A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Series: Firebird Trilogy (bk. 1)

Genera(s): Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: multiverse, parallel universes, science, love

Setting: California, England, Russia, and the Ocean

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Marguerite Caine

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 357 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen

Summary/ product description: “Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.”

My Review:  I’ve been anticipating this book for a long long time and now I finally read it. I remember at Claudia Gray’s signing for Spellcaster at Anderson’s Bookshop, when she mentioned that she was writing a series called Firebird. I thought it sounded awesome and couldn’t wait and now that I read it I can say that it definitely was awesome.

This pretty cover is not some disguise for a book that’s no good. The book inside is just as wonderful as it is on the outside. It’s sci-fi and has multiple settings in different versions of the world. This is pretty much the best YA book about parallel universes that I’ve ever read. It’s kind of like Unremembered and Unforgotten by Jessica Brody, except, instead of time travel, it’s parallel worlds.

It starts out with Marguerite in London, which seems to be futuristic. Marguerite is from a world almost just like ours, and from California. Apparently she’s living in London in this other universe and has a British accent. Marguerite paints portraits in her universe, but in this world there no art supplies in her apartment. Theo is in Boston and has to travel to her. They are tracking down Paul who may have killed Marguerite’s father back in their world. Claudia Gray really knows how to write love interests and heroines. I loved Bianca, Lucas and Balthazar, but now I get to love Marguerite, Theo and Paul. Theo is somewhat cocky and funny, while Paul in kind of intense and hard to understand. Both are very smart guys.

Later on in the book Marguerite is in a universe in which she’s a Grand Duchess of Russia (her mom is descended from Russian nobility). This world it’s less advanced and like the early 1900s instead of 2014. I really enjoyed the Russian setting. It reminded me of The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges. St. Petersburg, Russia at Christmastime is a perfect setting for this time of year. I’m not a fan of historical fiction, but this part of the book feel more fantastical that historical.

This book is very complex and entertaining. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait for more. I recommend it to those who enjoyed: Parallel by Lauren Miller, Tandem by Anna Jarzeb, 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil, The False Memory Series by Dan Krokos, Unraveling and Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris, Unremembered and Unforgotten by Jessica Brody, and other parallel universe book, and The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges, which is set in Russia.

Cover Art Review: I love the use of watercolor texture and the city skylines. This is my favorite cover of the year and even won a cover love award on EpicReads. It’s so gorgeous that I wanted to buy it so bad, but I didn’t because I had already got it from the library. It’s just the most enticing cover ever.

False Future by Dan Krokos

Series: False Memory (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Sci-fi/Dystopian/Action Adventure thriller

Subjects: genetic engineering, cloning, psychic ability, parallel universes

Setting: New York City

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Miranda North

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 308 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Hyperion

Summary/ product description: “True Earth has returned during a massive snowstorm in Manhattan-and this time they have an army. Rhys, Noble, Sophia, and Peter know they don't stand a chance against the enemy without Miranda. And once they revive her, she's horrified to find her world in flames.

The enemy occupation is brutal, but the director promises to release her hold on the city if Mr. East is turned in, and Miranda and her team are determined to find him. With her grief over the losses she has suffered fueling her spirit, Miranda knows that this time the sacrifices have to be worth it.

Packed with suspense and deception, Dan Krokos brings Miranda's journey to a mind-bending conclusion as she risks losing everything in the fight for her future.”

My Review: False Future is the final book in the False Memory trilogy. The first book was False Memory and second book was False Sight. It’s a pretty awesome finale with a ton of twists. This series has so much action in this series. Lots of sci-fi stuff. Interesting world building and great characters. The group of characters reminded me of the Flock in Maximum Ride. I enjoyed all three books. They are short, fast reads and will surely entertain any teen who’s a sci-fi fan.

In False Future, big stuff is going down. World-changing events. True Earth, The Director and the Roses/clones are in NYC looking for someone: Mr. East. Miranda and Rhys pose as clones from a team by capturing two wearing red suits. They try to find out as much as they can. They try to fight back, but they may have to come up with a better plan. Miranda finds out what True Earth really is and who the director really is. Miranda’s past may not be what she thought, but neither is her future.

This book doesn’t have just one epic battle. There’s fighting through out it, and spying on the enemy and planning. Miranda finds that that clones of her friends act like her friends, but are still different. She also finds Peter later one also pretending to be another clone. There are some romantic scenes between them. There are also a few deaths of important characters, much like the previous book. I laughed, cried and was surprised. It’s everything you can hope for in a finale.

If you haven’t read any of the books, it’s kind of like Maximum Ride by James Patterson, Altered by Jennifer Rush and a bit of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. There are clones and genetic engineering and villains with big egos. But the alternate worlds things is reminiscent of Fringe. Two of the characters share names with the main character Peter and Olivia, but it’s Miranda and Peter that are together here. I bet Dan Krokos is a fan of Fringe. Also books like Unraveled by Elizabeth Norris and Tandem by Anna Jarzab, which also include parallel worlds.

Cover Art Review: I like the key design in the computer chip and the colors are cool. Fits with previous books covers.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Publication Date: April 8, 2014

Series: Standalone

Genera(s):  Sci-fi/ Romance

Subjects: time travel, love, thriller, viruses

Setting: New York City and New Jersey, April-May 2014

POV/Tense:  1^st person POV, present tense: Prenna James

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 242 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.99

Publisher: Random House: Delacorte Press

Summary/ product description: “An unforgettable epic romantic thriller about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.

This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.

Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.

From Ann Brashares, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now is thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking—and a must-read novel of the year.”

My Review:  The Here and Now is a very fast paced read. It’s thrilling and romantic and better than I expected. If you’ve read Unremembered by Jessica Brody, its a little bit like that book, and maybe also Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris. I only heard about this book through the Shelf Awareness newsletter, in which I entered a giveaway for a fee ARC. I won a copy and enjoyed reading it.

This book has a plot that’s so intricately woven that it became exciting, as it was unraveled. It’s filled with sci-fi stuff and talks about time travel, virus and technology. The book is set in our time, spring 2014. Prenna came for 2095 to 2010 and has lived in our time for 4 years. She had to assimilate and learn the current ways of life. In her time there’s a blood born virus transmitted by mosquitos. It’s very deadly and her and many others who survived the virus are sent back in time to stop it before it ever happens.

Prenna’s not allowed to fall in love with time natives, but she has a crush on this guy named Ethan. Ethan like her, clearly, but she’s not supposed to get intimate. They become friends and he teaches her card games. It turns out that he knows that she’s from the future because he was there the day she came through the time-bridge. I like Ethan. He’s very smart, sweet and adorable. He likes to tease Prenna by making up nicknames like Henny. He helps her out. They must stop a murder of a scientist before it happens. Prenna is a good narrator. She’s no the most exciting heroine, but she’s not boring.

The Here and Now is a standalone. Everything wraps up at the end and you just know that the futures it going to be better. I really enjoyed this book because it was so fast and easy to read. The story may be complicated, but not at all confusing. It’s the kind of book that high schoolers who don’t necessarily like reading will enjoy. I recommend this book to fans of the Unremembered series by Jessica Brody, Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris, Tempest by Julie Cross, and Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone.

Cover Art Review: I love the cover. It has a velvet texture and triangles. Lots of blue and images. Look like the Mind Games series covers. It makes me think of the Erudite faction in Divergent.