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Best Wishes #3
Time After Time
The New York Times bestselling series! Pass the magic on! This enchanting multi-author series is like American Girl with magic. In this book, written by bestselling author Sarah Mlynowski and three-time Newbery Honor recipient Christina Soontornvat, the magic bracelet comes to a girl in Texas, who ends up in a Groundhog Day -style time loop. Lucy Usathorn of Fort Worth, Texas is super excited for her class trip to the Natural History Museum, where her dad works. Sure, Ms. Brock, the strict school librarian who happens to be dating Lucy's dad (awkward) is chaperoning, but it'll still be the best day ever, right? Wrong! Lucy has to watch in shock and humiliation as her dad proposes to Ms. Brock. Lucy is distraught. If only she could do this whole day over from scratch . . . Enter the magic bracelet. It arrives in the mail, with a long letter from Addie, a girl in Columbus, Ohio, who had the bracelet last time. The bracelet grants wishes, and Lucy knows just what to wish a do-over day, where she'll fix everything and most importantly, prevent her dad from proposing to Ms. Brock. The wish comes true--but not quite as Lucy expected. Her day keeps repeating over and over , and things keep getting worse in unique (and hilarious) ways. With the help of her new long-distance friends, Addie and Becca, will Lucy be able to figure her way out of this time loop . . .before it's too late?
192 pages, Hardcover
First published November 7, 2023
27 people are currently reading
1920 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Mlynowski
145Ìýbooks3,324ÌýfollowersSarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel Milkrun.
Since then, Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, and Me vs. Me; the New York Times bestselling middle grade series Whatever After; the middle grade series Upside-Down Magic (with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins); and the teen novels Bras & Broomsticks, Frogs & French Kisses, Spells & Sleeping Bags, and Parties & Potions (all in the Magic in Manhattan series), as well as Gimme a Call, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have), Don't Even Think About It, Think Twice, and I See London, I See France. Along with Lauren Myracle and E. Lockhart, Sarah also wrote How to Be Bad, and along with Farrin Jacobs, she wrote See Jane Write, a guide to writing. Sarah also co-edited two bestselling charity collections (Girls' Night In and Girls' Night Out), and has contributed to various anthologies (American Girls About Town, Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday, 21 Proms, First Kiss (Then Tell), Fireworks, and Vacations from Hell).
Sarah is also a co-founder of OMG BookFest, a celebration of books aimed at the early to middle grade reader (ages 7-12) that brings together commercial and award-winning authors with underserved local communities for an exciting experience of books, games and activities.
Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-nine languages and optioned to Hollywood. She now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.
Since then, Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, and Me vs. Me; the New York Times bestselling middle grade series Whatever After; the middle grade series Upside-Down Magic (with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins); and the teen novels Bras & Broomsticks, Frogs & French Kisses, Spells & Sleeping Bags, and Parties & Potions (all in the Magic in Manhattan series), as well as Gimme a Call, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have), Don't Even Think About It, Think Twice, and I See London, I See France. Along with Lauren Myracle and E. Lockhart, Sarah also wrote How to Be Bad, and along with Farrin Jacobs, she wrote See Jane Write, a guide to writing. Sarah also co-edited two bestselling charity collections (Girls' Night In and Girls' Night Out), and has contributed to various anthologies (American Girls About Town, Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday, 21 Proms, First Kiss (Then Tell), Fireworks, and Vacations from Hell).
Sarah is also a co-founder of OMG BookFest, a celebration of books aimed at the early to middle grade reader (ages 7-12) that brings together commercial and award-winning authors with underserved local communities for an exciting experience of books, games and activities.
Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-nine languages and optioned to Hollywood. She now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 29, 2025
Listened to this one with my little sister, just like the first! The second wasn’t available, so we skipped to this one. It was as good as the first one, but a little repetitive. Definitely recommended to anyone who has a little sister and wants to read a book together—or just anyone who wants to feel like a 5th grader again. Becca and Lucy are also so relatable💕💕💕
March 23, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. As always, Maxine Vee’s illustrations are delightful! And I really loved Lucy’s growth throughout this book. I’m glad she eventually learned to think about others and not just herself—it’s a very hard lesson to learn and is one we never really stop learning!
