If someone wanted to learn how to write a novel, Rewind would offer some valuable lessons. The task Sleator faces in Rewind is a difficult one. He is not writing a breathlessly paced adventure; he is writing a character study, not the sort of book readers will generally pick up for a casual read. On the other hand, the premise is interesting enough to tempt readers—time rewound over and over again as Peter tries to rework himself so that he survives the night he presents his puppet show to his parents. This idea catches the reader's attention, particularly the line that begins the novel: "At my funeral, everybody said it was a shame I had to die that way." First sentences such as this rarely pop into a writer's head; novelists often spend hours, even days trying to create a first sentence that will...