You and Me on Repeat. Mary Shyne. Henry Holt. 2025. 224pp. $17.99.
A good time travel story these days walks a fine line as a genre all to itself: self-aware, serious and ironic all at once. I can see that Mary Shyne has given this a lot of consideration which has resulted in a graphic novel with a fresh take. Clearly, Shyne knows her way around all the time travel tropes, and so do her characters.
Chris and Alicia, two teenagers who have just graduated high school, are quick to accept the reality of time travel but not so quick to accept themselves. This is the premise that Shyne plays with as she has these two endure an endless loop of re-living their high school graduation day. Chris is a science geek and he’s a bit uptight. Alicia is an aspiring writer and she’s a free spirit. These two seem unlikely as a romantic couple but only time will tell, right? Shyne is way ahead of it and manages to keep thickening the plot, even for the most jaded young adult, this book’s prime audience.
As with any good time-looping story, the journey is what it’s all about. Shyne paves the way with a light manga art style that is pleasing to the eye and compliments the breezy nature of the narrative. It’s a very impressive work that checks all the boxes in what makes for a highly marketable work in comics. In its layout, its humor and overall vibe, there’s something lean, clean and perfect about Shyne’s work. That said, Shyne elevates her work to something personal and idiosyncratic that defies the most perfectly calculated marketing stratagem. Could it be a bit of genuine heart-felt magic? I think so.
The best time travel stories have less to do with time travel and more to do with characters and so it is the case here. The two main characters, Chris O’Brien, who is white, and Alicia Ochoa, who is Mexican, are a mixed-race star-crossed couple of kids. The trend in the book and entertainment industry, if you haven’t noticed in the last five years, is diversity. I’ve been very mindful and supportive of diversity for much longer than five years. How about all my life? I’m Mexican American and, as a creator of comics and stories, that unique perspective is always there in my own work, whether it is noticed or not. In the case of this work, it is supposed to be noticed. Alicia Ochoa steals the show as the oldest sibling among many in a large Mexican family. Not all Mexican families are large but it’s a compelling trope and it works well here. Alicia is a restless soul who wishes to explore as many versions of herself as possible, including romance with girls and boys. What could be better than to be stuck in a perpetual loop where you repeat the same day, do whatever you want, wipe the slate clean and dig in for more?
Remember, the reason we can’t seem to get enough of time travel stories, at least good ones, is that they promise to deliver a bit of genuine heart-felt magic. I really enjoyed this book all the way to the last page and that’s because of its heart and honesty. And, hey, Shyne manages to do something that keeps getting more difficult to do in the genre. Shyne taps into that magic we keep craving and hoping for when we seek out a good time travel yarn.
