Kody Manley

While I applaud Couch's efforts to normalize queer characters, this narrative is woefully lacking any true LGBTQIA+ themes. Both main characters, Clark and Bo, feed into negative gay stereotypes, like self-absorbed and stalkerish behavior. The plot itself is repetitive, and I was bored halfway through the book. Also (Spoiler Alert), for Bo being Clark's "soulmate" that he needs to get together with to get out of the timeloop, he is treated more like a plot device than an actual character. He is not featured nearly enough in the plot, and Clark's constant whining had me not even caring if he got out of the time loop or not. Yes, the acknowledgement of mental health issues and family dysfunction was noble, but it wasn't anything new to the YA genre. Couch missed some great opportunities to bring something great to the LGBTQIA+ literary world.