The Loop

The Loop
by Shandy Lawson

From the publisher:
"Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times. Over the course of two pivotal days—both the best and worst of their lives—they struggle again and again to resist the pull of fate and the force of time itself. With each failure, they return to the beginning of their end, a wild road trip that brings them to the scene of their own murders and into the hands of the man destined to kill them.

As time circles back on itself, events become more deeply ingrained, more inescapable for the two kids trapped inside the loop. The closer they come to breaking out, the tighter fate’s clutches seem to grip them. They devise a desperate plan to break free and survive the days ahead, but what if Ben and Maggie’s only shot at not dying is surviving apart?"

I chose to read this book because of the synopsis in the front cover. It sounded like it could be similar to All Our Yesterdays , by Cristin Terrill, which was mind-blowingly awesome. Sadly, this one didn't even come close to the imaginative world-building and intensity of plot that was the hallmark of All Our Yesterdays . The loop was never explained fully, the characters weren't fleshed out very well,and although there was non-stop action, a lot of it was accompanied with question marks on my part. So while it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't as good as I was expecting, and I didn't really care too much about what happened to the characters. But it will probably appeal to middle school students because of the action and the brevity of the book (only 198 pages).

Areas of concern:
A handful of the *s* word and at least one of the *a* word. A couple of mild kisses. One character accidentally sees the other naked in the hospital. There is quite a bit of violence, since the whole premise of the book is that these 2 teenagers stuck in a loop where they get murdered at the end. In trying to get out of the loop, the teenagers did some illegal things like stealing a car.

Suggested Ages:
Booklist - Grades 7-10
Kirkus Reviews - Ages 12+