If I See You Again Tomorrow

IF I SEE YOU AGAIN TOMORROW is a consuming YA speculative fiction read about time loops. Clark has been stuck in a time loop of September 19 for 309 days, and he decides to open up at his therapy appointment about his loneliness, getting some advice on steps to take that serve as a guide for his future decisions. So when something different and unexpected happens on day 310, Clark is ready to shake things up more. A transfer student named Beau comes into his trigonometry class and shakes everything up. Since Beau has not appeared in any of the previous 309 iterations of the day, Clark is intrigued and decides to leave with him, in the car he stole from his teacher.

As Clark runs what Beau calls errands, he finds himself pulled toward Beau in ways he has never felt before. Their day ends with a bang - but then day 311 seems back to normal. Clark searches for Beau only to have no one know who he is. As he investigates and retraces their steps from day 310, he will begin to learn more about life, love, and time loops than he ever anticipated. Soon, he begins to realize that time may be running out on his chances to get out of the loop - and Beau may hold some of the answers, if only he can find him again.

What I loved: While time loops are certainly not an unusual concept for a story, this book felt fresh and new with a new take on why the loops occur and what it means to be in a loop. Being stuck in the loop for so long has really changed Clark, who he is and who he wants to be. In that way, this had a coming-of-age flavor that I really enjoyed. Clark begins to see the patterns in the people around him and reach more deeply towards empathy and connection in ways that cannot help but change him. His life changes a lot from start to end of the book, and overall, it was really positive and heartfelt.

The method to the madness of the time loop ended up being really fascinating as well. While the reader does not get concrete answers, Clark's investigations turn up some possibilities and shine on a light on the ways that others can irrevocably change our paths. What if we did or did not meet someone that we were supposed to? It could really change everything about our future. These pivotal moments have occurred for all of us at one point or another (without time loops), and the critical nature of these connections is a major theme of the story - and readers' lives.

Other themes around relationships, friendships, grief/loss, empathy, being vulnerable, and falling in love were also really thought-provoking. While the romance was present, it was certainly not the biggest element in the story. The coming-of-age aspects of Clark's character arc and the friendships/non-romantic relationships he forms and nurtures were definitely more poignant and potent. That being said, I still liked the romance elements of the story, and it did feel like you could maybe start to fall in love in only a day.

Other strong elements of the story were in the therapy sessions shown and in the characters whose lives we get to dip our toes into. Through Clark's perspective, there are so many characters to fall in love with in this story, and it was such a joy to get to know them. While I won't give details to avoid spoilers, the book was really filled with beautiful connections and lessons about friendship and family.

Final verdict: IF I SEE YOU AGAIN TOMORROW is a captivating and emotional YA speculative fiction read with poignant themes and a fresh take on time loops. Recommend picking this one up for yourself!