An imaginative, emotional debut novel for fans of Ann Patchett about one woman’s fight to save her daughter from repeating a deadly fate.What if you had one chance to save someone you lost? Isolated in the aftermath of tragedy, Erin Fullarton has felt barely alive since the loss of her young daughter, Korrie. She tries to mark the milestones her therapist suggests–like today, the 500th day … suggests–like today, the 500th day without Korrie–but moving through grief is like swimming against a dark current.
Her estranged husband, Zac, a brilliant astrophysicist, seems to be coping better. Lost in his work, he’s perfecting his model of a stunning cosmological phenomenon, one he predicts will occur today–an event so rare, it keeps him from being able to acknowledge Erin’s coinciding milestone.
But when Erin receives a phone call from her daughter’s school, the same call she received five hundred days earlier when Korrie was still alive, Erin realizes something is happening. Or happening again. Struggling to understand the sudden shifts in time, she pieces together that the phenomenon Zac is tracking may have presented her with the gift of a lifetime: the chance to save her daughter.
Unable to reach Zac or convince the authorities of what is happening, Erin is forced to find the answer on her own. Erin must battle to keep the past from repeating–or risk losing her daughter for good.
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An IMAGINATIVE, EMOTIONAL Debut novel for FANS OF ANN PATCHETT about one woman’s fight to save her daughter from repeating a deadly fate.
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It had been nearly a year and a half since KORRIE died—five hundred days—and still, all ERIN could do was think of her. She couldn’t start new things. She couldn’t make lists. She couldn’t reach out to other people. She couldn’t find her way back to the normal world. Because, she thought, this is what becomes of the mother of a murdered child.-an EXCERPT.
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Are you FASCINATED by concepts like;
Space time crystal/ time crystal,
Time travel,
Multiverse,
Alternate reality/ universe,
Parallel universe
Deja vu
Loop quantum gravity
Or/&
Astrophysics.
To cut it short,
what if you can travel back in time to undo a tragic happening?
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52 chapters have been divided into 5 broad parts;
Part 1 The Ring
Part 2 The Waves
Part 3 The White Hole
Part 4 The Labyrinth
Part 5 ONCE AGAIN.
The story begins with the date;
June 20, 2021
&
Ends with
June 20, 2020.
ERIN FULLARTON is in a state of grief, even after attending therapy, even after 500 days..after losing her 6 year old daughter, KORRIE.
Moving through grief is like;
SWIMMING AGAINST A DARK CURRENT.
Her husband, ZAC, a brilliant astrophysicist has drowned himself in work, as an outlet to mask his loss.
He is working on a unique concept, a rare occurrence, a rare phenomenon.. which unknowingly gives Erin a chance to rectify a mishappening..a tragedy..
Will Erin be able to utilise this opportunity?
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The grief of a parent, especially a mother is unsurmountable.
The emotions have been beautifully dealt with, in this novel.
The concepts of sci-fi are enchanting, mysterious and thrilling and it’s fascinating to keep on guessing, the end.
A fresh plot, storyline and a commendable debut.
This novel has a fascinating and imaginative premise. Five hundred days ago Erin’s daughter was taken by an abductor from her school and Erin Fullarton is still drowning in grief, barely making it through each day. But suddenly, instead of being June outside, it’s snowing, and she slowly realizes she’s been plunged back to winter almost 18 months ago – the very day of her daughter’s abduction.
However this is no Groundhog Day concept where time simply unfurls forward again. Instead time is skipping – going forward, and backward, in what seem like random increments.
Erin doesn’t understand how or why she’s landing at certain points during the same day, but only one thing matters: she has a second chance to save her daughter Korrie. Of course, no-one believes her about what’s happening. Which means she’s on her own to try and prevent her daughter being abducted, abused and killed – ONCE AGAIN.
There’s an almost sci-fi like scientific explanation for what’s happening to time (which is rather fascinating), but the core of the story is Erin’s fight to reach Korrie- when time itself isn’t stable or predictable. The novel is well-written, fast paced, and it kept me immersed and engaged.
One last note: a trigger warning if the mention or hint at abuse is too close to home for you (nothing on screen but we see the abductor’s point of view on how he views the child/ children in general at several moments).
WOW!!! Catherine Wallace Hope, the author of “Once Again” has written an intriguing, captivating, suspenseful, and edgy novel. The genres are Science Fiction and Time Travel. The timeline for this story is mostly set in 2020, or 2021 and goes back to the past when it pertains to the characters or events, or black holes, waves, or white holes in time travel. The author describes her dramatic cast of characters as complex, and complicated.
Erin Fullerton seems likes an empty shell of herself after a tragedy. Erin’s husband Zac immerses himself in his work as an astrophysicist. Erin’s therapist has advised her to put a timeframe to mark the milestones for the event. It is the 500th day since the loss of their young daughter Korrie. It is also a significant day for Zac in his work, where he predicts something phenomenal will happen.
Erin constantly replays and ruminates about the day that she lost her daughter Korrie. She wonders this summer day 500 days later what she could have done differently. In a flash, it is now winter and snowing, and the phone is ringing from the school Korrie was in.
There are twists and turns, unpredictable changes, and phenomenal action. This gives me the feel of the movies “Back to the Future”, wherein some scenes you just have to get it right, or else. It also has the ‘taste” of Groundhog’s Day. I would highly recommend this page-turning novel to readers.
Once Again by Catharine Wallace Hope
Available NOW!
This book was quite different than your typical thriller and I absolutely enjoyed it. Fast paced and action packed I was glued to this book from start to finish.
Ellen Fullarton lost her daughter, Korrie who was only 6 years old, 18 months ago. Ellen is doing her best just to hold it together. There is really nothing that can ease the pain of losing a child. She and her husband Zac an astrophysicist have separated in an attempt to save their marriage. As the book begins, Ellen is gathering all the strength she can muster to face the 500th day since Korrie died. The phone rings, it is Korrie’s school, calling to say Korrie has a fever and they need Ellen to come pick her up. Ellen is of course shocked and thinks this is a cruel joke until other things start happening, like the weather changing from a clear day to snow. Ellen soon realizes that she is reliving the day Korrie died in snippets and that it may have something to do with her husband’s big experiment that is taking place today. Unable to get in touch with her husband, Ellen is in a race against time to change the events of that awful day. This may be the only shot she has to get her daughter back.
The story is told in alternating perspectives between Ellen and her husband. I really loved Ellen and her resourcefulness. I connected with her as a mother. I did struggle a bit with the parts of the story told from Zac’s POV simply because they were full of physics.
Overall this book was a solid 4 star read! I enjoyed the originality of the plot and how fast paced the writing was. I felt like as I neared the end I was in a frenzy to get there. Thank you to @suzyapprovedbooktours and Catherine Wallace Hope for my finished copy of the book to review. It was genuinely a great book and I look forward to more from this author.
Once Again is a captivating debut novel from Catherine Wallace Hope that I really enjoyed.
What if you could go back in time to correct a devastating life altering event?
Erin lost her 6 year old daughter Korrie 500 days ago. It’s been 18 months and she is understandably still grieving. That’s the thing about grief, it is fluid, not static. The story alternates between two timelines starting June 20, 2021 and ending with June 20, 2020. A reverse storytelling if you will and that alternating timeline was brilliant.
Erin’s husband Zac is a astrophysicist that has been working on a special project which sets the course of events that gave Erin another chance to go back in time.
This story has components of time travel, magical realism, sci-fi and so much more.
I couldn’t put this book down, it was that good! I really was guessing until the very end. It was like a movie that played out in my head as the time was ticking down on the timeline.