See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon
CW: PTSD, Described Panic Attacks, Sexual Harassment, Bullying (past), Neglectful School Faculty, Described Sex, Underage Drinking, Racism (past), Swearing, Violence/Gore
5/5
While I certainly still have a few more Rachel Lynn Solomon books left to read, I was very excited when she announced See You Yesterday. At first, I did think it was a sequel to Today, Tonight, Tomorrow due to the cover art and the references to time in the titles. To be clear, it is not. However, you can expect all of the elements that make Solomon's books so enticing. Jewish characters, a Seattle setting, and an enemies-to-lovers plot. If you have never read any of Solomon's work, I highly recommend all of it (even those on my TBR), including this one. The wait for my turn to read the book was long, but so worth it!
In See You Yesterday, Barrett Bloom is just starting college, hoping it will change everything for her and give her the chance to be someone new. She has a terrible first day including her ex-best-friend being her roommate, dealing with a jerk in her physics class, blowing her journalism interview, and accidentally setting fire to a frat house. The only thing that could make it worse would be having to go through it again. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens. Barrett gets stuck in a time loop with that jerk from her physics class, Miles. While he's been stuck a lot longer, neither one has any idea how to get out of it.
I am a sucker for time loop stories. They're formulaic and comfortable, allowing the reader to focus on the personal touches an author gives it. In case you have a preference, this is the kind of time loop story that is aware of other time loop fiction. Still, the characters don't assume that any of those stories have the answer. They're willing to try things, but they know it's all just experimenting until something works. Although I had moments where I wished I could suggest something to the characters, I was relieved that the characters at least both got to see/hear their moms each loop. This is something The Map of Tiny Perfect Things unnecessarily made the main boy work for. Solomon was able to balance each loop and each attempt to break it perfectly. I could hardly put the book down and stayed up way too late to keep reading.
The Jewish identity of Solomon's books was what drew me to her in the first place. After reading Becky Albertalli's The Upside of Unrequited, I knew I needed a lot more Jewish books in my life. There Solomon was with Today, Tonight, Tomorrow; a nerdy, Jewish, enemies-to-lovers, contemporary YA book. A potentially niche genre, but exactly my type. Due to the time loop of See You Yesterday, Barrett and Miles are stuck on a Wednesday and with each other. This leaves them with plenty of time to talk about their Jewish experiences and the holidays they may never see again. Barrett laments about wanting to join Hillel, Miles discusses how he's been ostracized for being both Japanese and Jewish, and they share a sweet makeshift Shabbat. The only thing I cannot stand by is the author making both of these characters like maror. Fellow Jews will understand.
I appreciate all the things Solomon took time to have her main characters face, overcome, and push for. They each have something major from their past that they work to confront and start to heal from or help improve the situation. They both have relationships they wish to rekindle and have to get there several times over due to the loops. They both have experiences they want but have never had the time, resources, or drive to do. I also appreciate that Solomon includes diversity in her writing, an interracial couple, bigger bodies, queer characters, and mental health problems. Her characters are very real even if their situation is impossible. That's the beauty of a good time loop story.
I hope it doesn't seem like I've given too much away about See You Yesterday. There's so much to discover in its pages (or just words if you opt for the audiobook read by the very talented Emily Lawrence). Unless you hate time loop stories, you won't regret picking this one up. If you do read it, drop me your thoughts or throw me some discord about maror!
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