When seventeen-year-old Dixie Mulligan arrives in California for her annual summer vacation sporting highlighter-orange hair and armed with a declaration of love for her best friend Sawyer, she’s ready for everything to change. What she doesn’t expect is to find him kissing someone else—or to discover that her family’s magical ability to rewind time might be the only way to fix what went catastrophically wrong during spring break.
The Magic System That Drives Everything
Morris crafts an intriguing premise where the Mulligan family possesses the supernatural ability to “rewind” one moment from the past 365 days, essentially creating an alternate timeline. This isn’t your typical time travel fantasy—it’s grounded in family bureaucracy complete with applications, fact-finding interviews, and Impact Reports that detail the consequences of temporal meddling. The author’s decision to treat time manipulation as both mundane family business and profound responsibility creates a unique tension that elevates the story beyond simple wish fulfillment.
The Rewind system serves as more than magical window dressing. Morris uses it to explore themes of consequence, regret, and the dangerous allure of perfectionism that resonates deeply with young adult readers. When Dixie sees Sawyer with Claire, her immediate impulse to “fix” everything through supernatural intervention feels both understandable and troubling—a perfect metaphor for the teenage desire to ctrl+z life’s most painful moments.
Character Development: Dixie’s Journey from Avoidance to Authenticity
Dixie Mulligan emerges as a compelling protagonist precisely because of her flaws. As the daughter of famous actors Charlie and Mich Roman, she’s spent years hiding behind hoodies and fake identities, terrified of both recognition and genuine connection. Her decision to dye her hair neon colors each summer represents more than aesthetic rebellion—it’s her attempt to transform into someone brave enough to take risks.
Morris skillfully reveals Dixie’s emotional journey through her relationship with Sawyer. Their friendship, built on shared movie nights and dreams of attending NYU together, feels authentic in its easy intimacy and unspoken boundaries. The spring break incident that derailed everything—Dixie’s panic attack at Bethesda Fountain when faced with the reality of kissing her best friend—captures the terrifying vulnerability of teenage love with painful accuracy.
The supporting characters add depth without overwhelming the central romance. Bunny (Benjamin) serves as both comic relief and emotional anchor, while Harvey’s unexpected presence as Dixie’s post-Rewind boyfriend creates compelling complications. Even Claire, who could have easily become a one-dimensional rival, emerges as surprisingly understanding and complex.
The Romance: Messy, Real, and Worth the Wait
The romantic arc between Dixie and Sawyer unfolds with genuine emotional stakes. Morris avoids the trap of creating perfect characters who simply need to communicate better. Instead, both teenagers make believable mistakes—Dixie’s months of silence after spring break, Sawyer’s hurt-driven relationship with Claire—that feel true to their ages and circumstances.
Their text exchanges during the winter months showcase Morris’s ear for authentic teenage dialogue. The slow build from friendship to romantic possibility feels organic, making Dixie’s eventual panic and retreat all the more heartbreaking. When they finally reconnect, it’s through honesty rather than magical intervention, giving their relationship genuine weight.
The author handles the physical aspects of young romance with appropriate restraint while still conveying the intensity of first love. Sawyer’s patient response to Dixie’s confession and her fear demonstrates emotional maturity that feels earned rather than convenient.
Exploring Family Secrets and Celebrity Damage
One of the novel’s strongest elements is its examination of how fame impacts family dynamics. Dixie’s relationship with her parents, particularly the devastating argument that preceded her California trip, reveals the isolation that comes with celebrity. Her father’s casual dismissal of her aunt’s movie theater business reflects the Hollywood mindset that treats art as commodity, while her mother’s early retirement hints at the cost of constant public scrutiny.
The revelation that Dixie’s mother also applied for a Rewind adds layers to their family dysfunction. Morris uses the magical element to explore how different generations process regret and the temptation to rewrite painful history. Kate’s tragic backstory—how her Rewind inadvertently led to a child’s death—provides sobering counterpoint to Dixie’s relatively trivial concerns, though Morris handles this tonal shift somewhat unsteadily.
Technical Craft: Strengths and Weaknesses
Morris demonstrates strong control over pacing, particularly in the first act where Dixie’s mounting panic creates genuine tension. The three-part structure—Before the Rewind, After the Rewind, and After After—provides clear narrative momentum while allowing for character growth and consequence exploration.
However, the novel occasionally suffers from uneven tonal control. The shift between romantic comedy and family trauma can feel jarring, particularly when Kate’s dark history intrudes on otherwise light scenes. Some plot threads, like Harvey’s unexpected romantic interest in Bunny, feel underdeveloped despite their potential for exploring diverse relationships.
