Jen Lancaster opens her second novel, Here I Go Again, with a description of a character found in every high school: the girl with the most beauty, most money and most spite in her class. In this case, the mean girl is Lissy Ryder--but her glory days are long past, and Lissy finds herself overweight, at odds with the former high school sweetheart who's about to become her ex-husband, out of a job and moving back in with her parents, where she finds herself at the mercy of her mother's two favorite hobbies, cooking fattening foods and belittling Lissy's father. How did her late 30s go so terribly wrong when her teen years were so amazing?
When she attends her class reunion, Lissy learns the truth: those high school years weren't amazing for the classmates whose lives she ruined with her bullying. Lissy's not thrilled to learn her entire class despised her, but what can she do? Go back in time and change history?
The answer is yes. With a little help from a magic potion, Lissy's suddenly back in her high school body and high school life, with a chance to get it right this time--but if she fixes her past, what will happen to everyone else's futures? Fans of Peggy Sue Got Married will adore this lighthearted journey as Lissy goes from vapid brat to mature woman, learning along the way that karma doesn't let anyone off the hook. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Latah County Library District and blogger at Infinite Reads