Odessa Again. Dana Reinhardt. 2013. Random House. 208 pages.There comes a day in the life of every big sister when it's simply no longer suitable to share a bedroom with your toad of a little brother. For Odessa Green-Light, that day was a Tuesday.
Odessa does not like change. And since her parents divorce, Odessa has had to deal with a lot of change: moving houses, starting a new school year, her father's BIG announcement that he is getting remarried soon, and last but not least her new attic bedroom with magical properties. The last isn't exactly typical, is it?! Which makes Odessa Again quite unique as a children's book. Odessa, our heroine, is in fourth grade. She's struggling with life at home and at school. Why didn't some friendships carry over from third grade? And does Theo Summers like like her like she likes him? If Sofia is really her friend, why does she keep telling Odessa's secrets to others? Odessa is desperate for two things: to get AWAY from her brother AND to get her mom and dad back together again. Neither seems likely to happen despite Odessa's newly acquired "time travel" capabilities.
By jumping up and down on the attic floor, she can travel back in time, twenty-four hours, twenty-three hours, twenty-two hours, etc. At first, she uses these opportunities to "fix" her life for really small things, but towards the end she wants to start making HUGE changes to her life. What she learns is that even with time travel, change happens and that is okay too.
I enjoyed this one. Odessa was easy to relate to in many ways. For example, who wouldn't want the chance to go back in time just long enough to avoid getting a horrible haircut?
© 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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