Member Reviews
I absolutely loved everything about this book! First off I love time loop stories and I thought this one was really well done. Second, the representation in this book was fantastic. There were so many diverse characters and it never felt like they were there just to tick a box. We have a fat lesbian with IBS as the MC and a non-binary lesbian who uses a cane as the LI. Both characters are also Jewish. There is so much joy and wholesomeness in this book and I read it right when I needed something that would make me smile.
This is a debut book, and I cannot wait to read more from this author!! Highly recommend this to everyone!
Time loop narrative have become fairly standard and the thrust of the plot is typically always the same - the thing you think you need to do to break the loop (usually getting the day "exactly right") versus the changes you actually need to make to move forward. This one presents a few unique wrinkles that keep it from being too formulaic. Overall, not bad.
This was a delightful read with excellent character development that allows you to love the characters throughout the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, and am appreciative of NetGalley for the ebook arc copy in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA for the free ebook. My opinions are being left voluntarily. I don't normally like time loops as it feels like groundhog day bilut I loved this fun read.i loved the main characters I like how clear they show up with the authors descriptions. This would make the best adaptation.
4.5/5☆
A fat, queer, Jewish main character is all I need to give a book a chance! This was such a cute (nearly endless) summer romance. I think that the secret to my enjoyment of modern romance stories is to have fat and or Jewish main characters.
Phoebe was such a relatable fat character and I’m so happy I get to read good and positive stories about fat characters now in a way that I couldn’t as a teenager.
This is the second book I’ve read recently that’s discussed the characters being bashert and I just love it and the Jewishness of it.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
This was a mostly delightful, queer, time loop, summer read. I really liked the main character and her love interest. They were likable and worth rooting for. They both had physical conditions that were refreshing to see represented, but there was definitely more to them than that.
I always enjoy seeing how books take on the Groundhog Day trope and this was a (mostly) fun one that left me smiling.
I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.
I couldn't tell you the last time I finished an ebook in one day. It doesn't happen to me very often and there were just so many things about this book that drew me in immediately and I could not put it down.
Time and Time Again is a time loop story where we have our Jewish fat disabled chronically ill lesbian with anxiety MC who is stuck on August 6th and she is not having a good time. She spends her days having breakfast with her mom, reading material about time loops, and then going over to play Scrabble with her dad and uncles then eating food that is going to give her extreme pain. And it starts all over. That is until her ex childhood friend and gay awakening hit her with their car and end up pulled into the time loop.
So now we have Phoebe and Jess who are both reliving the same day over and over again and Jess is determined to show Phoebe how to have fun. I mean they might as well take advantage. Jess is also a disabled chronically ill Jewish lesbian and they are non-binary. So as this book continues we see the two of them have fun and sad and painful experiences and fall in love along the way all while stuck in a time loop where no one else is going to remember it.
This book is fun and so raw at the same time. It's a very realistic and unfiltered look into being chronically ill and being disabled and how we deserve to be able to share our stories and our pain and have someone understand without dismissing or immediately trying to fix us. Another recurring theme throughout this book is Phoebe's history with fat phobia and the medical system. Knowing how much care is denied to fat people is infuriating but it is a realistic look at what it's like to be fat and disabled.
I loved this. I read a lot of books with fat characters but to see one that looks almost exactly like me on a book cover is pretty life changing.
Also I just KNOW Phoebe and Jess would love my trans frog cookie and fat pride candles 💕
Time loops really aren't my thing, but Time and Time Again has changed my mind!! This was incredibly fun to read, especially as someone with a chronic illness. I love seeing disability and sapphic representation from the two main characters Phoebe and Jess. Please, more books like this!!
I so love the relationship that Phoebe has with her parents as well as Jess's relationship with their sibling and friends. Characters are a big part of wanting to read a book for me, so this was great! They were all so lovable and realistic.
