chance of changing something in her life, and she finally manages to get into a timeline in her life where she never chose the other boy. However, things unraveled in a way that she can only describe as a disaster.

I would say this deserves a 3.5.

As predictable as the trope could have been, I'll say Honeybourn managed to surprised me at times. It's still your usual YA setting but there was something different with the path the story takes. What I could point out is that, usually, this trope will lead you to conclude your previous life was better despite all our complaints. The book didn't follow this, which is a good way to play with a cliche, I really liked how this went.

While I still enjoyed the story, I couldn't get too into it. I feel that I kept waiting for the book to start and then it ended. Aside from not liking the main character enough, one issue I can point out is that while this is very centered on Em's feelings for Alistair, it was like they never got a truly romantic moment aside from the beginning. Em chooses the other boy then, and then, why did she fall for Alistair? I couldn't feel the progression of her feelings very well, and the lack of swooning moments would already have been a problem for me in a romance. I'd say this book is made for those readers who aren't that into romances but would still like to read one once in a while, because while it's one, it's definitely not the reason I'd recommend the story.

Although it was disappointment the development issue for the romance, I liked the side things going on. Em finding new friends, us having new insights of her other friends now we're in a different timeline, there was even some small mystery—although it was easy to solve. In all, it wasn't a good romance, but a nice book nevertheless.

Honest review based on an ARC provided for the book tour through Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

The Do-Over by Jennifer Honeybourn is a contemporary young adult book with some fantasy thrown in. I thought the concept was cute, but it felt incomplete. I appreciated that the wish didn’t end up exactly where I was expecting, but overall, I was disappointed in the characterization and the ending. Should Emilia have gone back to her original world? Maybe. Either way, it ended on a weird note, especially knowing this is for a teen audience.

Chapter one was such a slow drag and I couldn't find it in me to want to continue. The premise was so, so interesting but the execution was eh

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Emilia finally got her shot at being part of the upper crust, when one of the most popular boys at school asks her to the winter formal. However, this coincided with her best friend, Alistair, finally confessing his feelings for her. Her heart was torn, but Emilia was blinded by the allure of popularity. It's a decision she grows to regret. Six months later, she finds herself wishing she could go back to that night and make a different choice, and somehow, the universe made this happen.

This is the fourth book I have read from Honeybourn, and as always, I enjoyed it. It was on the lighter side, with some depth, and I appreciated the BIG ideas in the story. She touched upon friendship, regret, making good choices, being true to yourself, appreciating our loved ones, and accepting that some things are out of our control. These are definitely things I have personally struggled with, and I appreciated the way they were worked into the story.

I was immediately drawn to the main characters, because they reminded me so much of my own friends from my teen years. This trio was more likely to be found playing Settlers of Catan than at a party on a Friday night. Swap Catan for Trivial Pursuit, and you just described me in my wild teen years. I also loved that Alistair would speak in movie quotes. This is something very popular among my famly, and there is nothing that delights me more than a well placed quote.

For me, the focus of the story was Emilia. Her choice had some repercussions, and she grew to deeply regret the choice she made. She lost so much more than she gained and also seemed to lose herself in the process. Even with the do-over, she stumbled, but she learned a bit along the way. She was an improved version of herself at the end of it all. She still had a ways to go, however she got to a point of understanding and acceptance.

Although I was entertained throughout, I wish there had been an epilogue. Rushed endings always rub me the wrong way, and this ending was a bit rushed. It ended well, but it wasn't enough to sate me.

Overall: A cute story about being careful what you wish for and learning to be a better version of yourself.

My notes for now -
Will update with full review later -



writing is awkward to me -
present tense with some stilted dialogue

FtoL


unexpected jealousy and repressed feelings

Love that Alistar doesn't care at the popular crowd

But Em, ugh, her desire to want to be in the popular group is depressing

a friendship made awkward and tense

1st person pov - Em

a wish to go back in time
that whole "change one thing"

one has to accept the choices they made

HS
nothing special

Emelia's dream finally comes true....the hottest guy in school is interested in her and she has an opportunity to be accepted by the in-crowd. Never mind that Ben (aka hottest guy in school) is a jerk and a bully to her two best friends and that she has to give up some of her favorite hang-outs and things to do...THE HOTTEST GUY IN SCHOOL IS INTERESTED IN HER!! On the night of Ben's party, Emelia chooses him over Alistair, one of her best friends who finally admits he is interested in being more than friends. Fast forward six months and Emelia has a shaky spot with the in-crowd and her two former best friends have parted ways with her. During one date night that has become like every other in which Ben and his buddy are finding targets to bully and the other girl in the in-crowd is ignoring her, Emilia realizes how unhappy she really is and wishes there was a way to repair the friendship with her former BFFs. Suddenly, she stumbles upon a psychic's tent. She doesn't have enough money for a reading, but can buy a crystal that is guaranteed to allow her to go back and change one thing from her past (as long as it isn't trying to raise the dead). The next morning Emelia wakes up to a whole different world with no memory of the "new" past six months. She was able to undo the fateful night when she chose Ben, but she is left with a new reality that took turns and curves she never expected based on the change of one moment in time.

The premise of the book is the Chaos Theory which says that anything happening in any given moment, no matter how small, can cause enormous and sometimes catastrophic changes elsewhere in the world. I do believe everything happens of reason and that any changes can have not only unintended changes to a life, but sometimes quite drastic ones. I loved the whole "be careful what you wish" for vibe of the story. I also loved the diverse cast of characters and that Honeybourn allowed the happy ending to be right but not perfect.

Although I don't feel this is a standout, knock-your-socks-off literary effort in the field of YA, it is definitely a quick, fun read and would make a solid addition to a middle school library collection.

Great Read. I love that she got what she wanted but its not exactly what she thought. Do overs and second chances are the thins of dreams and she gets hers. Would make a great movie. I highly recommend this cute read.

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.