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
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
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.
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.
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.
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)
