Jack, a high school senior, first meets Kate, a college student, at a party during a campus visit. They strike up a conversation and soon become engrossed in each other's company. Even though Jack is in love with Jillian, who is dating his best friend, he begins to fall for Kate. Kate, however, has a problem. She suffer from sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder that prevents her from delivering a steady supply of oxygen to the cells in her body. Not wishing to reveal this, Kate breaks it off with Jack. When Kate is admitted and dies in the hospital, Jack gets a call, and in his confused and hurried mind he trips down his house's stairs and breaks his neck.
Jack regains consciousness, only to find himself back at the party on the first night he met Kate. Now he has a chance to figure out where he went wrong with Kate, and attempt a new relationship and prevent her from dying. Unfortunately, Kate dies again with Jack present. Over and over, Jack returns to the first time they met, and he comes to realize that this is his opportunity not only to help Kate get better, but to fix his relationship with Jillian, help his best friend with his father, who is returning from prison, and maybe, just maybe grow from the experience.
Similar to the movie Ground Hog Day, Jack has the possibility to make everything right, but it requires time to figure out what right is. The characters are well-fleshed out, their motivations are realistic, and their pain, joy and love all too real. Fans of realistic fiction, if they overlook the odd traveling back in time aspect of the novel, will appreciate Jack's efforts at making everything right.
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