“This is it, Ben.”

From Shandy Lawson’s The Loop.

When Ben leaves his house to travel through New Orleans, nothing seems our of the ordinary until he is overwhelmed by a sense of deja vu that only grows stronger. When a fortune teller named Steve sees Ben he tells him that he’s stuck in a loop; Steve further explains that Fate has, for some unknown reason, trapped Ben in a deadly loop.  Steve ushers Ben on his way and soon he bumps in Maggie, and despite not knowing her, Ben realizes that he remembers on a level he can’t quite comprehend and that trusting her just feels right. Maggie seems to have more knowledge and less stress about what’s going on with them, so Ben follows her instructions with little resistance. However, when Maggie shoots a man they bump into on the street, Ben is a little shaken and confused. Maggie leads Ben on the run from the police before telling him that the man, Roy, hasn’t been killed but that he is also stuck in the loop… as the man who kills them each day. As the day carries on, the two realize that while Maggie can remember more from previous times, Ben has the ability to push back against Fate more. Both are desperate to escape the loop without dying, so they begin fighting Fate in an attempt to save themselves, but the loop has a stronger pull than they’ve ever realized. Briefly wondering if their survival is more possible if they separate, both Ben and Maggie soon realize that facing the Fate’s loop together is the key to their survival.

Lawson’s fantasy thriller is a quick read that packs a solid punch. The story is split between the two main characters which helps provide a full, but occasionally confusing story development. Teen readers will find The Loop to be an engaging, impossible-to-put-down read.