emfiliane reviewed Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Review of 'Seconds' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
It's been a while since I was so blown away by such a cute thing. The art is cute, some personalities are similar, and the 4th-wall breaking is still great, very much in keeping with the Pilgrim style, but the characters are all much more likable and down to earth. Not your slacker band buddy, it's the story of a passionate chef who has our worries, always playing it cool in public and flipping out in private, and finally finds a way to "fix" things: Rewrite the past. It goes a little right and a little wrong, and then a lot wrong, but through it all, Katie keeps up her unflagging certainty that everything can be fixed. It all ends up frightening and heartwarming.
I was drawn to this by the strong parallels to a favorite Japanese series, [b:The Girl Who Leapt Through Time|5465183|The Girl Who Leapt Through Time|Yasutaka Tsutsui|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1314041670s/5465183.jpg|45430402] …
It's been a while since I was so blown away by such a cute thing. The art is cute, some personalities are similar, and the 4th-wall breaking is still great, very much in keeping with the Pilgrim style, but the characters are all much more likable and down to earth. Not your slacker band buddy, it's the story of a passionate chef who has our worries, always playing it cool in public and flipping out in private, and finally finds a way to "fix" things: Rewrite the past. It goes a little right and a little wrong, and then a lot wrong, but through it all, Katie keeps up her unflagging certainty that everything can be fixed. It all ends up frightening and heartwarming.
I was drawn to this by the strong parallels to a favorite Japanese series, [b:The Girl Who Leapt Through Time|5465183|The Girl Who Leapt Through Time|Yasutaka Tsutsui|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1314041670s/5465183.jpg|45430402] (Toki Wo Kakeru Shoujo or [b:時をかける少女|18751867|時をかける少女|筒井 康隆|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386167008s/18751867.jpg|26639860]), a novel made into two movies. The setup was very similar, a heroine correcting not the great wrongs of the world, but the little personal mistakes, piling correction upon correction as each went a little wrong until they spiral out of control, but this went to a much darker place. That horror is exceptionally well executed and had me tense and unnerved, it has to be felt to be believed.
The ending is bittersweet; a lesson is learned but the damage is done. I feel like even in this short time I connected with Katie and I want more, more, MORE! but I'm satisfied too.
