Once and Again
Once and Again ~ Rebecca Serle
The Novak women have been blessed with a silver ticket, a one time do-over that they can use to turn back time in order to avoid tragedy. Lauren (37), her mother Marcella, and her grandmother Sylvia have all had the opportunity to press reset. Marcella used her ticket to avoid a car accident that kills both her husband and the driver of the other car. Ever since she used her ticket, she is obsessed with avoiding tragedy in life, because she no longer has the ability to fix things. She mostly fixates on her husband’s health, after he has bypass surgery in his late 30s.
Lauren and her husband, Leo have been struggling with the financial and emotional fallout of her infertility. When Leo leaves their Los Angeles home for a 6 week job in New York City, they decide to rent out their house in West Hollywood to save money, and she stays with her parents and grandmother in Malibu. There she reunites with her ex-boyfriend, Stone, who has come home to LA to take care of his dying mother.
I liked this book a lot. I’ve read a couple of Serle’s other books, both of which had an aspect of magical realism. In In Five Years, the main character goes to sleep next to her fiancé, but awakens 5 years later, with a different ring on her finger, and a different man in her bed. She spends a day there, then awakens back in the original time. In One Italian Summer, the main character and her mother have planned a once in a lifetime trip to Italy. After her mother dies, she decides to take the trip alone, where she runs into…her mother. Who is her age, young and vibrant. I liked all of these books a lot, they are contemporary fiction with likable but flawed characters.
Fun coincidence – the audiobook for Once and Again was narrated by the excellent Julia Whelan, who played the teenaged daughter in a blended family in the 1999 – 2001 drama series, Once and Again. She makes any book better, and this one is no exception. Recommended.
16 Comments
StephLove
Interesting premise.
In Five Years sounds a little like The Midnight Library.
J
A little bit, yes! That magical realism, and trying to figure out what a different outcome might mean.
Margaret
I’ve read a book like the husband one except that she kept getting new husbands. I don’t remember the title. I also read “Life after Life” which was similar but repeated, with the main character trying to avoid a tragedy in her prior life, which just created different ones in her new reality. Like the Butterfly Effect.
J
Stupid butterfly effect. If I get to change reality to suit me, I don’t want ANY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES!
Suzanne
The Husbands! I loved that one, and your description of In Five Years made me think of that one, too.
J
Oh, I haven’t heard of that one. I just looked it up, it’s now a series on Apple TV+. Interesting!
PocoBrat
I LOVED _Life After Life_, Margaret! I think Kate Atkins had a sequel, and I loved that one too… I’m curious about this one, J.
J
OK, two people voting for Life After Life…noted.
NGS
I think all of Serle’s books are narrated by Julia Whelan! And they all seem to have just a hint of magic/fantasy. I dig the combo.
J
Me too! I really liked One Italian Summer, and spent a lot of time imagining what it would be like to meet my young mom.
Suzanne
Oooooh what an interesting premise. I have never heard of this author, but I may need to check this book out. I don’t know what I would do with the silver ticket. I mean, some tragedies seem tailor made for a redo, but others seem… less so, while still tragic. I don’t know! I think I would be too panicked about whether some WORSE tragedy would come along to ever use the stupid ticket. (This is so very obviously coming from a person with no tragedy in her life; I realize I probably sound like an ass so I will stop now.)
J
LOL, nope, you’ve kind of gotten to the heart of the book Suzanne. Her mom is undone by the fact that she no longer has the ticket (aka, has to live life like the rest of humanity).
Nicole MacPherson
I’m not a magical realism gal, so I’ll probably pass on this one!
J
Not for you Nicole!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
I have read An Italiean Summer and liked it. This one is not available in my library. I think I would enjoy it.
J
Oh, too bad it’s not available at your library. So many books, though, so little time.