Ellison Sparks is having the worst Monday ever. She runs a red light and gets a ticket while driving herself and her best friend, Owen, to school. She forgets her umbrella and gets soaked in the rain. Right before it’s time to take her school picture which turns out terribly, of course. She gives the worst election speech for Junior Class Vice-President in the history of ever. She doesn’t make the cut at softball tryouts. Worst of all her dreamy, rockstar boyfriend Tristan dumps her. At the carnival. On what should have been their dream date.
Ellie knows if she just had a second chance she could get Monday right. But what happens when she gets seven chances?
As Ellie tries again and again (and so on) to get her Monday right she starts to realize that maybe the dream Monday she’s been chasing isn’t so perfect after all in A Week of Mondays (2016) by Jessica Brody.
A Week of Mondays is a fun standalone novel. Although there are some fantasy elements with the repeating day (reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day), this novel is contemporary at its heart and will appeal to fans of that genre.
Brody makes good use of the repeating days to flesh out Ellie’s character and explore different aspects of her life over the course of this unusual week. Readers will also see the scope of the book’s plot expand as Ellie begins to delve into other parts of her day including why her parents are fighting every morning and what problems her younger sister is facing at school.
While some of Ellie’s decisions may seem obvious to readers from the start, this story is more about the journey than the destination. Ellie’s character development and growth over the course the novel more than makes up for any predictability to the plot. The payoff at the end of Ellie’s “week” also seamlessly brings every repeated Monday together for a satisfying conclusion to a truly enjoyable story.
A Week of Mondays is a sweet, optimistic novel with a breezy narrative and tons of humor. Highly recommended for readers looking for a new fun diversion.
Possible Pairings: The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre, The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando, Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira, Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum, So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti, Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally, Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein, The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder, Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno, The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, Bookish Boyfriends: A Date With Darcy by Tiffany Schmidt, The Night of Your Life by Lydia Sharp, The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith, P. S. I Like You by Kasie West
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
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