I picked this one from a list of books recommended to me by the Libby app when I was searching around for something to read on my phone. And it was a fun read.
The book opens with Carter Cohen waking up, excited for his 16th birthday, certain his life is going to change today. His first inkling that something is wrong comes when his annoying younger brother isn't hogging the bathroom as usual. And when he goes into his brother's room, it's strangely tidy. Then, when he gets downstairs, his parents sit him down and explain that this is the 6th time he's lived this day - every year when he reaches the eve of his 17th birthday, he loops back in time and has no memory of the previous year he was 16.
In his last loop, Carter and Maggie fell in love. She was hoping that telling him "I love you" on the eve of his birthday would be the key to him turning 17. But, when he doesn't contact her that morning, she knows it hasn't happened. Worse, at school, he doesn't even recognise her. Unable to deal with the pain of being with someone who will forget her in a year, Maggie vows to pretend she doesn't know him.
But pretending is harder than she thinks it will be, and Carter senses something about her. It becomes harder and harder for them to be apart, and more and more necessary because Maggie is keeping something a secret from everyone.
Over the course of the year, Carter and Maggie fall in love again. But with college on the horizon for Maggie, and Carter's 17th birthday approaching again, can they figure out a way to keep him from forgetting her all over again?
This was a fun premise to start with, but as the problems Carter encountered got more and more challenging, the fun part of it got a little dark. I mean, poor Carter woke up younger than his little brother! And his poor parents, having to deal with a teenager long after they would have expected to have adult children who had left the nest.
There was some fun stuff in there, like the way Carter used his ID, with his actual birthdate, to legally buy booze and cigarettes and vapes for his friends. Technically, not breaking the law.. But it was sad how he developed a talent one year, only to have lost the ability when looped again. I can only see this as being a horrible way to live, no matter how much you enjoy being 16.
I enjoyed this book because Carter was a pretty fun character to spend time with mostly. I didn't like Maggie so much, which was a shame because she's the POV narrator for some parts of the book. I kind of understood where she was coming from, but there were places where she was unnecessarily cruel and that bugged me.
But if you're looking for something kind of light and fun to read, but with a little substance, you could do worse than this one.
But don't just listen to me. Here's the blurb:
It’s the morning of Carter Cohen’s 16th birthday, and everything’s going his way.
He’s psyched and ready to get his driver’s license, his little brother’s not hogging the bathroom, and, man, something smells good for breakfast…
But when Carter bounds downstairs, Mom bursts into tears. It happened again. It’s Carter’s 16th birthday—for the sixth time. Every time he’s supposed to turn 17, he loops back a year. His memory gets wiped clean, his body ages backward—the rest of the world moves on, just not him.
Maggie Spear, on the other hand, has been dreading this day ever since she and Carter started dating. When she spies him in the halls and he doesn’t seem to know her at all, it’s obvious that it’s over between them. She can’t be in a relationship with someone who is just going to forget her again and again. Since Carter doesn’t remember that they’re together, then it’s probably better if she just pretends that they never were.
Except Carter senses that there’s more to their story than Maggie’s letting on, and Maggie’s keeping secrets of her own—but in the process of trying to let the other go, they find themselves falling in love all over again.
With Maggie soon leaving for college and Carter’s birthday quickly coming around again, will they be able to find a forever that isn’t stuck at 16?
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