The premise of Again and Again Back to You by Andrea Ezerins intrigued me. The blurb for the book reads as follows: “Again and Again Back to You is a vivid story about the proximity of the past, present, and future within the context of a life – defining young love.” Hmmm. Wouldn’t that idea intrigue many readers?
The story opens in a remote village in 1964 in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, with Cholan, a boy, who, we quickly learn, has “an unreasonable dread of fire and smoke.” Then readers are transported to Cholan who is running from a devastating fire. To be candid, at first, I was uncertain if Cholan were imagining the fire or if it were real. Sadly, it is real, and Cholan is badly burned.
As he lies on his bed, suffering from the burns, Cholan prays for Vishnu, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, “to come snap his mind somewhere else again as he did yesterday to save him.”
Then the story shifts to 1976 in Brunswick, NJ. Readers meet Kevin and Marta, middle school students returning to school after summer break. Marta has long been aware of handsome Kevin, but she has not spoken to him, feeling he is “out of her orbit.” Back at school, they both sport casts on broken arms. This mishap brings them together, and they also learn they have several classes together. Thus begins a middle school romance that continues into their high school years.
Marta and Kevin plan for the future: college for both of them, then marriage, and a family. Unfortunately, Kevin’s parents announce the family is moving to Vermont. Marta and Kevin do stay in touch, but their connection becomes more tenuous, and they attend different colleges.
Marta continues to think about Kevin, but she enjoys college and finds a career with Sorella afterward following a college internship there. She marries Steve in what seemed to me to be an afterthought. Steve proposes, so Marta says yes. She sees Steve as being “safe and secure.”
How does Cholan, a channeler, figure into Marta’s story? Marta and Steve both work for Sorella. They are attending an annual convention when Cholan speaks to the crowd, an unusual speaker for Sorella. When Cholan says, “We will take you back to reexperience a moment in your life—not just to remember it but to re-live it.” Readers won’t be surprised to learn that Marta is one of five in the audience chosen to follow Cholan’s directions about re-living a moment. Readers will also expect that Marta returns to a moment with Kevin, and she does.
The next part remains a mystery unless readers delve into Again and Again Back to You. I admit to being more than a little put out with Marta when she seriously considers an affair with Jason, a new member of the team, also married and with children. Their flirting made me uncomfortable. What comes of that flirting? Read Again and Again Back to You to discover the rest.
Andrea Ezerins provided a note with the copy of the book I received from BookTrib. In it, she mentions that the book “includes a coming-of-age story with a little metaphysical time travel, as well as a plot twist that will pull at your heartstrings.” I can agree with her description. She offers book club questions, always a plus to me as a book club leader, on her website. Ezerins is also eager to join book clubs via Zoom. Book club members will have much to discuss following their reading of Again and Again Back to You. Some of those topics include young love, marriage of convenience, friendship, long-tine connections, and more.
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