Review: The Undoing of Arlo Knott

The Undoing of Arlo Knott by Heather Child
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This starts with young Arlo helping his mum in the garden, he’s holding the ladder for her while she sands down some woodwork. He is then distracted by a slowworm and moves away from the ladder……..the tragedy that follows haunts him with guilt….could a slight boy have actually made a difference…?

Arlo then discovers he has a ‘gift’….he can jump back in time a few seconds….with practice this gets a little longer….at first he uses it to get himself out of situations, like eating his nans shortbread, or breaking something….but then he starts using it for his own gain, revenge on a bully, chatting to girls. Somehow just knowing what to say!

He becomes a selfish, self centred young man and takes advantage of many people…but then he falls in love with Sabra, a musician, who came into his life due to an accident that he had caused…….it changed her life plans forever.

While this all seems so lucky, Arlo is always tormented by his actions and never really satisfied with anything and this is a tale of sadness and a bit of melancholy….so many what if I’s?……his gift is a bit of a curse. Can Arlo come to realise his actions have far greater consequences…..? Or will this be his undoing?

I found this to be a captivating read, beautifully written and so thought provoking……who hasn’t had moments of regret and wondering….what if? I can thoroughly recommend it and this will be a must read for Book clubs everywhere.

Thank you to The publishers, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook. This is my honest, unbiased review.

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