Again Again

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My Opinion

(3.5 / 5) Again Again is a story about a teen girl, struggling after a breakup and watching her younger brother deal with a serious opiate addiction. Within this plot, certain experiences play out in different universes with what could’ve happened, but didn’t.

It could be poetic at times. It was deep and thoughtful. It was a good coming of age story where she learns about herself and makes herself a better person.

I struggled a bit with the different universes. For example, she would meet a guy and it would go through different scenarios of what could happen. After the scenarios it was hard to decide what (if anything) happened. This happened multiple times and I never quite got used to it. At times the writing was choppy. She meant for it to be this way because of how it was spaced, but it didn’t flow and I don’t feel it gave the reader the experience Locke was going for, at least with me. I felt the main character’s self esteem was wrapped up in her boyfriend relationships and I don’t like that message for teens. I wanted her to break away and find herself without a guy.

The opiate addiction her brother had was heavy. It brought such a good light to what people (him and his family) actually go through. While it was hard to read, I feel it gave a good description about her feelings and the battle it was for him each day. I think there is a lot to be learned from his experience.

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is out tomorrow, June 2, 2020.

Again Again

E. Lockhart

In this novel full of surprises from the New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars and Genuine Fraud, E. Lockhart ups the ante with an inventive and romantic story about human connection, forgiveness, self-discovery, and possibility.

If you could live your life again, what would you do differently?

After a near-fatal family catastrophe and an unexpected romantic upheaval, Adelaide Buchwald finds herself catapulted into a summer of wild possibility, during which she will fall in and out of love a thousand times—while finally confronting the secrets she keeps, her ideas about love, and the weird grandiosity of the human mind.

A raw, funny story that will surprise you over and over, Again Again gives us an indelible heroine grappling with the terrible and wonderful problem of loving other people.

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings. 

Detailed Content Review

Language 

F***-

H***- 4

S***- 16

A**- 2

B****- 1

D***- 7

Bas****- 1

Religious Cursing-

J****-

Chr***-

G**- 9

L***-

Derogatory terms etc-

OMG

Poop wiener thunder-butt (sibling term of endearment)

Effing 

Dweeb

Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking

A 14yo goes to rehab. He smashed his wrist with a hammer to get pain pills, he faked migraines, stole money and more. It is referred to many times. He has anxiety and depression and used pills to alleviate those. The effects this has on the family is heavy and descriptive.

A young woman and friend buy beer with a fake ID.

A young woman finds her brother on the floor with used needles next to him. He’s barely breathing. She calls 911.

Two young women drink beer. 

A young man tells of drinking beer and dancing. 

Intimacy, Sex, Immodesty

*LGBTQ+ aspects included* minor 

A young woman and young man kiss. He holds her head in his hands and kisses her.

A couple talk about sleeping together but blame it not happening on lack of time alone. She thinks they probably weren’t ready.

A young woman kisses a young man. She kisses him again. She refers to having been naked with him but no details. 

A young woman dates young women. She kissed one and talks about their breakup.

A young man urgently kisses a young woman.

A young man kisses a young woman and she feels dizzy. 

A young woman kisses a young woman.

A young woman and young man kiss, she touches his chest and wants to do “everything.” They kiss and he runs his hands down her body then invites him in her house. They kiss on her bed and get out a box of condoms and he asks her what she wants to do. She is clear. No more details.

“…there needed to be some better way to measure experience than virgin/nonvirgin because that crap didn’t apply to lesbians the same way…”

A young man kisses a young woman. She “let him see her ugly beige bra…”  They kiss again. 

“Then they made out like the lucky young people they were…”

Violence, Weapons, Crime, Blood

A young man breaks his wrist with a hammer to get a pain pill prescription. 

Potentially Intense Themes

A young man has serious addiction problems throughout the book. (See the Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking section).

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.