June 30, 2026 by Aladdin
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
*Spoilers*
Sydney is not thrilled to be going to Ari’s birthday party, because she was not invited. Instead, her mother, who is concerned that Sydney hasn’t been making friends since the family’s move from the city of Minneapolis out to the suburbs, arranged an invitation with Ari’s aunt, Dr. Jae Park. The sleepover is being held at the Wildlife Science Center, where Dr. Park works. It is an animal refuge that specializes in taking care of wolves and other animals who need rehabilitation. After a fraught car ride with her parents and younger sister Dianette, Sydney arrives at the party with her gift, which she was not supposed to bring. She meets Ari’s friend group, the “Frankfurters”, which includes twins Gus and Uvy, as well as Remy. Ari likes to make documentaries, and is working on one about cryptids. Sydney isn’t all that interested, but hears about Dogman and other scary tales around the campfire, joined by Mr. Wright and Dr. Bjella. When a beast comes out of the woods and jumps over Sydney, she passes out, only to wake up on the same car ride. This happens again, and she learns a little more information, but loops again. This time, she stays in the cabin and plays Nintendo Switch, claiming a migraine. She talks to Dr. Bjella, who tells her that time loops in fiction are generally solved when the looper finds out essential information about herself and changes. Sydney tries to be interested in the documentary but is again attacked and loops. This time, she thinks that Mr. Wright is a cryptid who is controlling time. Sydney goes all in, even discussing with Ari why she is friends with Melody and Charlotte, who are not nice to others, but were the only ones who welcomed Sydney when she moved to town. The group investigates Mr. Wright’s camper, and gets more information about what he is doing. Sydney tells the Frankfurters about looping before she loops again. This time, Sydney stays home and confides in Dianette about her experiences, and the girls find a cryptid claw stuck in Sydney’s hair. Dianette has some insights, but Sydney still loops. Back at the camp, Sydney tries to finally reconcile all of the information she has gathered, and to work with the Frankfurters to put an end to the time looping. Will she be successful?
Strengths: This was certainly an innovative novel, and felt even more “loopy” than other books I’ve read about days that repeat. Sydney makes much more progress, and changes the iterations of the day more than usual, which makes the novel move more quickly. The friend drama is very realistic, and its progression added a realistic element to this fantasy. The adults involved were interesting, and offered just enough oversight and interest while still allowing the children to explore. I found Dianette’s input surprisingly valuable, as did Sydney. Readers who enjoy wolves and cryptids will like the variety of animals in this story.
Weaknesses: The time loop might confuse some readers, and I wanted a bit more information about why cryptids caused time loops, or why Sydney was involved.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like time loop tales like Bearce’s Paris on Repeat, Levy’s Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop, Cirrone’s The First Last Day, or Mlynowski and Soontornvat’s Time After Time (Best Wishes #3 ), or who are interested in reading about cryptids in books like Key’s Beast: Face-to- Face with the Florida Bigfoot or Russell’s It Came from the Trees.
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