November 21, 2023
My family listened to this book on a road trip and it was a perfect family audiobook. I love time travel stories and this one was so well done. We couldn’t wait to get back in the car to keep listening - and there were a few times we had to pause it because everyone was laughing so much. We are definitely going to go back and listen to the other books in the series!
February 10, 2025
My 3rd grader and I read this series together. This one is book #3 and reminded me of the movie Groundhog Day since the main character keeps waking up to repeat the same day over and over until she figures out what she needs to change to keep time moving forward.
July 9, 2024
Ultimately this book is about empathy and listening. Lucy pretty much lives in her own head and ignores the feelings of those around her. She's unaware of how frustrated her BFF is, how nervous her Dad is about proposing, and how convinced the librarian is that she'll mess things up for Lucy.
July 23, 2023
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
While Becca in Best Wishes wanted everyone to be her friend, and Addie in The Sister Switch wanted to not be the middle sister, Lucy has a different wish when the magical bracelet arrives at her house in Texas. She's happy with her life, which includes a mother who has remarried and has twins, and her father, who works at the local natural history museum. She loves that it's quieter at her father's house, and the two get along really well. When there is a fifth grade field trip to the museum, however, the day goes badly wrong. A classmate throws up blueberry yogurt on Lucy's brand new shoes, her friend Olive seems mad at her, the assigned scavenger hunt doesn't go well, and to cap things off, her father proposes to Ms. Brock, her school librarian! Appalled by this, Lucy runs away from the museum, gets picked up by the police, and finally contacts Addie and Becca about her wish. She decides to wish for the perfect day, which ends up sending her into a time loop. Like with any time loop, it's difficult to get things right, and Lucy has to live her day several time before she figures out what would really make the day "perfect". Eventually, she figures out how to avoid the vomit (and this is a real threat in schools; in 1973 my entire second grade class came down with the chicken pox, an event which snowballed after Robbie Pease threw his spaghetti lunch up down my back while waiting in line to go back to the classroom), learn to listen to Olive, make peace with her father's relationship with Ms. Brock, and avoid the shadowy figure of Eloise, who is still tracking the bracelet. Where will the magic head next? (And what author will pen the story?)
Strengths: Lucy likes her life, even though she has younger siblings and has to go between homes, and that is such a refreshing take on a character. I have to deal with enough actual children who are negative that I don't need to read about them, too. The field trip is realistic, and it's fun that Lucy's dad works at the museum. His relationship with Ms. Brock makes sense as well; they met when he worked at a book fair! Lucy thinks that Ms. Brock doesn't like her because she seems to be "meaner" to her than to other kids, which makes absolute sense if Ms. Brock is trying not to show favoritism. The interactions between Lucy and Olive were great, and I would not have minded seeing more about that. There's the ongoing mystery of Eloise, and it's amusing to see Beeca and Addie show up as well. While this might seem a little young for middle school (Lucy is in fifth grade), I have a large number of girls who read this series and Mlynowski's Whatever After books even in 8th grade, so I'll definitely purchase this.
Weaknesses: It seemed somewhat out of character for Lucy to be upset about Ms. Brock, but it was an important part of the story and her acceptance showed growth. Maybe Lucy should have been more unlikeable at the beginning, but that's not usually something I ever recommend. I know it's not the done thing to want characters to be nice and engaging, but I still prefer it, and Lucy seemed like a great kid from the very beginning!
What I really think: I can't wait to see how this series continues, and love that there is a mini trend in time loop stories, including Cirrone's 2016 The First Last Day, Bearce's 2020 Paris on Repeat, Thayer's 2021 The Double Life of Danny Day, Moses and Gangi's 2021 Kingston and Echoes of Magic Ormsbee's 2023 Vivian Vance's Second Chances.
