Review by Booklist Review
Sadie Thatcher has had the worst year ever. She lost her dream job, her dream apartment, and her dream guy, and now she's living in the apartment of her brother's best friend, Jacob, spending her time eating ice cream on the couch. Her best friend drags her to a New Year's Eve party, where a fortune teller gives her a chance to relive the last year. Before she goes to bed that night, she and Jacob share a New Year's kiss, but she's horribly embarrassed when he immediately apologizes. When she wakes on New Year's Day, she's in bed next to her old boyfriend in her old apartment. Sadie remembers the last year and is sure that she can use that knowledge to make her second-chance year the best year ever. But sometimes getting what you want isn't what you need. Can she make the changes necessary to find love and happiness, or is she doomed to disappointment? A swoony romance with a subplot about harassment and sexism in the workplace, Wiesner's latest will resonate with every reader who's wondered, "What if?"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A touch of magic and a heap of self-growth animate this sparkling and sophisticated rom-com from Wiesner (His Secret Daughter). New York City pastry chef Sadie Thatcher has had a "Very Bad Year": she was dumped by her long-term boyfriend; fired by her celebrity chef boss; and, in the final moments of New Year's Eve, impulsively kissed her brother's best friend, Jacob, only for him to reject her. Fortunately, her desperate wish to relive the year unexpectedly comes true. This time, she vows to hold her tongue when she's offended by her boyfriend's coworkers' sexist attitudes if it means saving their relationship, and look the other way when her boss sexually harasses staff if it means saving her job. But what if the decisions that caused everything to go wrong were ultimately the right things to do? Meanwhile, she can't stop thinking about Jacob, who, she notices for the first time, is always there when she needs him, and finds a supportive community inside a local coffee shop that Wiesner fills with quirky characters who push Sadie to be her best self. Sadie is a wonderfully shaded character whose occasional awkwardness makes her all the more endearing. This enchanting Sliding Doors--style romance is sure to win plenty of admirers. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary. (Dec.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Outspoken pastry chef Sadie has had a very bad year, getting fired from her job after standing up to the executive chef, and losing her boyfriend after she told off one of his sexist Wall Street coworkers. Since she can't afford her Brooklyn apartment anymore, she's staying with quiet, reserved Jacob, her brother's best friend. When she encounters a fortune teller at a New Year's Eve party, she wishes for a do-over of the previous year. Waking up the next morning, with her ex, in her old apartment, she realizes it's the first day of the previous year--her wish came true. But as Sadie relives the year and keeps thinking about Jacob, she wonders if this is the life she really wants. As she deals with sexual harassment, misogyny, and parents who think her career is a hobby, Sadie's happy ending is hard-fought, but she creates a community of found family and makes her own dreams come true. VERDICT An ambitious woman finding her way in the world and the heart-meltingly caring man who loves her for who she is combine to make this a charming romance from Wiesner (It All Comes Back to You).--Melissa DeWild
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A 30-year-old gets a re-try at the worst year of her life. Sadie Thatcher has had a Very Bad Year. She was fired from her job as assistant pastry chef at a high-profile restaurant and her boyfriend of three years dumped her. She blames both things on her inability to keep her mouth shut, just as her mother always warned her. Alex, her ex, wanted her to play nice around his asshole Wall Street colleagues, and Xavier, her boss, wouldn't tolerate her pushing back on his abusive behavior. Without a job, she's given up her beloved studio in Williamsburg and is crashing in the spare room of her little brother's best friend, Jacob, nursing her wounds with ice cream and The Golden Girls. As the year closes, she grudgingly agrees to join her best friend, Kasumi, at a circus-themed New Year's Eve party where, drunk and filled with regret, she asks the fortune-teller for a do-over of the entire year. As the title suggests, the magic works. Sadie wakes up in her studio with Alex by her side and her old job waiting for her. She's going to do better this time: bite her tongue around the finance bros, yes-chef her boss, and try to forget that sizzling New Year's Eve kiss she shared with Jacob in the hours before the clock reset. Wiesner wisely does not put too fine a point on the time travel, offering instead a thoughtful exploration of Sadie's growth as well as the ingrained unfairness of being a woman in a man's world. Sadie is spunky and her outspoken sense of justice is wonderful. Jacob knows it. Kasumi values it. But Sadie is ambitious, and her mother's voice echoes loudly in her head. Will she get what she wants by ignoring her conscience, and will it be worth it? Tough themes with a light touch and many winning characters. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
