REWIND TO US: A NOVEL, by Molly Morris, Wednesday Books, June 17, 2025, Hardcover, $22 (young adult)
A family “gift” gives a girl the chance to change a key moment in her life in Rewind to Us, a YA novel by Molly Morris.
Dixie Mulligan only has one plan for her annual California vacation this summer – to tell her best friend Sawyer that she’s in love with him.
It doesn’t matter that things between them technically fell apart over spring break, and they haven’t spoken since – until Dixie arrives and realizes Sawyer has moved on (a fact made very apparent when she sees him kissing, um, someone else).
Luckily, Dixie and her family have each been gifted with a Rewind. All Dixie has to do is go back and redo the moment she thinks doomed hers and Sawyer’s relationship before it even began.
But when family secrets start pouring out, Dixie’s not so sure even her Rewind will be enough to save what she and Sawyer had. Is the damage already done, or can she turn back the clock and give them one more chance? —Synopsis provided by Wednesday Books
Rewind to Us is a YA romance that imagines getting a second chance to make things right.
At the center of the story is Dixie, a girl who becomes someone else every summer. During those trips, she becomes who she wants to be — working and living in a small town, spending time with her aunt, cousin and best friend, Sawyer.
Dixie is in love with Sawyer, but messed things up, and is desperate to fix them, even if it means changing history.
Dixie is a likeable enough character, as is Sawyer and the rest of the supporting cast. They’re all well developed and experience growth throughout the novel.
Where the story gets a little muddy is in the “rewind” process itself. It’s not really clear how they work or why Dixie’s family can do the rewinds. And how did Dixie’s grandmother get the power to work them in the first place.
If you can set those questions aside and just accept that rewinds can/do happen, then the story flows pretty well. And honestly, it’s the relationship Dixie and Sawyer have built on their love of all things film that really carries the story.
Rewind to Us is a fast-moving read that fun and perfect for the summer.
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