The Date

The Do-Over

by Brenda Scott Royce

On the last day of school, Maribel attempts to ask her crush, Evan, out on a date to the bonfire party that night. After multiple failed attempts―including an embarrassing moment caused by a prank―Evan ends up with someone else at the bonfire. That night, Maribel gets a mysterious text from an unknown number offering her a do-over. She accepts and gets to relive the day, this time successfully asking Evan out. But will her date turn out the way she hopes?

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Fantasy, Realistic Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2019

About the author

Brenda Scott Royce’s books, like her life, mix monkeys and mayhem. Her novels MONKEY LOVE (2006) and MONKEY STAR (2007) chronicle the misadventures of Holly Heckerling, a stand-up comedienne who befriends a monkey while juggling career and romantic entanglements. A former chimpanzee caregiver, Brenda is editor of the Los Angeles Zoo's award-winning magazine, ZOO VIEW. She has contributed to the Huffington Post and penned several episodes of the Disney Junior series, CHUGGINGTON. Brenda's children's books include two titles in the ASPCA's Pet Rescue Club series (CHAMPION'S NEW SHOES and BAILEY THE WONDER DOG) and nonfiction animal books for the Smithsonian Institution, Discovery, Animal Planet, and NatGeo Kids.

Reviews

[jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely stupid but it was short and now I get another book to my goodreads goal so kind of worth it

[Emily Carter-Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh boy. I really didn't think it would be that bad, but I was proven wrong!

It's the last day of school and Mari wants to ask her crush, Evan, to be her date the bonfire at the lake that night. Unfortunately, a series of events happen which leads to Mari bottling it and Evan ends up kissing another girl instead. In despair, Mari cries out for a do-over of the day and receives a mysterious text granting her that very opportunity.

Obviously, the story is going to fly in the face of reality as you can't repeat a day, but the events, dialogue and behaviour of the characters was ridiculous. It is also written really badly and lacked any depth.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute cheesy easy read

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 100-paged middle-school story of a young girl who gets a chance for a do-over after an attempt to ask out her date goes wrong. Her do-over was a success, only that it leads to new problems that she didn't realize before and opens her eyes to a new perspective of her crush. A short and quick read for kids who want light reading with quick resolutions.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only good thing about this book was how short it was, because it didn’t prolong the agony of reading it. There was so much passive dialogue, an unbelievable amount of plot holes, and absolutely no character development. I cringed through all 113 pages.

[charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

not terrible, fairly cliché, but still a quick read and boosts my goodreads stats so win win !

[Michelle Amos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I read this?

[Kylah Q · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why is this a romance book when the relationship didn’t even work????

[Bear · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a very easy read. I liked it, but the plot was weak. It seemed like it could have been written for an eight year old girl. Seeing as I'm older than eight, it wasn't that "wowing" to me.

[prathaaaaaaaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very light read, I read it in 20 minutes.

[fiction.prescription · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to write a review on The Date after seeing there were a couple of low ratings but no reviews. Is it because it’s got a bad storyline? No. Are the characters beyond annoying? No. But here’s why I gave The Date a 2/5:

Although it is classified “young adult fiction” I feel it is aimed at younger readers, probably 10- 14 years old. The book is real short; only 100 pages long, and the font is big.
Basically, the main character, Maribel, seems to be a middle schooler and the storyline is quite simple. She attempts to ask the boy she likes out, but she loses her chances. However, Maribel gets a chance at a “do over”, meaning she can go back and redo the day in a different way.

The concept is creative but just too unrealistic to be satisfying for older YA readers. I wouldn’t say it’s a romance book at all, it really isn't a focus. I guess the moral of the story is about divine timing; what’s meant to happen for you will when the time is right. To try understand that when things don’t turn out how you hoped, knowing it wasn’t meant for you.

Anyway, at the end of the book, it turns out the book is part of a ‘do over’ series. I noticed there was one called “The Do Over: The Prank”, and was curious if it is related to this book, and tells another character's point of view. Upon searching it up, it appears the do over series are written by separate authors, and none of the stories are connected.

Overall, The Date is a simple read for young readers. I did like the message/ending of the book but definitely wouldn’t recommend for anyone looking for a YA romance.

[Zoë · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn’t what I expected. At all.
-
It was good, I’ll admit. But as the book went on, it began to be cloudy to understand.

I was out whilst reading this, so I couldn’t really write any notes down from this book, but I could type it up in my notes;

Not really good so far. What is confusing me currently is how did this girl who has a crush, start from a harmless prank, end into something the police needed to be involved in??

[Ashley O. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Date is a nice book for teens or a quick read in a airplane or something like that. It’s a short story, so goes straight to the problem and the resolution and there’s not much about character development.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short little read, part of a series of 6 YA books about teens who get a chance for a "do-over." This is the first one I read. I do really like the theme in this one of building up someone in your mind and then finding that the reality isn't all you thought it was.

[Ava Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. It is a good middle-school-romance-type book.

[Gen Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really quick read - “vetting” it for a 10 year old.

It’s a cute story that would be good for 10-13 year old who wants a easy read.

[catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

stupidest book i’ve ever read

[Julia Manzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

that was the strangest… essay i’ve ever read. i think if it was made into a much longer book it could’ve been better. still it wasn’t the worse thing ever 2.5 stars

[jess :)]

i don’t want to be mean but i didn’t think this was that great because it was quite predictable

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinda short story

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5. What a boring book.

[Tonia Whiteside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story.

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining insomnia read about a girl who gets a chance to "do over" a day with her dream date. Will she like him enough after all?

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super short story for middle schoolers, nothing offensive about it.
BL 4.3
2 points

[Lerato Sebopa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it. I was sad that it was only 127 pages, I wish there was more.

[Kaylie Stringfellow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this one when browsing what was available on Libby. It’s a quick read and pretty fun. I did like the ending. I didn’t realize how short it’d be!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

Loved this book. Definitely a pre teen too teen read. And not a book more of a short story. Really enjoyable read

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little short story. Pretty predictable. The writing style was bland, the characters flat and one-dimensional, but overall it wasn't bad.

[Coralie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and unremarkable, this book does not offers much. It's ok, but really if you're looking for a teen breather, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend that one as it's really bland .

[Mkb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly for children (and not in a Narnia way). Thought the ending might be a useful thing for a young person to think about maybe?