Review: Once Again by Catherine Wallace Hope

Title: Once Again by Catherine Wallace Hope
Publisher: Alcove Press
Genre: Contemporary, Time Travel, Women’s Fiction
Length: 242 pages
Book Rating: B+/b>

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

An imaginative, emotional debut novel for fans of Ann Patchett about one woman’s fight to save her daughter from repeating a deadly fate.

What if you had one chance to save someone you lost?

Isolated in the aftermath of tragedy, Erin Fullarton has felt barely alive since the loss of her young daughter, Korrie. She tries to mark the milestones her therapist suggests–like today, the 500th day without Korrie–but moving through grief is like swimming against a dark current.

Her estranged husband, Zac, a brilliant astrophysicist, seems to be coping better. Lost in his work, he’s perfecting his model of a stunning cosmological phenomenon, one he predicts will occur today–an event so rare, it keeps him from being able to acknowledge Erin’s coinciding milestone.

But when Erin receives a phone call from her daughter’s school, the same call she received five hundred days earlier when Korrie was still alive, Erin realizes something is happening. Or happening again. Struggling to understand the sudden shifts in time, she pieces together that the phenomenon Zac is tracking may have presented her with the gift of a lifetime: the chance to save her daughter.

Unable to reach Zac or convince the authorities of what is happening, Erin is forced to find the answer on her own, Erin must battle to keep the past from repeating–or risk losing her daughter for good.

Review:

Once Again by Catherine Wallace Hope is a poignant time travel novel.

Erin Fullarton is still grieving the loss of her six year old daughter Korrie.  Athough they still love each other, she asked her husband Zac to move out but they communicate daily. At her therapist suggestion, Erin is trying to stop looking back so she is marking a sad milestone.  She would like Zac to be with her  but he is an astrophysicist working on a project that cannot be delayed. When she receives a shocking phone call from her daughter’s school, Erin believes a cruel prank is being played on her. But when she notices the date and time on her phone, she is stunned to realize she has gone back in time to the date of Korrie’s death.  Will this inexplicable trip back in time provide Erin the opportunity to save her daughter?

Erin is shaken by the realization that she might be able to have a second chance with Korrie. Unbeknownst to her, the time slips only last for a certain period of time. After she realizes this important detail, Erin tries to predict when the next time slip with occur so she can know where she needs to be at that exact time.  Much to her frustration, she is unable to arrive in time to stop the pivotal event from occurring. As the day wears on, Erin begins to despair she will be able to save her daughter, but she refuses to give up trying.

Zac and his co-workers are amazed at how well their project is going. But they soon notice little blips they cannot account for. Zac works on his formula in attempt to understand why they are happening. What impact will it have in the real world if they make alterations to their project’s coding?

Once Again is a captivating novel with an clever storyline. The plot is quite unique and the time travel aspect is well executed. Erin’s race to save her daughter is quite riveting. With plenty of tension, Catherine Wallace Hope brings this suspenseful novel to an edge of the seat conclusion.  I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this incredible debut.

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Filed under Alcove Press, Catherine Wallace Hope, Contemporary, Once and Again, Rated B+, Review, Time Travel

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