While Becca in Best Wishes wanted everyone to be her friend, and Addie in The Sister Switch wanted to not be the middle sister, Lucy has a different wish when the magical bracelet arrives at her house in Texas. She's happy with her life, which includes a mother who has remarried and has twins, and her father, who works at the local natural history museum. She loves that it's quieter at her father's house, and the two get along really well. When there is a fifth grade field trip to the museum, however, the day goes badly wrong. A classmate throws up blueberry yogurt on Lucy's brand new shoes, her friend Olive seems mad at her, the assigned scavenger hunt doesn't go well, and to cap things off, her father proposes to Ms. Brock, her school librarian! Appalled by this, Lucy runs away from the museum, gets picked up by the police, and finally contacts Addie and Becca about her wish. She decides to wish for the perfect day, which ends up sending her into a time loop. Like with any time loop, it's difficult to get things right, and Lucy has to live her day several time before she figures out what would really make the day "perfect". Eventually, she figures out how to avoid the vomit (and this is a real threat in schools; in 1973 my entire second grade class came down with the chicken pox, an event which snowballed after Robbie Pease threw his spaghetti lunch up down my back while waiting in line to go back to the classroom), learn to listen to Olive, make peace with her father's relationship with Ms. Brock, and avoid the shadowy figure of Eloise, who is still tracking the bracelet. Where will the magic head next? (And what author will pen the story?)
Strengths: Lucy likes her life, even though she has younger siblings and has to go between homes, and that is such a refreshing take on a character. I have to deal with enough actual children who are negative that I don't need to read about them, too. The field trip is realistic, and it's fun that Lucy's dad works at the museum. His relationship with Ms. Brock makes sense as well; they met when he worked at a book fair! Lucy thinks that Ms. Brock doesn't like her because she seems to be "meaner" to her than to other kids, which makes absolute sense if Ms. Brock is trying not to show favoritism. The interactions between Lucy and Olive were great, and I would not have minded seeing more about that. There's the ongoing mystery of Eloise, and it's amusing to see Beeca and Addie show up as well. While this might seem a little young for middle school (Lucy is in fifth grade), I have a large number of girls who read this series and Mlynowski's Whatever After books even in 8th grade, so I'll definitely purchase this.
Weaknesses: It seemed somewhat out of character for Lucy to be upset about Ms. Brock, but it was an important part of the story and her acceptance showed growth. Maybe Lucy should have been more unlikeable at the beginning, but that's not usually something I ever recommend. I know it's not the done thing to want characters to be nice and engaging, but I still prefer it, and Lucy seemed like a great kid from the very beginning!
What I really think: I can't wait to see how this series continues, and love that there is a mini trend in time loop stories, including Cirrone's 2016 The First Last Day, Bearce's 2020 Paris on Repeat, Thayer's 2021 The Double Life of Danny Day, Moses and Gangi's 2021 Kingston and Echoes of Magic Ormsbee's 2023 Vivian Vance's Second Chances.
December 13, 2023
Simply a fun, unique, fantastical story in a contemporary setting—a library (#LibraryLove)—involving three unsuspecting girls and a magic bracelet. Each book can be enjoyed as a stand-alone.
