Horn Book

Part of a secret government experiment, Daisy is wearying of moving to a new location whenever she dies and is Revived. The first-person narration is effective, particularly as the mystery elements about the experiment slowly emerge. Offer this to sci-fi buffs who are seeking a quick read, or romance fans who don't mind science experiments mixed in with their love stories.

Kirkus Reviews

A well-done exploration of a teen's growing understanding of death, even though she herself has died five times. Daisy lives with two agents from the ultra-secret Revive project. Revive is a drug that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy was first revived after she died with 20 other children in a bus accident. Severely allergic to bees, she's stung and dies again, forcing the "family" to relocate to Omaha with a different last name. Daisy wants to stay in Omaha after she meets Audrey, a girl who quickly becomes a real friend, and Audrey's brother Matt, to whom Daisy finds herself irresistibly attracted. But Daisy learns that Audrey has terminal cancer, and she knows that Revive can't help her friend. Although the story turns suspenseful when Daisy discovers a previously unknown Revive case, the overriding thrust is its examination of human emotions. Once Audrey dies, Daisy must confront the reality of death, no matter her own experience. Patrick writes an easily readable story that moves well and populates it with attractive characters. The added dimension of Audrey's real, irreversible death contrasting with Daisy's experience gives the story more gravity than the usual suspense fare. Good entertainment with some unexpected depth. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-High school sophomore Daisy West has died 5 times in 15 years. Thanks to an experimental drug, Revive, she's been brought back to life each time. But being a beta test case for a super-secret government drug means that she's had to start over in a new town with a new name each time to maintain the secret. This time around, Daisy decides to take some risks, make friends, and be more like a normal teenager. Her new friends, Audrey and Matt, will bring her closer to death than she's ever been before and lead her to uncover secrets about Revive and her own past that someone will kill to protect. It's up to Daisy and Matt to find the answers and bring the truth to light before others are put in danger. This thriller gets off to a slow start, but once the mystery behind Revive begins to unravel, the plot picks up dramatically. While the actual secret and villain are fairly predictable, the book is an entertaining read with an interesting premise. Daisy's struggle with understanding death and how it can still impact her through the loss of a friend provides the book with a needed intensity and character depth. Readers who enjoyed the author's Forgotten (Little, Brown, 2011) will look forward to this newest "what if" story. Stephanie Whelan, New York Public Library

ALA Booklist

Daisy Appleby is 16 and on her fifth life. As part of the God Project, her handlers use an experimental drug called Revive to bring her back each time she dies, and then she is whisked off to a new city to avoid suspicion. In Omaha, Daisy begins to put down roots. Her joy at finally making real connections is tempered with the possibility of losing them, making Daisy someone readers will care about. Her first-person point of view adds immediacy to her discovery of true friendship with Audrey and first love with Audrey's brother, Matt. But Audrey is ill and Daisy grapples with an impossible choice: try to help and blow her cover, or keep her secret and watch her best friend die. All the while she is trying to stay one step ahead of a shadowy conspiracy that threatens everything she has ever known about herself. Patrick's (Forgotten, 2011) second novel is a fast-paced page-turner that explores the familiar moral ground often found at the heart of speculative fiction.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Daisy is a dead girl-several times over. Not yet 16, she's been resurrected five times. She is part of a secret government program for testing an experimental drug, Revive, which can bring otherwise healthy accident victims to life again. Reanimation is not easy to keep under wraps, and with every death comes a move to a new school with new secrets to keep. After Daisy's latest demise from anaphylactic shock, that new home is Omaha, Neb. There, she lives with two agents who pose as her parents while keeping strict watch over Daisy's health and operating a supercomputing lab in the basement. Despite this, Daisy moves freely at school, hangs out with her friend Audrey, and falls in love with Audrey's brother, Matt. Credulity is strained by Daisy's propensity for accidents, necessitating repeated use of Revive; nevertheless, Patrick (Forgotten) carries this improbability off with her fluid and observant prose. Daisy evolves from a detached and conformist drone to a young woman with budding emotions, attachments, and a deeper understanding of what it means to live and die. Ages 12-up. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (May)