Operation Do-Over by Gordon Korman

Operation Do-Over is an entertaining jaunt that asks the perennial question: What if you got a chance to correct a past mistake?

Operation Do-Over by Gordon Korman. Balzer + Bray, 2022, 304 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12

Recommended for: ages 10-14

Best Friends, Until—

Mason Rolle and Tyler Ehrlich have been best friends since the age of three. More than that: they share not only similar interests but similar thoughts and feelings. They finish each other’s sentences. Without the other, each would be a pushover for class bullies and nerd-baiters, but together they are a fortress. Until she comes along. Both boys find themselves drawn to Ava Patrakis, the new girl from New York City, but she likes only one of them. A breakup between the friends in 7^th grade simmers on until 12^th grade. Then, a confrontation with 17-year-old Ty on the school stairway leads to an accident, which leads to further consequences, including a near-disaster in which Mason is knocked out . . . and comes to as a 12-year-old again. Specifically, at a time in 7^th grade just before Ava walked into his life.

What if you could do it over?

Many of us, even 7^th-graders, fantasize about a do-over: if I could just go back and change that one mistake! Mason gets the chance to do the do-over, and guess what? Other factors are at work too. He can’t single-handedly change the future by correcting the past; in spite of his best efforts, some crucial turning points still turn. But he can change himself. The time-travel mechanism is never explained, and the mysterious elements could have been explored a little more in-depth. Readers may hear echoes of Back to the Future and Freaky Friday, but I doubt many of them will mind. Operation Do-Over is both entertaining and thought-provoking, with Gordon Korman’s signature savvy about 7^th-grade human nature.

Overall rating: 4.25 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4
• Artistic/literary value: 4.5

Read more about our ratings here.                 

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reviews: Other books by Gordon Korman that we’ve reviewed are Linked, The Unteachables, SuperGifted, Restart, and the Masterminds Series.
• Resource: In 2014, we did a whole summer reading challenge on time travel! See our landing page, with links to featured books for kids and teens as well as weekly devotionals.

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