See You Yesterday

The Netgalley gods have delivered for ol’ Nat this week! I almost woke my toddler up with my screams of delight when the approval for See You Yesterday arrived in my inbox.

Anyone who asks me for a book rec always gets a Rachel Lynn Solomon suggestion. TTT is one of my favourite books of all time. What I’m trying to say - my anticipation and excitement for this book was off the charts, and my bias risk is high haha.

SYY is a timeloop story, a la Palm Springs and Groundhog Day. The differentiating factor: Miles has already been repeating the day for weeks when Barrett has her first repeat. It’s a YA romance with quirky leads and a whole lot of backstory that gets you in the heart.

Things I liked:
- Barrett has no filter and generally says the awkward or sassiest thing. I really enjoyed her and being in her head.
- Miles is a smarty pants and I love it when nerdy guys are the hero!
- The heavier science-take on the timelooping was very cool - though I quit physics in year 11 and a lot of it went over my head haha
- HE FALLS FIRST. Gah. My catnip.
- The build up between the leads was the perfect slow burn for YA

I don’t have much to say about what I didn’t like because I loved it all? Haha. I sometimes struggle with sci-fi elements and my ability to detach from reality to get into the story. Wasn’t really a problem here! Maybe a little bit of repetition/similarity with other timelooping concepts?

Long story short: deliciously written, swoony and good fun. Immediate purchase for me. Go and get it.

Image: Cover of See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

5 stars
TW; ongoing trauma from high school bullying and betrayal, mentioning of addiction, death

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I absolutely loved this. I've read a couple of time-travel/groundhog day books before, and none were done as well as See You Yesterday. Both Barrett and Miles face a lot of realistic emotions whilst being stuck in the time loop of their first day of college, and even when it was really over the top (adopting dogs, buying cars, turning pools into ball pits, for example), it still felt plausible to me.

But where the beauty of this novel hit home for me was in Barrett as a character. She was so darn relatable, I was almost triggered by my own past high school experience because of how closely it felt to hers. This is my first time reading a Rachel Lynn Solomon book, and I just have to say, her characterisation skills are on point. Barrett felt like someone I would have liked to have as a friend, and like Miles, thought was too cool to be my friend. She's been through hell and back during high school, and her desire for college to be her start over added a level of believability to this world. I think we've all been there in some way in our lives, and everything she felt or did had me invested from the start.

Miles, too, was a wonderful character. I loved his development the most throughout the novel. How he slowly blossomed in front of Barrett and shared his vulnerabilities with her was rewarding. It made their relationship all the more spectacular when Barrett began to realise she had feelings for him. I especially loved some of the moments that come to light from Miles previous experiences in the time loop, and how that played into their relationship. The trauma both characters faced from the pressures of their teenage years was so realistic, and I sat there wishing I had a Miles in my first year of university too. It's wholesome to see two people come together in the way Barrett and Miles did.

The time loop element of this book didn't get old, as I expected, which I was happy about. Even though September 21st repeated many times, there was always something new to explore or battle through. A lot of highs and lows occurred and kept the repetition fresh throughout. I also appreciated that it was never put in the back pocket of the novel as I've read in other stories like this. It's resolved well, the time-travelling is well thought out and shown through small details and changes that happened the longer the day repeated for both of them. I wasn't left pondering how it could work, because the author gave enough information for it to be plausible. I did find the final angsty moment a little exasperating, but it was quickly resolved, which I appreciated.

The humour and fun of the world really balanced out the angstier moments, and the romance was worth the wait. I think a lot of people of all age groups could like this book. It has a lot of relatable moments, and I consumed it, even lost sleep because I didn't want to step away from it.

I'll definitely be reading more by this author in the future.

See You Yesterday was just simply delightful!

Barrett and Miles go through quite the journey that is full of laughs, tears, happiness, sadness and a hell of a lot of fun

It was great to see a "non-traditional" romantic leads - Barrett (super cool the name BTW Rachel) isn't stick-thin with perfect hair, she's got a curvy body and a crap tonne of curly hair. Miles is skinny, mixed race and has big ears. Neither fit the stereotypical mould that you come to expect in romance/contemporary romance novels so it was a nice change!

Barrett has a wicked sense of humour, which I also loved

The ebook is out now and paperback will be published July 6th

Make sure to add it to your TBR and pre-order now!

Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion