Review: The Loop by Shandy Lawson

Title: The Loop

Author: Shandy Lawson

Publisher: Hyperion

Publishing Date: April 30, 2013

Pages/Format: 208, ARC
Add on Goodreads!

Ben and Maggie have met, fallen in love, and died together countless times. Over the course of two pivotal days—both the best and worst of their lives—they struggle again and again to resist the pull of fate and the force of time itself. With each failure, they return to the beginning of their end, a wild road trip that brings them to the scene of their own murders and into the hands of the man destined to kill them.

As time circles back on itself, events become more deeply ingrained, more inescapable for the two kids trapped inside the loop. The closer they come to breaking out, the tighter fate’s clutches seem to grip them. They devise a desperate plan to break free and survive the days ahead, but what if Ben and Maggie’s only shot at not dying is surviving apart?

Book in One Word: Fun!

Sometimes you read a book that's good and enjoyable and that's about it (but in a good way). The Loop is one of those books. I don't mean this to sound rude or harsh--it's just poor word choice--but this wasn't some amazing OH MY GOSH YOU HAVE TO READ THIS book. But it was still good and I really liked it, if that makes sense. It didn't even have much of anything wrong with it. It just lacked a bit of a wow factor, but was still a quick, enjoyable, fun read.

The Loop follows Ben and Maggie, two teens who are stuck in the same loop. In short, they repeat the same day over and over again, like Groundhog Day. Maggie remembers the details better, but until Ben runs into Maggie (and he always does), he just feels a lot of deja vu. The loop is basically a giant pull: Ben and Maggie always find each other, this and this always happens, and the day always ends the same way, with them dying. And then they wake up and do the same thing over and over again. But Ben and Maggie still try every single time to find a way to beat the loop, which is no easy task.

The synopsis makes it sound like Ben and Maggie are two starcrossed lovers stuck in a time loop, which I don't think is accurate. The two are definitely stuck together, and Ben--whose POV we're mostly in--feels something for Maggie, but it's not this great big romantic time travel thing. It's more like two people being pushed together and fighting to live through the day, with some romance weaved in. But I liked it! Ben and Maggie were good, fun characters, and I liked to read about their adventures as they tried to defeat the loop.

At its core, The Loop is a simple novel. It's just over two-hundred pages long, making it a quick read, which was nice. This could also be a longer novel though, delving more into how the loop works and putting Ben and Maggie through a lot more troubles. I don't mind the definition of how the loop works being mostly simple, because otherwise it just might fly right over my head, but I know there are people who really like to hear about the science behind these things. In the end, though I wish The Loop was a novel that I loved, it was still a nice, pretty enjoyable little book that I had fun reading. (I really did like it, even if this review makes it sound like I thought it was meh!)

Did I like it? Yes!

Did I love it? Nope.

Would I reread it? Probably not.

Would I purchase it? If it was a steal somewhere, I might.

Who would I recommend it to? Fans of light, quick, fun reads, and books that are about time-travel-esque-things but aren't heavy or detailed on the subject.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, and that in no way sways my opinion of the book.