The author’s background in creative writing shows in her attention to sensory detail and authentic dialogue, though occasional exposition dumps about the Rewind system slow narrative momentum. Morris captures the specific atmosphere of small-town California and family-owned movie theaters with vivid precision that grounds the fantastical elements.
Thematic Depth: Beyond the Romance
While “Rewind to Us” functions successfully as a romantic coming-of-age story, its deeper themes about authenticity and acceptance give it lasting resonance. Dixie’s journey from someone who literally hides behind disguises to someone capable of honest vulnerability mirrors the novel’s central message about embracing imperfection.
The contrast between Dixie’s manufactured celebrity life and her genuine connections in Cielo Springs explores themes of identity and belonging that extend beyond teenage romance. Her relationship with the Trip movie theater—a struggling family business threatened by corporate interests—provides metaphor for choosing authenticity over artifice.
Morris also examines the weight of family legacy through the Rewind tradition. Each family member must decide whether to use their one chance to alter the past, creating tension between personal desires and broader consequences. This supernatural inheritance serves as metaphor for how family history shapes individual choices.
Cultural Context and Contemporary Relevance
The novel’s exploration of celebrity culture feels particularly timely, addressing social media authenticity and the pressure to curate perfect public personas. Dixie’s fear of being recognized reflects genuine anxieties about privacy and identity in the digital age.
The small-town setting provides counterpoint to urban sophistication, though Morris avoids romanticizing either environment. The threatened movie theater business speaks to larger cultural concerns about preserving community spaces in an increasingly corporate landscape.
Areas for Improvement
Despite its strengths, the novel has notable weaknesses. The magical system, while inventive, sometimes feels underexplored—the rules and limitations of Rewinds could use clearer definition. The Impact Reports mentioned throughout the story promise deeper exploration of consequence that doesn’t always materialize.
Some character arcs feel truncated, particularly Harvey’s transformation from shy assistant to confident romantic interest. While his relationship with Bunny provides welcomed LGBTQ+ representation, it develops so quickly that it feels more like plot convenience than organic character growth.
The novel’s treatment of mental health—particularly Dixie’s anxiety and panic responses—deserves more nuanced exploration. While Morris captures the physical reality of panic attacks effectively, the emotional aftermath and coping strategies receive less attention.
Comparison to Morris’s Previous Work
Readers familiar with Morris’s earlier novels “This Is Not the End” and “Annie LeBlanc Is Not Dead Yet” will recognize her signature blend of humor and heart, though “Rewind to Us” feels more grounded despite its fantastical premise. Her previous work’s focus on friendship translates well to romantic territory, maintaining the authentic voice that distinguishes her writing.
The magical realism elements feel more integrated here than in her earlier work, suggesting growing confidence in blending genres. Morris continues to excel at capturing the specific anxieties of contemporary teenagers while avoiding condescension or nostalgia.
Perfect for Readers Who Enjoyed
Fans of the following books will likely appreciate “Rewind to Us”:
- “Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman – For character-driven stories about overcoming social anxiety
- “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid – For celebrity family dynamics and hidden truths
- “Great Big Beautiful Life” by Emily Henry – For authentic romance with emotional depth
- “The Midnight Girls” by Alicia Jasinska – For magical realism in contemporary settings
- “The Rival” by Emma Lord – For family secrets and summer romance
Final Verdict: A Charming Addition to YA Romance
“Rewind to Us” succeeds as both entertaining summer romance and thoughtful exploration of family, authenticity, and growing up in the spotlight. While it doesn’t revolutionize the young adult genre, Morris’s strong character work and inventive magical premise create a satisfying reading experience that lingers beyond the final page.
The novel’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to offer easy answers. Dixie’s growth comes through accepting imperfection rather than achieving it, and her relationship with Sawyer flourishes through honesty rather than magical intervention. This message—that authentic connection requires vulnerability rather than perfection—resonates across age groups.
Morris has crafted a story that honors both the intensity of teenage emotion and the complexity of family relationships. Despite some pacing issues and underdeveloped subplots, “Rewind to Us” delivers on its promise of romance, magic, and genuine heart. It’s a worthy addition to any young adult library and a promising continuation of Morris’s growing reputation as a voice worth following in contemporary YA fiction.
For readers seeking escapist romance with just enough depth to provoke thought, “Rewind to Us” offers exactly the right balance of magic and reality, heartbreak and hope.