AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile
Kristin Atherton portrays Cassandra, a Londoner living a chaotic life who is given the opportunity to develop some introspective qualities and carry out some do-overs. When Cassandra discovers she can go back in time up to four months, she revisits both significant and mundane moments and begins to recognize patterns, mishaps, and mistakes from her life. Happily, at times she can redo, and even rectify, them. Atherton completely embraces Cassandra's feelings, so listeners feel like they're part of her journey each step of the way. B.E.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
07/03/2023
In Smale’s appealing adult debut (after the YA novel Love Me Not), a London woman discovers an ability to travel back in time. Cassie Penelope Dankworth is prickly and uncompromising, traits that lead to her being fired by her London PR firm and dumped by her boyfriend, Will. She also has autism, a fact her intolerant coworkers wish was disclosed to them before she was hired. After these events appear to happen, however, Cassie realizes she’s in a time loop—her boss calls her “sweetheart” and she still has a job. As she learns to manipulate her newfound ability, she muses on her power to change the story of her life. Smale then leads readers through a tale of Cassie’s habitual time travel, which produces multiple outcomes from the same situations. Some of these are mundane—a slice of bread is burned, then toasted perfectly; keys are forgotten, then remembered—while others are consequential, such as Cassie’s introduction of Will to her sister, which leads to their romance and bitter feelings for Cassie. Though Cassie’s time tweaks can be hard to follow, her narration beautifully evokes her inner life (“I rarely understand what another human is thinking, but I frequently feel it: a wave of emotion that pours out of them into me, like a teapot into a cup”). This is a delight. (June)
From the Publisher
A Reese's Book Club Pick An NPR Here and Now Editor's Pick A BBC Radio2 Book Club PickFeatured in Country Living ∙ Gizmodo ∙ Katie Couric Media ∙ The Nerd Daily ∙ Booklist Queen ∙ Zibby Mag ∙ SheKnows ∙ Tor.com ∙ Scary Mommy Book Club
"A Time Twisting Delight" —Reese’s Book Club
"Think Eleanor Oliphant meets time travel . . . Uber-particular Cassandra discovers she can travel back in time, so she does what any of us would do: She goes back and tries to fix her mistakes. But she discovers that she might be focusing on the wrong things." —Katie Couric Media
“A unique, neurodiverse take on time travel.” —Tor.com
“A hilarious, introspective, time-hopping journey with an unforgettable, neurodivergent heroine . . . Cassandra's first-person narration is caustic, vulnerable, and laugh-out-loud funny . . . perfect for fans of imaginative, intelligent speculative fiction.” —Shelf Awareness
“What feels at first like an unconventional romantic comedy develops into something quite different and extraordinary . . . Smale effectively brings her audience into Cassandra’s singular mind and along on her journey in what feels like a brave voyage of discovery.” —Bookreporter.com
“Smale combines well-developed characters with laugh-out-loud humor as she slowly reveals truths about past events, current troubles, and her protagonist's undiagnosed autism. Readers will be drawn into Cassie’s life and won’t want to leave. This neurodiverse tale is ripe for discussion and makes a great read-alike for The Rosie Project (2013) by Graeme Simsion, Oona Out of Order (2020) by Margarita Montimore, and The Boys (2022) by Katie Hafner.” —Booklist (STARRED)
“Witty, touching and totally absorbing. Cassandra is a funny and sharply-observed character who I loved spending time with.” —Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project
“A pure delight from start to finish. Cassandra Dankworth is a character as unique as she is endearing: hilariously prickly and unapologetically clever yet delicate and tragically misunderstood. Cassandra in Reverse is an unexpected take on time travel, exploring the challenges of human connection. Humorous and insightful, this is an absolute gem of a novel.” —Margarita Montimore, USA Today bestselling author of Oona Out of Order
“A glorious testament to the transformative power of being our own true selves. It’s a brilliantly clever, twisty story that dazzles with its wit whilst touching our hearts. . . . A hugely entertaining book with an important message, Cassandra in Reverse is a triumph!” —Sarah Haywood, New York Times bestselling author of The Cactus
“Sharp, funny, quirky, insightful and so very, very relatable.” —Joanne Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Chocolat and The Girl with No Shadow
“Instantly addictive and totally electric. Cassandra in Reverse is a gorgeous tale of all kinds of love, and dazzlingly sharp and witty. Cassie is endearing, brilliant, and Holly Smale’s writing is a breath of fresh air. If only I could time travel and experience this story for the first time again!” —Beth Reekles, USA Today bestselling author of The Kissing Booth
“Hilarious, insightful, and bright with the whole spectrum of human emotion, Cassandra in Reverse reinvigorates the time loop trope with the perfect match of character and concept. Utter genius!” —Catriona Silvey, internationally bestselling author of Meet Me In Another Life
“A dazzling accomplishment—a book as intricate as it is wise; deftly plotted, deeply human, wildly original, and gut-warmingly funny. A book set to shift paradigms and make heads and hearts pop with joy. Holly Smale is a GENIUS, make no mistake.” —Emma Jane Unsworth, internationally bestselling author of Grown Ups
AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile
Kristin Atherton portrays Cassandra, a Londoner living a chaotic life who is given the opportunity to develop some introspective qualities and carry out some do-overs. When Cassandra discovers she can go back in time up to four months, she revisits both significant and mundane moments and begins to recognize patterns, mishaps, and mistakes from her life. Happily, at times she can redo, and even rectify, them. Atherton completely embraces Cassandra's feelings, so listeners feel like they're part of her journey each step of the way. B.E.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
