Get a good book and a free hat.

Join now for $5.

We’ll make this quick.

First, enter your email. Then choose your move.

By pressing "Pick a book now" or "Pick a book later", you agree to Book of the Month’s Terms of use and Privacy policy.

Get a good book and a free hat.

Join now for $5.
undefined

You did it!

Your account is now up to date.

get the appget the app

Our app is where it’s at.

Unlock our Reading Challenge, earn prizes, and get notified of new books on our app.

Our app is where it’s at.

Unlock our Reading Challenge, earn prizes, and get notified of new books on our app.

Download on the App Store
Get it on Google Play

Already have the app? Explore here.

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

Young adult

Opposite of Always

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Justin A. Reynolds, on your first book!

by Justin A. Reynolds

Excellent choice

Just enter your email to add this book to your box.

By pressing "Add to box", you agree to Book of the Month’s Terms of use and Privacy policy.

Ear-nings rewards

Ear-nings rewards

0/5

You’re 5 audiobooks away from a free credit!

Quick Take

A tale of first love, second chances, and Froot Loops.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, 400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Quirky

    Quirky

  • Illustrated icon, Love_Triangle

    Love triangle

  • Illustrated icon, Magical

    Magical

Synopsis

Jack Ellison King. King of Almost.

He almost made valedictorian.

He almost made varsity.

He almost got the girl . . .

When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favorite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack. Jack’s curse of almost is finally over.

But this love story is ... complicated. It is an almost happily ever after. Because Kate dies. And their story should end there. Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Beautiful, radiant Kate. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind. Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do—and let go—to save the people he loves.

Why I love it

Any child of the ’90s is familiar with the time-displaced protagonist. From Bill Murray in Groundhog Day to Back to the Future’s Marty McFly, we know well these (usually white!) heroes. But thanks to Justin A. Reynolds, we have a new 21st-century time traveller: charming, heart-on-his-sleeve Jack, who yearns to alter the past until he finally gets every facet of his life right.

When Jack meets Kate at a house party, he’s pretty sure they’re meant to be … until, that is, she dies unexpectedly. But Kate’s death triggers a shift in time that sends Jack back to the day they met, giving him the chance to save her life. If you’re worried about too many math equations on whiteboards: don't be. Jack and Kate's almost love story is realistic, rooted in the expectations we put on relationships and the promise of new love that's usually not as sweet as it seems. And yet, who hasn’t met that person who they thought might fix it all, if only they could keep them from, y’know, dying?

As someone who fast-forwards through many second acts of films that are too predictable, I'm in awe of Reynolds's ability to draw and hold the reader in a story that's part love story, part coming of age, and part high-concept time adventure. Not only has he created a time loop that will break your heart multiple times, he’s created A+ supporting characters that are messy enough to be real and realistic enough to get even messier. Reynolds never loses that light subversion of a relatively trauma-free black protagonist, a black love story, and black families that anchor the character of Jack, and I cannot wait to read what he writes next.

Young adult
The Wild Huntress
Ruthless Vows
The Revenant Games
What the River Knows
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Dragonfruit
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
Divine Rivals
Legendborn
Foul Lady Fortune
Anna K Away
A Wilderness of Stars
Firekeeper's Daughter
Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Bloodmarked
Star Daughter
Not So Pure and Simple
Throw Like a Girl
The Queen of Nothing
On the Come Up
Wayward Son
Anna K
The Rest of the Story
With the Fire on High
The Red Scrolls of Magic
This Time Will Be Different
Yes No Maybe So
The Gilded Wolves
Permanent Record
Wicked Saints
Dangerous Alliance
The Sound of Stars
All the Stars and Teeth
Where the World Ends
When the Stars Lead to You
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
The Girl the Sea Gave Back
Saving Zoë
Hello Girls
Mind Games
Storm and Fury
There's Something About Sweetie
Again, But Better
We Hunt the Flame
Sky Without Stars
You'd Be Mine
Opposite of Always
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Enchantée
The Astonishing Color of After
Top Ten
Little & Lion
The Impossible Fortress
Girls in the Moon
You Will Know Me
Young adult
View all
The Wild Huntress
Ruthless Vows
The Revenant Games
What the River Knows
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Dragonfruit
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
Divine Rivals
Legendborn
Foul Lady Fortune
Anna K Away
A Wilderness of Stars
Firekeeper's Daughter
Girl, Serpent, Thorn
Warrior Girl Unearthed
Bloodmarked
Star Daughter
Not So Pure and Simple
Throw Like a Girl
The Queen of Nothing
On the Come Up
Wayward Son
Anna K
The Rest of the Story
With the Fire on High
The Red Scrolls of Magic
This Time Will Be Different
Yes No Maybe So
The Gilded Wolves
Permanent Record
Wicked Saints
Dangerous Alliance
The Sound of Stars
All the Stars and Teeth
Where the World Ends
When the Stars Lead to You
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
The Girl the Sea Gave Back
Saving Zoë
Hello Girls
Mind Games
Storm and Fury
There's Something About Sweetie
Again, But Better
We Hunt the Flame
Sky Without Stars
You'd Be Mine
Opposite of Always
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Enchantée
The Astonishing Color of After
Top Ten
Little & Lion
The Impossible Fortress
Girls in the Moon
You Will Know Me