Publisher description: “Lucy Usathorn of Fort Worth, Texas is super excited for her class trip to the Natural History Museum, where her dad works. Sure, Ms. Brock, the strict school librarian who happens to be dating Lucy’s dad (awkward) is chaperoning, but it’ll still be the best day ever, right? Wrong! Lucy has to watch in shock and humiliation as her dad proposes to Ms. Brock. Lucy is distraught. If only she could do this whole day over from scratch � Enter the magic bracelet. It arrives in the mail, with a long letter from Addie, a girl in Columbus, Ohio, who had the bracelet last time. The bracelet grants wishes, and Lucy knows just what to wish for: a do-over day, where she’ll fix everything and most importantly, prevent her dad from proposing to Ms. Brock. The wish comes true � but not quite as Lucy expected. Her day keeps repeating over and over, and things keep getting worse in unique (and hilarious) ways. With the help of her new long-distance friends, Addie and Becca, will Lucy be able to figure her way out of this time loop ... before it’s too late?�
Genre/BISAC: Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy, Magic, Libraries
Related: Check out The Last Mapmaker, by Christina Soontornvat
Publisher description: “Lucy Usathorn of Fort Worth, Texas is super excited for her class trip to the Natural History Museum, where her dad works. Sure, Ms. Brock, the strict school librarian who happens to be dating Lucy’s dad (awkward) is chaperoning, but it’ll still be the best day ever, right? Wrong! Lucy has to watch in shock and humiliation as her dad proposes to Ms. Brock. Lucy is distraught. If only she could do this whole day over from scratch � Enter the magic bracelet. It arrives in the mail, with a long letter from Addie, a girl in Columbus, Ohio, who had the bracelet last time. The bracelet grants wishes, and Lucy knows just what to wish for: a do-over day, where she’ll fix everything and most importantly, prevent her dad from proposing to Ms. Brock. The wish comes true � but not quite as Lucy expected. Her day keeps repeating over and over, and things keep getting worse in unique (and hilarious) ways. With the help of her new long-distance friends, Addie and Becca, will Lucy be able to figure her way out of this time loop ... before it’s too late?�
Genre/BISAC: Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy, Magic, Libraries
Related: Check out The Last Mapmaker, by Christina Soontornvat
September 26, 2023
Lucy's 5th grade class is going on a field trip to the Natural History Museum where her dad will be doing a presentation. with Lucy, on the museum's gem collection. But when he feels inspired to propose to his girlfriend - Lucy's school librarian - in front of everyone on the field trip, Lucy is embarrassed and upset. Arriving home (after running away from the museum and being picked up by the police) Lucy receives the bracelet and wishes for the most perfect day ever. The bracelet grants her wish by letting her have that Friday as a do-over, but, of course, making the perfect day isn't easy.
The 3rd installment in the Best Wishes series was just as fun as the other two. I love Soontornvat's perspective, Lucy and her dad are Thai. AJ and I think it's so fun that the previous books' bracelet wearers have sent their stories on and are part of this one. We also love that the girls always learn a great lesson, about family, friendship, or themselves. We are excited to see where the bracelet heads next!
The 3rd installment in the Best Wishes series was just as fun as the other two. I love Soontornvat's perspective, Lucy and her dad are Thai. AJ and I think it's so fun that the previous books' bracelet wearers have sent their stories on and are part of this one. We also love that the girls always learn a great lesson, about family, friendship, or themselves. We are excited to see where the bracelet heads next!
October 15, 2023
Groundhog Day for the middle grade set. Hands down the funniest book I read this year � any age, any genre. I was cackling so hard that my family asked if I was OK. Imagine your best friend is telling you the most amazing, disastrous, twisty, hilarious story about their life. The kind that has you yelling “staaaahp!� “what?!?� “no?!?� “wait, say that part again?� And then at the end, when you didn’t realize how things had been building, it gets you in all the feels. PERFECTION! Lucy is looking at the perfect day—a field trip to the gem room at the natural history museum where her dad works—only everything goes wrong. With her outfit, her bestie, her family. Until she gets a magical do-over and learns a loooooong lesson on being careful what you wish for. I would have carried this book everywhere and read it over and over until it fell apart when I was 10. Please read it and have a super fun time! Thank you to Scholastic for the chance to read early.
December 14, 2024
This is a cute series overall. I enjoyed the Groundhog-Day type wish, but as an adult reading this book, I had a really hard time enjoying it when the dad is clearly so very very wrong in his decision making process. My daughter (whom I read this out loud with, though she's 14 and also above the target age range) also had a clear dislike for dad for the same reasons. We understand the 5th grade mentality and need for a problem to solve, so Lucy's behaviour can be forgiven, but for dad to make the same mistake over and over and over in all different ways was so disappointing (though integral to the plot). We do enjoy the series and will continue to read it, we just wish the main plot had been better resolved.
