Review: The Locket by Stacey Jay

The Locket by Stacey Jay

On her seventeenth birthday, Katie discovers a locket and decides to wear it for good luck. But when her boyfriend Isaac finds out she cheated on him— with their mutual best friend Mitch, no less—he dumps her, leaving her devastated.

And then a miracle happens. The locket burns on Katie's chest and she feels herself going back two weeks in time, to the night she cheated with Mitch. At first, Kate is delighted to be a better girlfriend to Isaac this time around. But as other aspects of her life become inexplicably altered, she realizes that changing the past may have had a dangerous effect on her present.

Can she make things right before the locket destroys everything—and everyone—she loves?

Review:

Novels about time travel are some of my favorite in contemporary YA. In the case of The Locket, the main character, Katie, doesn't get to go back to the Elizabethan era or the Salem Witch Trials, no, instead she gets to go back to a her life a few weeks previously, and gets the chance to fix one of her biggest mistakes.

Katie and her boyfriend Isaac have been together for years, they've always done everything together and have made plans for the future. They are happy and, they feel, perfect for each other. Until Katie cheats on Isaac with their mutual friend Mitch and Isaac finds out. And dumps her. Suddenly Katie's perfect world is unraveling and she longs for a chance to go back to that fateful night and not hook up with Mitch. Lo and behold the locket she borrowed from her grandmother's jewelry case heats up and soon she is unconscious and waking up at the party where she made out with Mitch. How could this be happening?

I loved the idea of the locket that could transport it's holder back in time and the twist that made it not as amazing as it might originally seem. Once Katie has the locket on she can't get it off, and she is noticing more and more strange things keep happening that never occurred before she went back in time.

The Locket was a great look at how your life and the people in it might not always be like you originally thought. Going back in time and reliving some of her life made Katie realize she was wrong about a lot of people. The plot in The Locket was exciting and constantly changing. A lot of unexpected twists occurred and I was always anxious to see how things would turn out.

Going back in time and getting the chance the fix your mistakes sounds like a dream come true, but sometimes you just have to let the cards fall as they may. I don't want to spoil anything but I want to say I'm very happy with Katie's decision in the end!

Overall, The Locket was a great new read from an author I love. It was a refreshing new love story that will make readers wonder if they had the chance to go back in time and change some of their decisions, would they?

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

February 3, 2011/Razorbill/288 Pages/Young Adult

Source: Publisher (ARC)

Other books by this author: You Are So Undead to Me and Undead Much?