When I made the wish, I just wanted a do-over. Another chance to make things right. I never, in a million years, thought it might actually come true...

Sixteen-year-old Ellison Sparks is having a serious case of the Mondays. She gets a ticket for running a red light, she manages to take the world’s worst school picture, she bombs softball try-outs and her class election speech (note to self: never trust a cheerleader when she swears there are no nuts in her bake-sale banana bread), and to top it all off, Tristan, her gorgeous rocker boyfriend suddenly dumps her. For no good reason!

As far as Mondays go, it doesn’t get much worse than this. And Ellie is positive that if she could just do it all over again, she would get it right. So when she wakes up the next morning to find she’s reliving the exact same day, she knows what she has to do: stop her boyfriend from breaking up with her. But it seems no matter how many do-overs she gets or how hard Ellie tries to repair her relationship, Tristan always seems bent set on ending it. Will Ellie ever figure out how to fix this broken day? Or will she be stuck in this nightmare of a Monday forever?

From the author 52 Reasons to Hate My Father and The Unremembered trilogy comes a hilarious and heartwarming story about second (and third and fourth and fifth) chances. Because sometimes it takes a whole week of Mondays to figure out what you really want.

I have been having a really hard time with contemporary YA novels right now, which has been so sad for me because I have always loved them so much. Am I getting too old for these books, or am I just reading the wrong ones? I’m happy to tell you that I’ve been reading the wrong ones! A Week of Mondays was so cute and so sweet and so swoony that I’ve decided I can continue reading contemporary YA! Phew! As always, my main points are bolded. :)

1. I loved watching Ellie relive her Monday over and over again because I got to see her directly learn from her mistakes. She got to develop and change and discover herself (she even went through a rebellious phase). Honestly, I think we could all benefit from going through something like this.

2. I loved the relationships. I loved Ellie’s friendship with Owen and with her sister. Both relationships are true and tug at the heartstrings. Her sister relationship actually reminds me of the relationship my own little sister and I have.

I so wish I had someone like Owen in my life. They grew up sneaking into each other’s rooms having sleepovers and being camp counselors together every summer. Now they watch law dramas on TV and use courtroom jargon in every day conversations. They remind me of Zack and Jessie from Saved By the Bell, but cuter.

I even enjoyed the exchanges between Ellie and her parents, and the ebb and flow of their coexistence and support of one another.

3. Ellie reminds me so much of my teenaged self: a bit of a perfectionist, someone who bites off more than they can chew, a people pleaser, a worrier, and a hopeless romantic. I loved watching her think through all the possibilities of who she could be, and ultimately how she could be the truest to herself. I loved her inner thoughts and her sense of humor. She’s just such a sweet, down to earth heroine and I really loved her.

4. Oh my goodness, Owen is my new favorite book boy. He is hilarious! He’s got this obsession with using British slang even though he’s not at all British (Codswallop! My new favorite word!). He also loves fortune cookies and hosts the school’s book club. He’s so funny and nerdy and sweet. I love how he unconditionally cares for Ellie (even if he’s having a bad day), and the fact that every time she explains to him that she’s reliving the same day he believes her and even helps her figure things out. He’s just so perfect!

5. As much as I wanted to hate Tristan, I actually liked him for a long time until a Monday showed us how shallow he is. I loved the story of how he and Ellie met, and had fun reading pieces of that at the end of each Monday’s section of the book. I think this goes to show how great Jessica Brody is at writing sweet, magical romances. Don’t worry, though, I’m forever and always team Owen.

6. The romance is adorable. I don’t want to go into this point too much because I’ll spoil things, but young love is so wonderful and new and exciting.

7. This book is funny! Ellie’s thoughts, Owen’s quirks, and other little snippets of teen life just made me giggle and wax nostalgic. I hated being a teenager and, in retrospect, high school was pretty sucky. Most of my friendships were not true friendships and I can see now how much I was taken advantage of by people I thought cared about me. Jessica Brody’s imagination and writing have made me wish I could be a teen again! WHAT!? I wish my high school years were filled with the kind of memories Ellie will have at my age.

8. At times I got slightly tired of reading some of the same passages multiple times, but now that I’m done with the book I don’t even care. I loved reading it!

All in all, A Week of Mondays was just what I needed right now. I loved seeing such sweet relationships, such funny moments, and such great character development. It was a joyous reading experience for me, and I’m so glad I didn’t let my lukewarm feelings about contemporary YA steer me away from this sweet and heartwarming story. I highly recommend this book!