Again Again by E. Lockhart

Summary from Goodreads:

From the New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud comes a complex novel about acceptance, forgiveness, self-discovery, and possibility, as a teenage girl attempts to regain some sense of normalcy in her life after a family crisis and a broken heart.

If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?

After a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, Adelaide Buchwald finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility, during which she will fall in and out of love a thousand times--while finally confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind.

A raw, funny story that will surprise you over and over, Again Again gives us an indelible heroine grappling with the terrible and wonderful problem of loving other people.

Review:

I’ve been really struggling to read lately…Normally, it’s my ultimate escape. But, lately, I’ve been escaping in mindless tv and visual arts. I know 2020 has been a crap year for everyone. My ideal reading time is before bed. But lately, I’m just so mentally exhausted by the time I get to bed that I don’t feel up to it. This is the first book that hooked me for a long time. And it didn’t quite hook me right away. I wasn’t sure about the repeat tellings of the writing style at first (the author tells something, then repeats it as if on a road not followed the first time). I find myself easily coming up with excuses for not reading books, and that was sure to become one. But…there’s something so appealing to me about E. Lockhart.

There’s certain authors that just call to me –even when I think they are doing something I don’t agree with. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. And I guess I gave this author a longer shot at pulling me in than I have for other authors lately. I’m really glad I did because I did end up enjoying this one. It was different, and quirky. It was also a fast read because there was a lot of white space between the pages of the repeat happenings.

I think one of the things that calls to me about this author is the sense of surprise. She doesn’t follow all the rules of the YA trope. She breaks them. She will continue to surprise me. Right when I think the main character is being written to end up with one love interest, I’m proven wrong. I love how it’s not about one true love here. It’s about falling in and out of love again and again. Life isn’t about the one love of most YA novels. This rings truer than most stories.

I also love the dogs! The names of the dogs are fantastic. And the idea that Adelaide can hear what they are saying sometimes? Perfect. I also love the family story behind all of the love stories. I found myself really connecting to it because I too also have a brother who is an addict, and it was nice to read a book that talked about this. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a YA novel to talk about addiction in this way. It covers the nonstop battles, the rehab, the family disputes, the falling away from each other, and the coming back too.

All in all, I was impressed with this book. It’s a fast, quirky read. It does take a little getting used to the unique format, but I found it worth the hassle. The love stories and the family story were written well. I give it a 9/10.