Review Monday: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

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Goodreads Blurb:

"Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions.

Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores an amazingly intricate multi-universe where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all."

Review:

Overall, I really liked this book.  It made me laugh and I became immensely emotionally invested.  However, there were a few things that I shook my head at and others that confused me and made the experience less enjoyable.  Let's get to it!

1.  The plot.  The plot, in my opinion, was perfectly paced.  There was enough urgency and mystery to keep everything going but the author took time to develop the story and the emotions of the characters.  There were several points where things slowed down and you could take a breath before jumping right back in.  One thing that I dislike about the structure of the plot was the way the author revealed why Theo and Marguerite were using the Firebirds to jump to different dimensions.  While I liked the flashbacks and the information they gave about the characters, it was a bit hard to piece together the months preceding the big motivational event.  While some of the revelations made the mystery so much better, I wish there had been more information about what happened to Marguerite's dad (or what they thought happened to him) before she and Theo left with the Firebirds.  I felt like I was trying to piece together too many different time spans and it was a bit much.

2.  The premise.  I really, really love the idea of different dimensions and the mathematical possibility and that they could exist.  I also loved how the author took into account the fact that dimension-jumping is just a tool and it's the people who wield it and what they do with it that makes it good or bad.  I do think that the whole Accident and it's implications was a bit under explained in terms of the mechanics but this is only the first book in the series so I'm sure there's more to be discovered there.

3.  The characters.  The characters themselves, I loved.  They were all nicely developed and because of the whole 'jumping to different selves' thing, they're motives and central selves were explored beautifully.  They're each so distinct and clear with their own personalities.  Like I said at the beginning, I especially loved the banter between the characters and Marguerite's thinking.  It made me laugh and kept the mood light when it otherwise was a bit dreary.

4.  The romance.  Per the usual, there was a love triangle in this book although I'm sure after reading the blurb, you could see it from a mile away.  While I didn't explicitly mind the love triangle, I wish that it wasn't such a central part.  I understand that it's part of Marguerite's life at the time that all this happens, but sometimes it took a bit more precedence than the whole 'figuring out what happened' situation.  I just wish it was toned down slightly.

The Final Verdict:

A captivating tale with a beautifully executed idea and near flawless characters.  I do wish the beginning circumstances were made more clear from the beginning and the love triangle wasn't such a focal point (although it wasn't too prevalent).

3.5 stars

Favorite Quote:

“Every form of art is another way of seeing the world. Another perspective, another window. And science –that’s the most spectacular window of all. You can see the entire universe from there.”