Rewind
by Lisa Graff (Author)
Back to the Future meets When You Reach Me in this powerful novel by National Book Award nominee Lisa Graff, in which a young girl is able to make sense of the present--and change her future--by meeting her father in the past.
As far as twelve-year-old McKinley O'Dair is concerned, the best thing about living in Gap Bend, Pennsylvania, is the Time Hop--the giant party the town throws every June to celebrate a single year in history. That one day is enough to make the few things that aren't so fantastic about McKinley's life--like her crabby homeroom teacher or her super-scheduled father--worth suffering through. And when McKinley learns that this year's theme is 1993, she can't wait to enter the Time Hop fashion show with a killer '90s outfit she's designed and sewn all on her own.
But when the Time Hop rolls around, nothing goes as planned. In fact, it's the biggest disaster of McKinley's life. Before she knows what's hit her, McKinley somehow finds herself in the real 1993--and it's not all kitschy parachute pants and Jurassic Park. All McKinley wants is to return to the present, but before she can, she's going to have to make a big change--but which change is the right one?
This humorous and heartfelt novel about destiny and self-discovery shines a poignant light on the way life could play out--if a person is given a chance to rewind.
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Kirkus
Quirky and smart.
ALA/Booklist
While folding in funny touches, quaint detail, and wrenching family drama, the author expertly opens up her characters, allowing readers to understand how we are all works in progress.
Publishers Weekly
When the father of sixth grader McKinley O'Dair requests that she stay home with Grandma Bev--whose speech and mobility are impacted by a stroke she had 20 years ago--McKinley is devastated. While she normally wouldn't mind hanging out with her grandmother, today it means that McKinley will miss celebrating 1993 at her town's annual Time Hop, a party thrown every June to commemorate a single year in history. The fashion-obsessed 12-year-old has spent weeks preparing her outfit for the Time Hop fashion show with help from Grandma Bev, so McKinley takes Grandma Bev along, but after a fight with her best friend and her father's unexpected arrival, McKinley is bounced back to the real 1993. There, she meets her hyper-organized father as a sixth grader, as well as younger versions of other adults from her contemporary life. With classic Back to the Future flair, Graff (Far Away) employs snarky prose and abundant early 1990s callbacks to explore issues surrounding fate, destiny, and connection in this immersive, laugh-out-loud time-travel novel that highlights friendship, acceptance, and intergenerational bonds via one 12-year-old's wish to find a place--or time--in which she truly belongs. Main characters read as white. Ages 8-12. Agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. (Aug.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
School Library Journal
In beloved author Graff's latest effort, McKinley O'Dair has created the perfect 1990s outfit for the annual Time Hop, and she cannot wait to walk in the fashion show with her best friend, Meg. When her rigid father humiliates her at the event, and she has a terrible fight with Meg, McKinley suddenly finds herself transported back in time to 1993. With help from Meg's mom—then, a middle schooler herself—McKinley searches for a way back, all while learning what supportive friendship can look like. This is well-worn ground for Graff, who favors protagonists on the path to bettering themselves. The story is at its most effective when exploring the nuances of relationship dynamics, particularly between McKinley and the kid version of her dad, an endlessly frustrating prankster who has little interest in her efforts to be kind, forcing her to confront truths about herself and the father she knows now. Graff makes sure to nod to time travel predecessors such as Madeleine L'Engle and H.G. Wells, and immerses readers in everything 1990s, from the cultural references to the chapter titles, each of which is a hit song from the era. VERDICT Fans of Graff will surely gravitate towards this approachable middle grade story with a splash of sci-fi to spice things up.—Alexandra Quay
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
JUV064000 - Juvenile Fiction | Time Travel
Families
Fathers and daughters
Parties
Pennsylvania
Time-travel fiction
Nineteen nineties