While some (me) may say the third act breakup is overdone, I feel like this was one of the better iterations that I've read. It felt real and something that a teenager like Phoebe would actually go through with or without the addition of the time loop. The growth and character development kept me reading and made me look forward to how the characters would end up.
Overall a fantastic book that I will recommend to my book clubs and friends! Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC. 4.5/5 stars rounded up!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this
While this wasn't the story for me, I still loved the story it told of Phoebe standing up for herself in what she thought to be little ways, growing out of a pattern that was her comfort and also her shell in pushing others away in the long run. I loved how the communication between her and Jess got better over time but I do think that could've been a little less third-act breakup in a way.
I'm used to time loops being used for horror or thrilling stories, so I can appreciate the calm but serious style this took to it. Just two teens falling in love and talking about their disabilities, being Jewish, and also being queer. I loved how accepted Phoebe was within Jess' friend group too.
Fantastic!!!!!!!!! Really there's nothing more to say. The number of seldom discussed topics that were addressed made my YA loving adult self smile with joy knowing that kids nowadays finally get to see all the rough edges of a person. Thank you Chatham Greenfield!
Thank you to Bloomsbury USA Children's Books | Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.
4.5*
*I received a copy from Netgalley*
This was so fun. I really enjoyed this. I ended up getting the audiobook on libro.fm and did a tandem read with the earc on my kindle, and that was a great idea. I really enjoyed this.
I do wish we got a few chapters from Jess’ POV, but I understand why we didn’t.
Overall, a really enjoyable YA speculative fiction with a disabled lesbian MC and a disabled nonbinary lesbian love interest!!!!
This was an incredible YA debut speculative romance book featuring Phoebe, a plus sized Jewish lesbian teen girl with IBS and anxiety who finds herself stuck in a time loop repeating the same August 6th day over and over until she crashes into her childhood best friend, Jess and knocks them into the loop too.
I loved the EXCELLENT disability and therapy rep in this book! Phoebe struggles to get doctors to take her IBS seriously and is anxiously awaiting an appointment with a specialist that will never come if she can't figure out how to get out of the time loop. While, Jess has rheumatoid arthritis and uses mobility aids (cane and walker).
The mental health and therapy component of the story was also very well written and normalized and I loved that aspect of the book too. Great on audio and perfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon's See you yesterday (another Jewish time loop YA romance) or Lizzie Huxley-Jones' Make you mine this Christmas - a queer YA romance with plus size and chronic disability rep.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This was another great Reese YA Book Club pick selection and I can't wait to read more from this talented new author!
At its core, this is a fluffy time loop story about two lesbians falling in love. Phoebe is stuck in a time loop battling her IBS and waiting for a non-existent day when she has an appointment with a doctor who might finally look beyond her weight and treat her seriously. And yet Phoebe is afraid of change.
And then one day she crashes into her crush Jess and drags them into the loop with her. She has always had a crush on Jess and they were once friends so it's too easy to fall in love with them - which is exactly what Phoebe doesn't need happening in a freaking time loop.
I absolutely flew through this book. It's an adorable romance with two very lovable characters <3 Both Jess and Phoebe are such different personalities so it was fun to see the carefree Jess push the anxious and cautious Phoebe out of her comfort zone. And despite this being a very cute romance there is a lot of depth to all the characters and their relationships which made me love this book so much more <3
“You’ll have me as your certified Fun Guide.”
I feel very grateful forTime And Time Again, which embarked me on a roller coaster of emotions. This is a very cute YA story, never dark, even though many of the themes can be heavy (chronic diseases, anxiety, out “screen” parental homophobia, fat phobia, metaphor for suicide). I loved how the time loop image helped the author through that, and was a great metaphor for a lot of things –and feelings– that happen at the end of adolescence, adding a little fantastic element, that allowed us to see things a bit differently and lightened the themes.
