The Night of Your Life

February 1, 2020

Gr 7 Up-JJ and Lucy have been best friends since freshman year and now, as they near the end of high school, are left wondering how their friendship will last her moving to Italy and him moving to Texas. They are both looking forward to senior prom and the perfect night together. Their plans start to fall apart as JJ is tutoring Jenna, another senior, who admits she doesn't want to go to prom on her own. No problem, she can join JJ and Lucy. Running late the night of, JJ tries to make up time and ends up getting into an accident with a senior from another high school, Melody, who is also on her way to her prom. While waiting for a tow truck, JJ ends up missing his prom and his perfect night with Lucy. When Lucy ends their friendship, JJ is devastated. He is ecstatic to realize he will get a second chance as the night starts over and repeats itself. As the nights continue through a second, third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth chance, JJ knows he needs to find a way to let go and let time march on. Told in first person, the novel keeps pace with JJ as each night starts over. Lucy is the only other fleshed-out character, although the author throws in details about others throughout the story; JJ has two moms (they're married), Melody is a lesbian, and Lucy is bisexual. Profanity, sex, drugs, and alcohol may only be mentioned in passing but don't appear anywhere. VERDICT Recommend to fans of clean romance who appreciate a dash of science and are willing to suspend their disbelief.-Natalie Struecker, Cedar Rapids Public Library, IA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2020
A teen relives prom night over and over and over again. Best friends JJ and Lucy promised to attend senior prom together. While on his way to pick Lucy up to head over to the big dance, JJ encounters Melody, a teen on her way to her own prom who needs some roadside assistance. One thing leads to another and JJ ends up unable to make it to prom, breaking Lucy's heart. The next day, JJ discovers that it's prom night...again. And then again. And then, again. JJ is forced to relive his prom night several times, making tweaks here and there along the way, trying to please not just Lucy, but also Melody and a few of his friends. The balancing act exhausts JJ, and the repetitive nature of the book will leave readers a bit exhausted as well. JJ is a bit of a dip, desperate to please everyone and completely oblivious to the obvious feelings Lucy has for him. Their relationship is sketched out well enough, but there's nothing here that sets the book apart from typical "high school friends figure out they love each other" tales. The Groundhog Day story mechanics don't elevate the material enough: There just isn't enough variation in the series of events to maintain readers' interest. JJ and Lucy are white, JJ has two moms, and there's some diversity among the peripheral characters. A familiar story wrinkled only slightly. (Fiction. 12-16)

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