You Only Live Once David Bravo

You Only Live Once David Bravo
Mark Oshiro
HarperCollins, 2022
375 pages
Fantasy

Poor David Bravo! Middle school and sixth grade are off to a terrible start. He has become a target of the school bullies, is struggling making friends, cannot properly express himself, and then trips his cross-country teammate/best friend by accident, landing the future track star on the injured list. After the worst day ever, an otherworldly creature, who no one else can see, presents herself offering David a do-over. Fea's job is to help folks fix that one regrettable thing in their life to break an unfortunate timeline. What is it in David's life that needs fixing? After many failed attempts, all of which Antoine still hurts his leg--or they loose their friendship, David realizes that maybe his life was just fine the way it was. But if that's the case, why was Fea sent to him? Meanwhile, David discovers that he has confusing feelings about his best friend. Should he tell Antoine? David questions that, because he is adopted, maybe something is missing or that he isn't good enough. By book's end David learns the truth about his past, what really makes a family, and that you should go for things, because: you only live once!

This book was starred everywhere and could be found on a lot of the "best of 2022" lists. Young Adult author, Oshiro, has a great concept for his foray into middle grade. Who wouldn't want a do-over? I certainly have some cringy things lurking in my past that I am sure, assuming they were fixed, my life would have followed a better path. I love time travel and I appreciate David jumping back into the past in an attempt to fix his present, only to keep making matters worse. My main complaint is that the book is waaaaay too long. It goes talkie in places and I am guessing that many middle grade readers will bail by the end. The character Fea is annoying, yet maybe Oshiro intended that on purpose. I did not find her sympathetic or likable, especially after she convinces David to act on romantic feelings that he was previously unaware in order to fix her own past. I thought that the story was a bit unnecessarily romantic (David is eleven and pretty dopey) and the cover shows someone who looks even younger. I liked the adoption plot and the message about your true family and identity as delivered by the author. I found the book to have a great premise, but is somewhat overshadowed by adult intentions.