You and Me on Repeat

After entering a strange rainbow portal at a big-box store, estranged childhood friends Chris O’Brien and Alicia Ochoa find themselves stuck in a time loop of their graduation day. At first, Chris assumes that the only way to break the loop is to achieve the perfect first kiss with his girlfriend at their classmates’ graduation party—which keeps getting busted. Upon realizing the seeming futility of the situation, he joins dutiful valedictorian Alicia in using the loops to enjoy some well-earned fun, finally free from social and familial expectations. Looping also allows Chris to rectify the mistake that cost him and Alicia their friendship, and, once reconciled, the two shyly flirt toward romance while hypothesizing how to break the loop. Shyne pairs flat linework and monochromatic coloring—each loop has its own hue—with dynamic perspectives and compositions, evoking a playful tone that never undermines the novel’s poignant moments. A secondary plot involving Chris’s late swim coach and her physicist husband provides just enough deus ex machina and emotional heft for this time-bending rom-com to land both mechanically and sentimentally. It’s a cleverly executed graphic novel debut that successfully innovates the time loop meta. Ages 14–up. (May)