Vivian Lantz's Second Chances
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Groundhog Day meets Eighth Grade in this time-loop story set on the first day of school, from the critically acclaimed author of Candidly Cline.
Vivian Lantz is cursed. Every year, terrible things happen on her first day of school. This year, Vivian has a plan to conquer eighth grade. But eighth grade? Turns out to start with her worst first day yet.
Vivian can’t wait to put it all behind her. But instead of waking up to a brand-new day, Vivian somehow gets stuck reliving her catastrophic one. Curse: 9,000 – Vivian: 0. Then she sees her misfortune for what it is: the golden opportunity to get her perfect plan back on track. But when her second chance turns into a third, a fourth, and a fifth, Vivian might have to let go of the perfect day of her dreams… and make a few surprising choices along the way.
This delightfully awkward saga of first crushes, mean-girl drama, and unexpected magic is sure to please fans of Mark Oshiro, Lisa Jenn Bigelow, and Julie Murphy—and any reader who’s ever been nervous about their first day of school.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With affection and humor, Ormsbee (Growing Pangs) takes on a time-loop telling via an Austin eighth grader whose first day of school just won't quit. From a preschool glitter incident to a bout of food poisoning in the fifth grade, each one of Vivian Lantz's first days of school has been marred by what she thinks of as "the curse." This year stands to be even worse, since Vivian's best friend has moved away. Armed with wise words courtesy of her favorite fantasy author, Vivian launches herself into a foolproof self-reinvention plan: finding her style (rocker chic), joining the school paper (instead of writing fantasy fanfic), and wooing classmate Alex Fernandez (her crush for 23 months) by befriending a mean girl. The first day still doles out disaster after disaster, including her first period. But when the same day reprises the following morning, the event grants Vivian another chance—and sticks her in a time loop. As the days repeat and Vivian's fully fleshed first-person voice forces her to become more deliberate with her choices, Ormsbee combines cringe-worthy moments with sweetly wrought relationships, creating supportive, caring day(s)-in-the-life circumstances around growing up. Vivian reads as bisexual and white; the secondary cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 8–12.
