This Again?

January 1, 2024

Gr 3-7-Noah Nicholson has his future all mapped out, and it's a bright one. All he has to do is win the election for eighth grade class president, start acing his pre-algebra course, and become as popular and successful as his older brother Paul. This, he believes, will put him on the path to glory in high school, Harvard acceptance, and a brilliant career in physics, just like both of his college professor parents. He has eight days, plenty of nervous energy, and a time-traveling version of his future self to guide him. How hard can it be? The answer to that question drives the underlying premise of a charming new middle grade speculative fiction that delivers some genuine feel-good moments along with some not-so-subtle lessons about the importance of being oneself, the value of true friends and supportive families, and the serious problems of temporal manipulation. Its hopeful exuberance in the face of junior high angst is reminiscent of Judy Blume, its quirky high jinks evoke the works of Louis Sachar. VERDICT Despite being a bit zany, this novel strikes a tone that is both nostalgic and fresh. Recommended for middle school collections.-Kelly Kingrey-Edwards

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January 15, 2024
White-cued seventh grader Noah Nicholson has a “Plan to Become Wildly Happy and Successful,” a scheme that culminates in him attending Harvard like his physics professor parents and older brother Paul. The next major step in his ploy: become class president. So, when Noah from nine days in the future arrives in present-day Noah’s bedroom—an event aided by his parents’ eventual success with time travel—with a plan he claims will ensure victory, current Noah eagerly accepts the help. But Future Noah’s instructions are mysterious, even ludicrous. Purposefully get detention? Learn to like black tea? Dress like a leprechaun? With each accomplished task, Noah’s notoriety grows; he even spends time with his crush. But his campaign takes a toll on his existing friendships, and he soon wonders if winning the election is worth it—and if Future Noah is telling the whole truth. As Noah’s self-centered actions jeopardize the best parts of his life, he must step back and reevaluate his priorities. In this whip-smart comedy, Borba (Outside Nowhere) examines the cost of ambition and cheating one’s way to victory, and while the plot beats are tonally dissonant at times, they never overshadow the novel’s emotional center. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Janine Kamouh, WME.

February 15, 2024
A middle schooler runs for class president with help from an unusual campaign adviser--his future self. Readers with overachieving older sibs will feel for Noah Nicholson, who's obsessed with following in the footsteps of his valedictorian older brother, now a Harvard freshman, although Noah's at best an average student. Also, despite strenuous campaigning, he hasn't a prayer of winning the upcoming class president election--until, that is, a shocking meeting with his doppelg�nger. Future Noah informs him that, thanks to the time machine their brilliant scientist parents are about to whip up, he's come back from next week and can guide him to victory--if present-day Noah follows certain instructions to the letter. Though odd, those instructions prove so bizarrely effective in earning him support from the in crowd that he barely notices that he's failing math and alienating longtime friends. But just before everything collapses in one massively humiliating tangle, Noah (rightly) begins to suspect that his future self is hiding something. The author delivers the ensuing round of confessions, revelations, and frank self-analysis with a heavy hand, but all of this does leave Noah able to embrace his own distinctive mix of qualities and abilities and mend the personal and academic fences he's heedlessly trampled. L�pez draws expressive faces, allowing characterization to come through clearly in the illustrations. Noah and his family present white; there is ethnic diversity among supporting characters. A bit heavy on lessons, but readers will have fun getting there. (Science fiction. 10-13)

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April 1, 2024
Grades 4-7 In this story of time travel gone wrong, Noah tries to turn the worst day of his life into the best day of his life by traveling back in time to "correct" all of his "mistakes" by helping his past self through eight days of seventh grade. What he doesn't count on is that, with each course correction, there are both positive and negative consequences. In the end, Noah has to decide what's important and what he is willing to do in order to accomplish his goals, as well as how to focus more on the present instead of worrying about the future. Occasional cartoon illustrations enliven key points, and each chapter begins with a time and place to get the reader situated. While the story doesn't jump back and forth, it still helps to know how much time has passed, and it also adds some excitement to see the time ticking down to the "big day" when Noah will have to face the music. Noah's story will surely resonate with middle-graders who have wished to change something about the past.

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