The Eternal Return of Clara Hart, a review by Shelley

This book broke me. I am not really into science fiction but I love a good time travel or time loop story. This book is also classified as young adult, another genre that I am not usually interested in but 2022 is my year of reading outside the box and stepping into different genres that aren’t my usual cup of tea. The Eternal Return of Clara Hart is exactly the reason why I choose to do this, finding excellent stories I wouldn’t normally pick up, this book ticked all the boxes for me.

This engaging read was serious business right from the get-go and I do mean serious. We have drug use, sexual assault, the death of a parent, roofies being used, and the list goes on and on. I adored James “Spence” Spenser and the way his character grew throughout the book touched my heart. Spence had to face his own demons, see his friends for who they really are, and to stop being so complicit with the macho male behaviour throughout his high school…all while trying to save the girl he comes to care about. Don’t let the young adult tag fool you, this one has many mature themes and was quite poignant and compelling, what a marvelous debut.