MARCH 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Nile Bullock’s welcoming youthful voice guides listeners through a story of second, third, and more chances at getting it right. Bullock creates a lively group of voices for this YA romance in which honoring friendships and being a good son is just as important as finding love. Jack and Kate meet at a party, and theirs is a whirlwind relationship full of witty conversations and sweet-voiced declarations. And then Kate dies. Listeners will hear Jack’s astonishment when he jumps back in time to their first meeting and delight when he discovers he has another chance with her. And when she dies again, another. Bullock makes Jack’s love for his family and friends and desperation to save Kate believable through his honest and warm narration. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
01/07/2019
Ask African-American high school senior Jack who he is and he’ll tell you: he’s an only child, and the king of “nice try” and “almost.” Unlike his best friend Franny, he never makes the team. And he doesn’t get the girl because he’s in love with his other best friend, Jillian, who’s dating Franny. But Jack does learn from his mistakes, and he has lots of opportunities to try again when he finds himself in a time loop. It starts when his first girlfriend—who is already in college and into him despite his corniness—dies of sickle cell anemia, which Jack didn’t know she had. He plummets into a do-over, and then another, but for everyone else, it’s always the first time. Watching Jack scheme to save Kate at any cost, including ignoring his friends, betraying Franny, gambling, and lying, is both touching and worrying for the reader. Though Kate feels a little too perfect and Reynolds, an #OwnVoices debut author, occasionally hits the message (about loving people while they’re around) a little hard, he also creates an enormously likable character who is doing the best he can and then some. Happily, the book’s blend of humor and heartbreak wins out. Ages 14–up. Agent: Beth Phelan, Gallt Zacker Literary Agency; rights, the Bent Agency. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
Opposite of Always is as beautiful as it is funny, warm, and captivating. One of the best love stories I’ve ever read. Jack King is the hero we’ve been waiting for.” — Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give
“Read this one, reread it, and then hug it to your chest. Reynolds’ debut is wise, heartfelt, and wildly, infinitely charming.” — Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Leah on the Offbeat
“This charming, wry novel packed with witty, crackling banter is propulsively readable. There are some big questions about choice, consequences,loyalty, and love in this novel, and Reynolds beautifully complements those heavy concerns with the sweet, funny, and genuine voice of his protagonist.” — Booklist (starred review)
“A love story about friendship with a “choose your own adventure” twist... Any teen who’s ever wanted a do-over will enjoy reading this story.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“Romeo and Juliet meets Groundhog Day and Love Story in this wonderfully romantic story of teenage love and second chances.… Reynolds creates a pair of unforgettable protagonists who are doomed to love, lose, and work to find one another again and again.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Reynolds spins a poignant, dizzying tale of love and loss in this page-turning time-travel fantasy.” — Horn Book
“[Reynolds] creates an enormously likable character who is doing the best he can and then some ...the book’s blend of humor and heartbreak wins out.” — Publishers Weekly
“Jack’s narration is as funny as it is poignant as he moves from romantic to frantic and back again... [a] sentimental but not saccharine fantasy.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Relationships take a central role in this passionate novel, as Reynolds delves into the emotional experience of Jack’s inner circle, giving them and their interpersonal connections depth. It’s an intense ride and readers are likely going to want to stick with Jack to the (real) end.” — Shelf Awareness
“A story of friendship, young love, and learning how to make the right choices... In tough times, we can’t get enough of these books and we don’t get nearly as many as we need. Science fiction is lucky to have this one.” — Locus
Shelf Awareness
Relationships take a central role in this passionate novel, as Reynolds delves into the emotional experience of Jack’s inner circle, giving them and their interpersonal connections depth. It’s an intense ride and readers are likely going to want to stick with Jack to the (real) end.
Locus
A story of friendship, young love, and learning how to make the right choices... In tough times, we can’t get enough of these books and we don’t get nearly as many as we need. Science fiction is lucky to have this one.
Booklist (starred review)
This charming, wry novel packed with witty, crackling banter is propulsively readable. There are some big questions about choice, consequences,loyalty, and love in this novel, and Reynolds beautifully complements those heavy concerns with the sweet, funny, and genuine voice of his protagonist.
