School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--6--Through a quirk of fate, Danny lives every day twice. Once as a regular day like everyone else and once as a "discard" day, when he can do anything he wants without consequences. A typical 12-year-old, he spends his "discard" days cutting school and playing video games. That changes when Danny starts a new school in a new town and meets classmate Zak, self-confident and respected by his peers. Zak's integrity leads Danny to wonder if there is something better he can do with his unique gift. Danny finds his purpose when he vows to take down a video game cheating ring, led by another student who uses the game to steal money from players. Danny's first-person narrative engages readers with wisecracking humor and sharp observations on the middle school social stratum. Danny is cued as white. Zak, whose parents hail from Ghana and Japan, provides the mentoring guidance Danny's parents do not. They are portrayed as loving but preoccupied and a bit clueless: Danny's father doesn't believe he's into video games and his mother thinks he has "playdates" with friends. Gamers will relish Thayer's extended play-by-play accounts of the kids' video battles and strategies. A good group discussion point is the difference between how Zak and Danny handle bullies: Zak stands up to them, Danny plots to get even. VERDICT Perfect for gamers who'd rather play than read, Thayer speaks their language and scores a direct hit.--Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY
Booklist Review
In a clever time-loop tale reminiscent of Groundhog Day, a middle-schooler gets free do-overs by living through each day twice--first in a "discard" that ceases to exist, except in his memory, at midnight, and then again in a "sticky" version he can alter by saying or doing different things. Having lived like this since birth, Danny has mostly worked out the kinks. Even so, while adroitly fitting in at his new Idaho school in the wake of a move and carefully cultivating new friends, he begins to wonder if he should be making better use of his opportunities. Rather than going all Robert Cormier (see, for instance, Fade) and endowing his cocky protagonist with darker impulses, Thayer bends his tale in a more lighthearted direction. After engaging in some awesomely reckless exploits (on the discard days), Danny at last takes on, with two new allies, a taunting, bullying gamer who, readers will readily agree, really deserves the schooling he gets. Other bullies remain at large, so look for further just deserts in future episodes.
