Opposite of Always
Justin A. Reynolds
Computer games may have damaged my outlook on life. See, when things go wrong in cyberspace, you just restart. How well I remember building my Austrian Empire in Civilization V only to see hordes of Mongols crash across my borders en route to my tiny garrisons. I cursed the day and spun up a new game, and I feel it’s unfair you can’t do this when things go wrong in meatspace. But what if you could? What if time rebooted and gave you a second chance to get it right, and a third chance, and a fourth?
Justin A. Reynolds’s debut YA novel “Opposite of Always” asks just this question through the character of Jack Ellison King, a graduating high school senior and self-described nerd who is far smoother with girls than any nerd I’ve ever known, starting with myself. Had I had half his swagger with the ladies in high school, it would’ve saved me a lot of nights staring into the dark and replaying the awkward things I’d said and done that, surely, all the girls were laughing about. On that subject, Reynolds nails the teenage boy experience of perceiving girls as poised and perfect beings of light. I know, I know, teenage girls often feel like tragic disasters. Trust me: the guys don’t see it. It’s a strange time of life.
Jack’s inconsistent character does actually break my suspension of disbelief in an otherwise thoughtful story of young adult romance and the second chances we never get. Is Jack a dork or the king of flirty banter? Is he a reservoir of deep passions or is he so unflappable that he just sort of accepts his time loop and tries to make it work? Even Phil Connors broke down and tried to tell people what was happening to him, but Jack King is made of sterner stuff than Pittsburgh’s surliest weatherman. I get that the loop is just a storytelling device for an exploration of love, family, friendship, and the choices that make them what they are; but given the premise, I couldn’t shake the gnawing conviction that a high school kid caught in a time loop should be freaking out at least a little.
Perhaps we can forgive Jack for his preternatural calm since his pubescent brain is overclocked by Kate, the college freshman and woman of his dreams who will always die on the exact same day if he can’t find a way to save her. I confess that even though I’m a crotchety middle-aged man, I really like their relationship. Reynolds handles young love well, striking that balance of adult feelings and childish actions that makes those years so weird, wonderful, and unrepeatable. Parents who are feeling edgy about how handsy their teens might be getting with each other won’t be comforted by the progression of Jack and Kate’s relationship; but all things considered, the subject is handled discreetly.
Jack’s adventures in time raise the same conundrum George Bailey faced in Bedford Falls: if you could change your destiny, would it change for the better? Jack’s repeated stabs both at saving Kate and at fixing his friends’ problems might suggest a negative answer, but I couldn’t tell until the final pages which way Reynolds would jump. He plays his cards so well that I wasn’t sure if I was in a morality play (“don’t sacrifice all that’s good in a losing fight with fate”) or a hero’s journey (“no fate but what we make”). Either seems equally plausible right up to the end, and that’s good storytelling. Though the loop becomes a bit tiresome as Jack gradually tinkers his way toward a conclusion, I found myself hoping for happy endings all around. After all, I have regrets enough that I can’t undo. It’s nice to imagine, to hope, that someone else might find a way to skip the regrets entirely.
Author: Justin A. Reynolds
Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Tags: YA Fiction, Romance