The love story between Phoebe and Jess was incredibly cute, and I loved their dynamics, especially regarding how they deal with their disabilities, and how Phoebe has to learn to manage her anxiety. I identify myself with her so much. I wish I had such books when I was a teen (especially with the other main character being non binary), it would have helped me to know I wasn’t alone in that, no matter if it felt like that (yes, that clever time loop idea again). Her experiences and feelings were so accurate, shook so many of my own memories, that I felt very emotional while reading that book. I loved how Jess was supportive to Phoebe and made it possible for her to live many new experiences, despite their own agenda and secrets.
Thank you Chatham Greenfield, Bloomsbury Books US, Netgalley and Colored pages for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
this is an enjoyable read that i will definitely recommend to YA readers. the size and chronic illness rep are great additions. most of the external conflicts were pretty compelling. the ending reminded me a little too much of see you yesterday by rachel lynn solomon, and i would have liked an epilogue.
Phoebe Mendel is stuck in a time loop, reliving the ordinary events of August 6 over and over, until a car crash traps her childhood crush, Jess Friedman in the time loop with her. Phoebe has irritable bowel syndrome and wants to see the doctor. Jess has oligoarthritis which causes her to use mobility aids. They use the consequence-free days to have fun, but worry about how to escape. Will they always be in a time loop? Is there something else outside the time loop? Phoebe and Jess’ slow-burn romance is believable. It’s built on shared experiences as disabled Jewish lesbians in an unwelcoming town.
The author has written a queer disabled young adult novel. It is a well written romance with a twist. I enjoyed seeing Phoebe coming into her own self. The other people in the novel includes queer and racially diverse characters.
I loved loved loved loved this one. The main character, Phoebe, was absolutely amazing. I loved everything about her. She was everything and so layered and flawed and it was an honor getting to know her. I also loved the love interest. Let's go non-binary lesbians!!! There was a lot of different rep in this book and it felt so good and right.
The plot got me from the first line to the last. I could not stop reading. I just wanted to know what happened. Who knew a time loop story could be so fresh and not repetitive at all.
I don't know what to say, I just loved this all so much, I even shed a few tears towards the end.
Basically, I could not recommend this more and I'll definitely keep myself informed on Chatham Greenfield's next projects!
A time loop where two queer, disabled, Jewish teens must find a way to deal with the time loop all the while falling in love. Phoebe is stuck in a time loop, she's forever repeating August 6th and yet when her childhood crush Jess crashes into her time loop... things start to get interesting. Jess and Phoebe begin to break out of their tie loop routine and start having fun... yet the questions of what lies awaiting for them on the other side of the time loop and if they will escape it? This was definitely a case of "its me not you" and I thought that this would be the exception to my dislike of time loop stories but it just didn't work for me. I really wanted to get into this but i found myself getting bored. It might be a case of "right book, wrong time" and maybe if I were to read it again in the future I would have a better time with it. I do love the representation in this book and I would definitely recommend for fans of time loop romances.
Release Date: July 23,2024
Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)
*Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books | Bloomsbury YA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
I don't think I've ever seen so many underrepresented groups represented on the page as I did in Time and Time Again!
The book stars two Jewish lesbians: a self-loving fat main character, with irritable bowl syndrome (IBS),and a nonbinary lesbian who uses a cane and a walker. I adored both Phoebe and Jess and as someone with Jewish heritage I appreciated the light touch of Judaism throughout that felt very similar to what I experienced growing up.
This is a super sweet look at young love and an excellent look at reuniting with an old "friend." ;)
At times I did find this one a little slow and a little repetitive (well, yeah, it's a time loop but still!). I craved a little more conflict also, but if you're looking for something cozier and softer, with excellent rep, this is a great one to pick up!
This time loop YA Romance was a really fun treat! As we get to know Jess and Phoebe and their unique situation, we see their different experiences with Judaism, gender, and disability.
This story perfectly balances teen love, anxiety, and major life issues like being believed by your doctor. I would highly recommend this to teens wanting to engage with these topics and adults looking to heal their teenage hearts just a little.