Opposite of Always (2019) is Justin A. Reynolds’s debut novel. Geared for young adult audiences, the novel blends science fiction and romance genres. It follows high school senior Jack King as an inexplicable time loop teaches him about love, relationships, learning from his mistakes, and making the most of life. It explores themes of Lessons Learning Through Facing Repeated Challenges, Loving Someone with a Chronic Illness, and Accountability in Interpersonal Conflict. Opposite of Always was an Indies Introduce Top Ten Debut, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2019, and a 2019 Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction. It has been translated into 19 languages, adapted into a Webtoon, and optioned for a Paramount film.

This guide is based on the e-book edition of the text published in 2019 by Katherine Tegen Books.

Content Warning: The novel contains depictions of racism.

Plot Summary

High school senior Jack King is surrounded by people he admires: His parents are amazing; his best friend Franny is a great athlete and a looker to boot; and his other best friend, Jillian, is their class valedictorian and as caring as they come. On the other hand, Jack sees himself as a guy who doesn’t have anything going for him. He didn’t make the sports teams or get into the school clubs, and he doesn’t excel at any of the hobbies he tried. He can’t even get the girl of his dreams because his best friend scooped Jillian up before he knew Jack liked her. Now, Jack is stuck in the friend zone, pining after his best friend’s girl.

Jack meets Kate at a party while he’s visiting Whittier University for the weekend. Kate’s a first-year student there, and she’s beautiful. She can also match Jack’s witty banter zinger for zinger. They talk all night, bonding over their shared appreciation for nerdiness, bad dance moves, and love of kid’s cereal. Over the next week, they get to know each other through texts and emails, and Jack works up the courage to invite Kate to his senior prom. She agrees to go but then never shows up. Jack is heartbroken until he learns Kate missed prom because she was in the hospital. She has sickle cell anemia, and though she knows of a doctor who’s developed promising cutting-edge treatments, her family can’t afford them. Before Jack understands the severity of Kate’s illness, she dies.

The same night, Jack falls down the stairs, loses consciousness, and wakes up to find himself back at the college party where he first met Kate. Under the assumption he’s been sent back in time to save Kate’s life, Jack desperately attempts to find ways to help her, but she keeps dying, and time keeps resetting. In each new timeline, new conflicts and hardships arise within Jack’s circle, and he knows his choices must have caused them. In one, Jack neglects his family and friends to spend all his time with Kate. His absence leaves his friends to struggle through significant family problems without his support. In another, Jillian breaks up with Franny to be with Jack, ruining Jack and Franny’s friendship. Jack even becomes so desperate he gets arrested trying to inject Kate with a stolen serum. However, by never giving up and learning from his mistakes each time, Jack makes life better for his loved ones and learns valuable lessons about time and happiness.