Reese Witherspoon has selected Holly Smale’s Cassandra in Reverse as the latest pick for her popular book club.
Smale’s novel, published Tuesday by MIRA Books, follows Cassandra Penelope Dankworth, a woman who discovers that she can go back in time and change the past after she’s been dumped by her partner and fired from her job.
It is the first book for adult readers by Smale, who is best known for her Geek Girl series of young adult novels.
In an interview on the website She Does the City, Smale discussed the origin of her novel. “Once I knew that Cassie was going to be autistic, like me, the only way I could possibly do that with any authenticity was to write my own experience as truthfully as possible, which meant allowing my brain to do exactly what it wanted to do. So I just…let go.”
Witherspoon announced her pick in an Instagram video. “This book is so fascinating,” she said. “It has a lead character whose voice I just loved. She’s very witty, she’s very self-deprecating. She also knows so much about Greek mythology.…You’d think you know how this book ends, but it really surprised me. There is a twist at the end that I did not see coming.”
Smale reacted to her novel’s selection on Instagram, writing, “I am PINCHING myself. So excited, grateful and honoured to have been picked by the amazing @reesewitherspoon and her team for my adult debut. THANK YOU.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
