Ratings

Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content

Guide to Rating System

LANGUAGE

VIOLENCE

SEXUAL CONTENT

ADULT THEMES

Ratings Explanation

Adult Themes:  An old man smokes a pipe in defiance of a “No Smoking” sign right over his head. Amanda and Leo hear stories of the feud between their great-great-grandfathers years ago: they destroyed each other’s property and ruined the other’s crop harvests. Amanda and Leo sneak into the town’s museum after hours by crawling through an unlocked window.

Synopsis

Amanda and Leo have been best friends through most of their eleven years–their parents met in the hospital when their mothers gave birth on the same day–and have celebrated every birthday together since then, until now. At last year’s party Amanda overheard Leo say something unkind about her to his friends, and she hasn’t forgiven or spoken to him since. So this year finds Amanda celebrating without him, a miserable prospect, but things only get worse when Amanda wakes up the next day and realizes she is repeating her birthday all over again. She is trapped in some kind of crazy time loop, and nobody around her is aware of it but Leo. The two of them begin to mend their friendship as they lean on one another through their adventure and discover it’s linked to a family feud that began 100 years ago with their great-great-grandfathers. As each day begins all over again, Amanda and Leo experiment with different daily choices that change the course of events–usually temporarily, since it’s the same day again tomorrow–but soon they begin to understand that their choices, some small, some more meaningful, can impact their lives and those around them in positive ways. And an even bigger life lesson will be learned: that the power to change the course of your future often lies within your own attitude, and not in the stars.

Though this story might sound like a tweenie copycat of Groundhog’s Day, I found the characters and storyline sweetly compelling. It was enjoyable to watch Amanda’s attitude shift as she and Leo reunited, and to think about that age-old question What would I do differently if I could live today over again? Would I be kinder? Would I undo some of the things I said? Would I make it a better day than it was? A rewarding read for youngsters ages 8 and up.