The Locket

March 7, 2011
Katie is in love with her longtime boyfriend, Isaac, and hopes they'll be together forever. But one night, on a whim, she kisses their mutual friend, Mitch; when Isaac finds out about the betrayal, he breaks up with Katie on her 17th birthday, abandoning her roadside. Katie is heartbroken and wishes she could erase what happened with Mitch. Luckily, she gets the chance: Katie finds a mysterious locket belonging to her grandmother that allows her to travel back in time, relive that night, and take back the kiss, so she and Isaac can live happily ever after. At first, Katie is overjoyed to have her life back to normal, but as Isaac becomes increasingly preoccupied with basketball, frequently standing her up, Katie wonders if sometimes what feels like a mistake is really a blessing in disguise. Though the paranormal element remains unexplained and events end predictably, Jay (You Are So Undead to Me) effectively builds tension while conveying Katie's slow acceptance of how even feelings that seem set in stone can unexpectedly change. Ages 12–up.

January 1, 2011
All Katie Mottola wants—all she's ever wanted—is to be the girlfriend of her first love, varsity-basketball superstar Isaac Tayte. Basking in his reflected athletic glory is enough for her, but when Isaac discovers Katie's drunken hookup with their mutual best friend–for-life, Mitch, he dumps her on their anniversary. Heartbroken and regretful, Katie makes a fateful wish on her grandmother's enchanted locket, turning back the clock two weeks, so she can avoid kissing Mitch and set everything right again. Of course, messing with the space-time continuum yields dire consequences, and, most unfortunately for readers, Katie's consequences make no sense and only highlight the obviousness of the plot (selfless Katie clearly belongs with sensitive musician Mitch, not self-obsessed jock Isaac). For example, in the redo past Katie creates, the smartest boy in school is suddenly—and pointlessly—a slacker pothead. Why? After another time-turn causes a devastating accident, Katie finally grasps that she can't change the past and she must take charge of her own decisions and relationships, but by then, most readers will be long past caring. (Fiction. YA) 

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March 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-On her 17th birthday, while dressing to go out with her boyfriend, Katie finds a locket in a pile of her grandmother's jewelry. Inscribed on it are the words: "Some mistakes weren't meant to last." Inside are pictures of her grandparents when they were young. Their love had lasted, and Katie is sure that her relationship with Isaac is destined to do the same-as long as he doesn't find out about her one rum- and anger-fueled indiscretion with Mitch. She puts on the necklace, but knows something is wrong when Isaac arrives late. In the car, he tells her that she and Mitch were seen kissing and drives away, leaving her stranded in the middle of a heavy thunderstorm. As she wishes she could go back in time and neither drink nor kiss Mitch, the locket grows hot enough to burn her skin and her shirt where it touches. As suddenly as they began, both the pain and rain stop, and Katie finds herself back at the party two weeks earlier. She is thrilled at the chance to undo her mistake, but as the two weeks repeat, she realizes that everything is not exactly as it was before, and that she has to live and grow with those consequences. Although The Locket could stand as an example of the perils of underage drinking, the paranormal aspects will keep even the most reluctant reader devouring the book to its satisfying, if a bit too convenient, conclusion.-Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL

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