THE RETAKE

When a mysterious app appears on her cellphone, seventh grader Zoe gets the chance to redo past experiences with the hope of fixing a friendship that has fallen apart.

Zoe and Laura were best friends for years. They participated in a STEM club, Future City, together, and their families are close. Lately however, Laura seems more interested in hanging out with the girls she met doing a school theater production, whom Zoe thinks of as drama queens. These girls care about boys and fashion, and now Laura doesn’t want to attend Future City anymore because her new friends think it’s too nerdy. Zoe is determined to repair this friendship and return to BFF status. Using the phone app, which turns out to be magical, Zoe selects photos from recent memories and is sent back to relive each moment. From a sleepover to a field trip, she gets second chances, but no matter what she tries, disastrous results ensue. The theme of friendships drifting apart as interests change will be relatable for many readers, but the story’s direct, repetitive writing and one-dimensional characters bog down the pace. For the most part, the drama queens follow popular, mean-girl clichés. While the idea of the time-traveling app is fun, it’s not enough to set this story apart from other tales of friendship drama. Main characters are assumed White.

Could have used a retake.