Would you do it Again, but Better?

Time never waits for us, it keeps moving along despite life or death.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, all these days begin to blend and eventually morph into years. 

It all happens in the blink of an eye. 

In the book Again, but Better, Christine Riccio beautifully depicts that just being alive is a miracle and that we should immerse ourselves in the present and feel everything around us, without trepidation.  

The novel revolves around a girl named Shane who believes she’s doing college “wrong”. Instead of exploring the world, making friends, and discovering herself, she’s cooped up in her cramped dorm room. She genuinely feels left out because she’s never kissed anyone before (side note: you shouldn’t feel forced to kiss or do something just because society endorses it, everyone’s different). Anyway, to spice things up and have the ideal college experience, Shane signs up to study abroad in London, England. 

Readers begin to slowly witness her crawl out of her shell in the foreign city. She meets new people in her flat as well as a boy named Pilot she immediately takes a liking towards. She even has the time to pour her soul into her writing. Shane aspires to be a writer, despite the fact that her parents are set on her becoming a doctor.

Everything feels like a dream, too good to be true. Shane is enjoying her creative writing class in college, her internship has her writing a piece for their magazine, and sparks seem to be flying between her and Pilot. 

Unfortunately, it is at this point that the entire train derails. 

Shane’s parents find out she’s not in London for a pre-med program. She quits her internship and Pilot begins to distance himself from Shane, for reasons I won’t mention because…SPOILER!

All stories have their ups and downs and this is a very devastating low for Shane. I can vividly imagine myself in her shoes and the emotions that arise are searing. I envision her being distraught, heartbroken, and almost numb as though she isn’t living her own life.

Fast forward to the future, Shane is the doctor her parents always hoped for. Sadly, it robs her of time to write stories. She’s also dating someone she doesn’t even like and on top of that, the boy from London still pops into her mind occasionally. This was the secure and financially stable path her parents led her on. She should be happy, right? Either way, she needs to find Pilot and tell him how she feels, even if it’s only to expel all the thoughts in her head and clear up these gnawing misunderstandings. 

She finds him in her current city, and it turns out, her misunderstandings weren’t just misunderstandings. The two truly had something special, but there’s no going back in time, which is what any rational person would deduce. However, the pair happen to step into an unusual elevator that transports them back in time to 2011, on their first day in London during their study abroad trip. Maybe this is their chance to carve their own paths and trust their guts amidst all the doubt? They got a second chance, yet there are still hurdles they must overcome. 

This is where I began to fall in love with the book and became invested in Shane’s character development. The second time around Shane is bolder and takes risks, even though they may end humiliatingly. She becomes less self-conscious and doesn’t care how others perceive her. She starts believing in herself. If Shane wants to do something, she puts all her eggs into one basket because she trusts her abilities and power. This novel is also so witty and humourous, it had me chuckling on more than one occasion with all the inside jokes. All in all, this story reminded me that life is short and instead of overthinking and holding ourselves back from what we want to do, we should dive in, regardless of any doubts because unlike Shane, we can’t do it Again, but Better.