YOU AND ME ON REPEAT

Two former friends in River Meadows, Illinois, find themselves trapped in a graduation day time loop.

Chris O’Brien is stuck: He’s forced to relive his high school graduation day over and over again. The varsity swimmer, who reads white, believes that if he can orchestrate the perfect first kiss with the girl he likes, Miranda “Andy” Feldman, then he’ll rejoin the normal timeline. The only person who can help him escape the loop is childhood friend Alicia Ochoa, yearbook editor and valedictorian of River West’s class of 2025—but Chris hurt her feelings when he ditched her in favor of a new friend group in middle school. Mexican American Alicia has been repeating graduation day for almost a year, creating viral videos, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and caring for her four younger siblings. The teens must face what the future holds for them, along with new feelings that emerge as they navigate life on repeat together. Jane Ido-Cantor, Chris’ teacher and swim coach, died in a car accident before graduation day, a tragedy that brings an element of solemnity to the story, balancing the humorous and lighthearted moments. The expressive illustrations use monochromatic color schemes; blue denotes flashbacks, while the time-loop scenes rotate through the colors of the rainbow. Thoughtful character development and the exploration of larger questions of grief and identity take center stage over the technical details of the timeline’s mechanics.

A science-fiction romance grounded by human emotion and personal triumph.