June 6, 2024
This was the most interesting out of the three, solely because of the "grown-up" issues it dealt with. I'm not usually a fan of the whole "reliving the day over and over until ___ is done and the main character goes back to their normal life", but in this book it worked.
Also Ms. Brock was a sweet person but just misunderstood and I'm glad the authors did her justice by the end of the story
Also Ms. Brock was a sweet person but just misunderstood and I'm glad the authors did her justice by the end of the story
January 21, 2024
What a fun middle grade series! As an (ahem) former know-it-all, mom of 4, and a current elementary school librarian, I connected with three of the characters. I laughed out loud in parts, and rooted for the main character throughout. The narration was great, too! I started with book #3 and plan to go back and read #1&2 so that I can give solid readers� advisory to my students.
March 11, 2024
I actually really liked this one. 4.5
I relate to Lucy, living with her single dad, it just being the two of them. I've always wanted it to just be the two of us. I would definitely be very upset if my dad proposed to my teacher without asking me ahead of time, even if I would have said yes.
But I'm so glad things worked out in the end!
I relate to Lucy, living with her single dad, it just being the two of them. I've always wanted it to just be the two of us. I would definitely be very upset if my dad proposed to my teacher without asking me ahead of time, even if I would have said yes.
But I'm so glad things worked out in the end!
September 12, 2024
This was a fun middle-grade time travel story, reminiscent of Groundhog Day. As with the other books in the series, it was good for the protagonist to realize her flaws and try to overcome them.
I liked that Lucy's Thai heritage was a part of the story... She wasn't completely replaceable by a White character.
I liked that Lucy's Thai heritage was a part of the story... She wasn't completely replaceable by a White character.
November 19, 2023
Do you ever save a whole season of your favorite show just so you can binge your way through it? That’s how I feel about this series. I have loved them all and can hardly wait until the next one comes out!! This “time travel� book was perfect! I can’t wait to meet Maya!
February 19, 2024
The kids have enjoyed this series a lot and I think there’s been some great lessons in them about relationships and how to deal with disappointment. Definitely geared toward that late elementary/early middle school age and all the emotions that come with that demographic.
April 18, 2025
This was super fun! I read it aloud, and my 6, 8, 11, and 13 year olds were all really into it. It's like sisterhood of the traveling pants meets groundhog day. My kids and I like both of these authors from their previous works, so it was fun to see them work together!
December 17, 2023
Sometimes you just need a Middle Grade plate cleanser!
January 10, 2024
I think it wasn’t the most creative wish out of all of them but the hardest one to deal with a good book.
Want to read
January 11, 2024O
March 28, 2024
The book is great has has a one the best plot twists I have read in a while I am practically crying because the fourth book is not out yet
January 12, 2025
good
this book was very good although it was kind of repetitive it was amazing.I liked it a lot and cant wait to read the next one!!!!!
this book was very good although it was kind of repetitive it was amazing.I liked it a lot and cant wait to read the next one!!!!!
January 30, 2025
Loved this book! It totally captivated my nine, seven and five-year-old! Definitely recommend!
February 7, 2025
Good but maybe too young
February 12, 2025
Such a fun repeat the day tale. I love all the different ways the day was tried to be made perfect.
February 14, 2025
Cute Groundhog Day style story. Could have done without all the vomit though�
March 6, 2025
2.5/5
May 29, 2025
I loved the time loop plotline and found it to be more original than most other Groundhog Day-inspired novels, as Lucy realized that her goal was to keep her father and his girlfriend together. The museum setting and Lucy's relationship with her best friend were unique to explore over the course of the fun, adventurous book.
January 1, 2024
I truly love all of Mlynowski’s series (Upside Down Magic, Whatever After, and Best Wishes); they are all so much fun to read, and this one was no different. This was a Groundhog Day book (if you know, you know) and the reader will root for Lucy to figure out how to truly make a perfect day.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
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