Operation Do-Over. Gordon Korman. 2022. [January] 304 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: I'm standing next to the bumper cars when the first bolt of lightning splits the sky and strikes the main transformer. The explosion is like a bomb blast. I almost jump out of my skin.
Premise/plot: Mason Rolle can't remember a time when he wasn't best, best, best friends with Ty Ehrlich. The two have been inseparable since they were toddlers. But when the two are twelve, well, let's just say that new girl, Ava Petrakis, disrupts their friendship. The three become close friends--sharing the same interests and hobbies. But both boys like like Ava. When Ava starts to show preference for *liking* one but not the other (in that way), well, it could just be the end of the friendship. You see these two agreed that neither should go out with Ava.
The title includes the word Do-Over for a good reason. Mason and Ty haven't been friends for FIVE YEARS when the novel truly gets going. And Mason is wishing that he could have a do-over. If ONLY time travel was possible, if only he could go back and change the past, do everything differently... he knows that Ty's friendship is worth saving...
My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, LOVED, loved this one so much. I am so glad readers get to go along for the ride in this one. Mason's redo of seventh grade is interesting. We don't know each and every choice he made the first time around, but the choices he is making the second time are definitely interesting. He has a unique perspective on his own life--of course--but also when it comes to his classmates and teachers. Physically he may be "young" again, but he is wiser and more experienced.
I found it an engaging read. I was cheering for him from the start. I wanted his second chance to be a success! Of course, it could have gone either way. It could have given us a tied-up-with-a-ribbon-happy ending. Or it could have gone all message-y with the moral that friendships don't always last forever, that people change, that people grow apart, that sometimes the friends you want aren't always the friends you need. But I am personally SATISFIED with the ending.
I really liked the ending. But I also wonder about those missing memories. I can only imagine that some things would be awkward since he is missing five years of memories.
I am seeing some people compare it to Back to the Future, but, I don't see it as such. It is a LOT closer to 13 Going On 30.
© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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