You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened

In this flimsy speculative retelling of the author’s life story, Amy Daughters, an adult mother of two, travels back in time to her childhood in 1978 Houston, Tex., and witnesses the subtle family dynamics that she was oblivious to as a 10-year-old. In 2014, Amy heads to her family Thanksgiving in a vintage plane piloted by her acquaintance Mary, only to be transported in time as well as space. The mechanics of this go unexplained, and Mary’s vague assurance that Amy “cannot mess this up” wipes away any threat of Amy’s actions affecting her future. She introduces herself as a distant cousin and spends two days as her family’s guest, observing without influencing. Amy is put off by her hyperactive past self, astonished by the behind-the-scenes work her mother puts into their household, validated that her memories of being treated differently than her siblings stem from actual events, and shocked by the societal changes that have transpired in the 36 years since. Though told with considerable wit, the story is slight and, save for a gratuitous scene of attempted sexual assault, without major conflict or revelation. There’s little here to grasp readers or keep the pages turning. (June)