Echo by Kate Morgenroth

Justin was a normal kid, he liked school and had friends. Then the unthinkable happens...his brother is joking around after school. He gets dad's gun out of the bedside table...Justin tells him to quit messing around, put it away...but it's too late. His brother is gone, dead, nothing will ever be okay again.

This morning nothing goes right. His mom acts like he's the one that should have died. At school, his former best friend makes sure to single him out for bullying. Everyone glares at him like he's a murderer. Even the good things he does, like winning the race in the pool, gets downplayed. His ex-girlfriend is giving him mixed signals, and the principle is threatening to "make an example of him". The last thing that happens that day is too horrible to process.

Next thing he knows, he's waking up, and reliving the same day. The same horrible day. But this time it's a little bit different, just slightly. Maybe this time he can change things...maybe this time it will end differently?

Fascinating story told from a unique perspective. The author draws you in and keeps you guessing until the end. Quick read, a mix between Donnie Darko and Groundhog Day.

"Lunchtime, Justin told the voice. It's the worst. It makes me feel like I've got the plague or something. He was standing in the lunch line, but there was a significant gap around him, as if no one wanted to get too close...He always hurried to the lunch room so he would get there in time to claim an empty table. 'But don't other people come and sit down with you?' the voice asked. No, Justin said. Never," (Morganroth pg. 33, 2007).

*Library Link*

If you liked this, check out:
Jude by Kate Morgenroth
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
Right Behind You by Gail Giles

Morganroth, Kate. (2007). Echo. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.