Angie Thomas
Opposite of Always is as beautiful as it is funny, warm, and captivating. One of the best love stories I’ve ever read. Jack King is the hero we’ve been waiting for.
Becky Albertalli
Read this one, reread it, and then hug it to your chest. Reynolds’ debut is wise, heartfelt, and wildly, infinitely charming.”
Horn Book
Reynolds spins a poignant, dizzying tale of love and loss in this page-turning time-travel fantasy.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Jack’s narration is as funny as it is poignant as he moves from romantic to frantic and back again... [a] sentimental but not saccharine fantasy.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Jack’s narration is as funny as it is poignant as he moves from romantic to frantic and back again... [a] sentimental but not saccharine fantasy.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Jack’s narration is as funny as it is poignant as he moves from romantic to frantic and back again... [a] sentimental but not saccharine fantasy.
Booklist (starred review)
This charming, wry novel packed with witty, crackling banter is propulsively readable. There are some big questions about choice, consequences,loyalty, and love in this novel, and Reynolds beautifully complements those heavy concerns with the sweet, funny, and genuine voice of his protagonist.
School Library Journal
★ 02/01/2019
Gr 8 Up–Jack King is the King of "almost" with a slew of unfinished projects under his belt. He's almost athletic, almost a rock star, almost at everything. He is sitting on the stairs at a college party staring at his best friend and unrequited love interest Jillian, when he meets Kate. These two teens forge a bond over the love of cereal, bad dance moves, and nerdy movies. Jack becomes the Cap'n to Kate's Crunch until Kate is a no-show at Jack's high school prom. Jack survives the heartbreak through the efforts of Jillian and his other best friend Franny "Francisco," Jillian's boyfriend. Jack learns that Kate has sickle cell anemia and was in the hospital during prom. While at the hospital, Kate tells Jack about a doctor who has some promising experimental trials, but the treatment is expensive. Jack goes home to rest only to be awakened by a phone call from Kate's mother telling him that Kate has died. He's headed to his car when falls down the stairs and wakes up back at the college party where he first met Kate. Jake's life now cyclically reboots as he attempts to save Kate and maintain his friendships. This is a love story about friendship with a "choose your own adventure" twist. The humor in this story will keep readers engaged. Any teen who's ever wanted a do-over will enjoy reading this story. VERDICT A great title for public and school libraries seeking excellent realistic fiction with a twist.—Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OH
MARCH 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Nile Bullock’s welcoming youthful voice guides listeners through a story of second, third, and more chances at getting it right. Bullock creates a lively group of voices for this YA romance in which honoring friendships and being a good son is just as important as finding love. Jack and Kate meet at a party, and theirs is a whirlwind relationship full of witty conversations and sweet-voiced declarations. And then Kate dies. Listeners will hear Jack’s astonishment when he jumps back in time to their first meeting and delight when he discovers he has another chance with her. And when she dies again, another. Bullock makes Jack’s love for his family and friends and desperation to save Kate believable through his honest and warm narration. E.E.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-12-09
Romeo and Juliet meets Groundhog Day and Love Story in this wonderfully romantic story of teenage love and second chances.
What can Jack say about a college freshman girl who's dying? That she is beautiful and brilliant? That she loves writing, witty banter, and him? Or that he is destined to meet her over and over again? In this engrossing debut novel, Reynolds creates both a pair of unforgettable protagonists who are doomed to love, lose, and work to find one another again and again and a well-rounded cast of supporting characters. Jack King, who is African-American, is an only child, caught in a love triangle with his two best friends: Franny, a resilient and optimistic Latinx boy, and Franny's Italian-American girlfriend, Jillian, who is grappling with family issues—and who is the one who got away. All of that changes when Jack meets Kate, an African-American student tour guide, during his visit to her university. When she stands him up for prom, he is heartbroken—even more so when he learns that she has a serious genetic condition. Among the best elements of this supernatural romance are the three-dimensional relationships between Jack and his parents and between him and his two best friends.
A realistic teen drama that tackles complex subjects in an uncompromising way. (Fiction. 14-18)
