"You Again" - Book Review -

 "You Again"

Written by Debra Jo Immergut

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

You Again struck me as very eccentric: a tale of confusion, mental health issues, and political radicalism. In this novel, by Debra Jo Immergut, we meet our main character, an unreliable narrator Abigail "Abby". While Abby casually walks through scenes of New York City, she notices herself, 24 years younger, in her old favorite locations, with her old boyfriend. She throws herself down the rabbit hole, trying to chase after this version of herself to help her solve the mystery.

Abby's story branches out into many strange directions, tangling her and those around her, like ivy. Her relationship with her husband is failing, due to his affair with her best friend and Abby's affair with a detective. Abby's sons Pete and Ben are struggling to grow up, with the poisoning Antifa organization that Pete has joined. 

The novel feels similar to a thriller, but it does not use many typical tropes that you'd find in a thriller. I felt very disconnected from this novel while reading, since Abby is unlikeable and makes extremely bizarre choices that she reckons are justifiable. We readers can just not understand why she is stalking a poor innocent woman who she thinks is a young version of herself. Naturally, the climax reveals a plot twist and the novel finishes with a psychologist's explanation of the entire story, similar to the last 15 minutes of Psycho. 

Personally, I felt the final explanation of Abby's experience to be exploitative of those who suffer from mental health illnesses. I find as I grow older, I become far more averse to stories of characters who 'lose their mind' due to amnesia or trauma and act in irrational ways. It demonizes those who might not be able to have their illness properly diagnosed and treated. Additionally, I find the ending of the story to be incredibly bleak, because her story ends sadly, without hope for improvement.

As I read this novel, I found the mystery to be interesting, but I was easily able to put down the book and complete another activity instead. I found myself wishing to read faster, so I could get to the ending but not because I was invested in the story and desperate to know more. Lastly, I just was not a big fan of the story and the plot's execution. The inclusion of the Antifa organization was unnecessary to me and under-developed, which made that specific plot line to feel unappealing, almost as if the author needed an extra boost to edge her novel and give it more suspenseful moments. The author's writing style suited me fine, with realistic dialogue, interesting imagery, and well-developed characters. I would consider reading more from this author in the future, if I read stellar reviews of an interesting plot.

I rated this story at 3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the legendary Titan Books for sending along a finished copy of the novel to read and review.