The Repeat Year Book Review

Everyone has days, weeks, even months they wish they could do over—but what about an entire year? After living through the worst twelve months of her life, intensive care nurse Olive Watson is given a second chance to relive her past and attempt to discover where she went wrong… After a year of hardships, including a messy breakup with her longtime boyfriend Phil, the prospect of her mother’s remarriage, and heartbreaking patient losses at the hospital, Olive is ready to start fresh. But when she wakes up in her ex-boyfriend’s bed on New Year’s Day 2011—a day she has already lived—Olive’s world is turned upside down. Shouldering a year of memories that no one else can recall, even Olive begins to question herself—until she discovers that she is not alone. Upon crossing paths with Sherry Witan, an experienced “repeater,” Olive learns that she has the chance to rewrite her future. Given the opportunity of a lifetime, Olive has to decide what she really wants. Should she make different choices, or accept her life as she knows it, flaws and all?

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My Review

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.  Olive has had rough year.  Her mother has remarried and Olive feels that it is too soon and that her mother is trying to forget her father.  Not only that, but Olive made an unforgivable error in judgment where her long term relationship was concerned, now she has an entire year to redo in her life.  Will she fix the relationship of her lifetime?  Will she repair the damaged relationship with her mother and accept her new husband?

I’ve always loved the movie Groundhogs Day, and dream of having a “do over” button to change the outcome of certain situations.  I can’t even fathom having an entire year!  This was a fun read, as you see how Olive grasps what has happened and realizes what a great opportunity it is.  Being an ICU nurse, however, reliving patients’ deaths had to be disturbing.  The characters are so realistic that you can relate to them on many levels.  For a debut novel, this author surpassed my expectations!  There is so much depth in her writing that she made repeating an entire year plausible.  Although this book isn’t slated to be part of a series, it could easily become one because of this unique concept.  I look forward to reading more from this author.

About the Author

Andrea Lochen earned her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. While there, she won a Hopwood Novel Award for a draft of THE REPEAT YEAR. She currently lives in suburban Milwaukee with her husband and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha.

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