The deep character work and interesting plot devices make this a deeply enriching and engrossing novel to dive into…. the characters were well-rounded and interesting, the writing style was fun and conversational, and the narrative offered a fresh take on a tried-and-true idea.” -THE GLOSS, 5/5 stars Talking about Smale’s book, Witherspoon said the novel is “so fascinating.”“It has a lead character whose voice I just loved,” she continued. “She’s very witty, very self-deprecating. She also knows so much about Greek mythology, it’s fascinating.” Hope you enjoyed my book club discussion questions and reading guide for Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale!

It is the first book for adult readers by Smale, who is best known for her Geek Girl series of young adult novels. It’s a productivity triumph. They should fire people for fun­damental personality flaws more often.The door slams behind me and I jump even though I’m the one who slammed it. Then my phone beeps, so I balance everything precariously on one knee and fumble for it. I try to avoid having unread notifications if I can. They make my bag feel heavy. Your job has the word relations in it,” my boss clarifies help­fully. “Perhaps you could find one that doesn’t?” But I didn’t want to write an ‘issues’ book. I wanted to write a joyful, fun story, albeit one with a slightly less usual protagonist,” she continued. “At its heart, this book is about what we all experience: a basic human desire to connect with the people around us, and ultimately to ourselves,” she wrote. “Cassie uses time travel – in a very autistic way, looping, repeating, hyper-focusing – to do what we’ve all found ourselves wishing we could do at some point: undo our mistakes, rewrite our histories and edit our own lives. She may do it in a slightly unconventional way, but the search for love is universal. And this is what Cassandra In Reverse has always been about: love, in all its different forms. Love for each other, as humans, despite our differences.”

A glorious testament to the transformative power of being our own true selves. It’s a brilliantly clever, twisty story that dazzles with its wit whilst touching our hearts. Cassie is a wonderfully nuanced character, whose often bungled endeavors to redirect the path of her life will resonate with any of us who have felt that happiness and success would be assured if only we could behave/speak/act differently. A hugely entertaining book with an important message, [Cassandra in Reverse] is a triumph!” —Sarah Haywood, New York Times bestselling author of THE CACTUS A series of time re-runs unveils Cassandra's complex history, her peculiar personality traits, and her relentless quest to avoid a certain woman at all costs. Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale. Thanks to @tlcbooktours and @mirabooks #htpinfluencer for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Aglorious testament to the transformative power of being our own true selves. It’s a brilliantly clever, twisty story that dazzles with its wit whilst touching our hearts. . . .A hugely entertaining book with an important message, Cassandra in Reverseis a triumph!” —Sarah Haywood, New York Times bestselling author of The CactusIn what ways does Cassandra’s neurodivergent nature influence her experiences and interactions throughout the story? How does the author portray neurodiversity and its challenges? With a novelty mug in a box, a full character assassination and the realization that when I leave a building I am missed considerably less than a half-dead rubber plant. One minute you’re twelve, standing in the middle of a play­ground while people fight over who doesn’t get you as a team­mate. The next you’re in your thirties, single and standing by the lifts of an office you’ve just been fired from because no­body wants you as a teammate. Same sensations, different body. Literally: my cells have cunningly replaced themselves at least twice in the interim. Instead we get a story about Cassandra clinging onto a non-functioning relationship, changing herself and crossing her own boundaries constantly to please her ex, whilst also clinging onto a work environment that doesn’t suit her. It’s an incredibly depressing read if you view it this way.

Nowhere is this conundrum more evident than when Cassie tries to fix her relationship with the boyfriend who dumped her. At times she seems unhealthily obsessed with engineering the perfect meet-cute, first date, etc., and this does start to get a little tedious. But (without giving away any spoilers), it gets better. As Cassie tries repeatedly to fix the three main things that imploded on the day this all started (boyfriend, roommates, job), things begin to spiral out of control and she starts questioning whether she's doing the right thing at all.All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna’s isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they’ll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . . That’s essentially what Will told me this morning too. I don’t know why they’re both under the impression I must have seen the end coming when I very much did not. Consider the motif of control and its significance in Cassandra’s story. How does her newfound ability to reverse time impact her sense of agency and her perception of the world?