Review: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Title:  A Thousand Pieces of You

Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: November 4th 2014
Pages: 368
Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Thriller
Series: Firebird #1
Source:  Audio

  

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.

OK.... SO I don't know where to start with this book. I am still in shock that this wonderful awesome story is done for now and I wasn't ready. I LOVED this book. I DEVOURED this book. This is going to be on my best read of 2015, I know it already. I did have some hesitance at the very beginning. Not sure if it was my hit or miss on multiverse books or the narrator. BUT.. .it didn't take long at all to fall in love with the characters, the writing, the story, the action, the romance, the mystery, the thrills, the evil, the awesomeness.. Yes it was so more than good, more than great, more than awesome. 

Marguerite's (Meg) mother discovered mutliverse. They created a charm on a necklace called a firebird that can transfer things from one universe or dimension  to another. Well somewhere along the line Meg's father gets killed, all the research on multiverse and the firebired destroyed, and someone she thought she trusted ( Paul) has left this universe and traveled. So Meg and her friend Theo have decided to follow him, find him, and suffer greatly for his crimes of murder and mayhem. Somewhere along the way Meg finds out that who she thought she could trust and couldn't trust may not be the case and all she knew turns out to be nothing she knew at all. Now her heart is confused, her brain is overwhelmed, and she is traveling like a crazy dimension girl for a completely different reason than she started off with. Lots of great stuff! 

I loved loved loved this book. It truly is a hit or miss with multiverse, alternate dimensions, time traveling. It just gets me confused. So when I find a good one that is intense, easy to follow, and full of great characters and storyline, I like to rant and rave and tell everyone I know to read it. So that is what I am doing. 

There was so much about this book that I loved. Nothing I didn't like. It was all good. The main character stole my heart from the very beginning. The story trapped me pretty early on. The romance was just perfect. The mystery kept me guess, and the thrills never stopped. It was tearful, humorous, and very intense. 

Meg was one of those characters I was able to connect  with first thing. The book starts off right after she travels to her first alternate dimension and we hear the story of her father being murdered. So we know what her plans are. She was angry, she was sad, she was destroyed and betrayed. Her emotions were strong and right up front. Hard to miss. The book is also told in memories. This made her character jump out at me even more. I was able to see who she was before everything went down and how she had changed. I was also able to learn and connected with Paul through her memories, how she knew him, how she felt about him, and of course this made his betrayal hard and it angered me. I was right there with Meg. Paul I liked in the past and I well I won't say much more about him.

Theo was another main character. He was an interesting character. Charming and lovable, sweet and suave. I liked him but I didn't connect with him as much as I did Meg. He was fun though. So we have Theo and Paul in her present and in her memories. There isn't a love triangle. There was a possibility at the beginning but it never happened fully. There was only one boy she truly loved, which brings me to the romance. 

The romance was hot, it was sweet, it was romantic, it was a slow burning passion. Friend to more. So many emotions and question in between. It was real for me. I sparked then it simmered than it just flamed. I fell for it hard. One thing I did like was the way they handled the romance, the feelings, the truths, the questions, the complexity. I also loved how in the end, Meg actually wondered if things had went down differently would she have fallen for the other boy. I don't think so but it brings up the question or issue that we may only fall for who we fall for because of who we are and what is at the moment. Love is built not born. I kind of liked that. 

The story was a very unique take on multiverse and I think this is what drew me in right away. The explanation was in the very beginning. It made sense and it was very very cool. I enjoyed how the different universes were the same but not. Sometimes they were very similar and sometimes they were completely different but every one that Meg traveled too they were all there... Paul. Theo, Mom and Dad. Like the souls were connected. I very much liked that. 

The book was built around a huge mystery and lots of thrills. Very fast paced. Once I started I couldn't put it down. The mystery was enough to keep me reading but it didn't have to be with all the intense moments and swoony romance, but it was good and I think I was actually kind of sideswiped on this one. I never saw the ending coming. I just need more! 

On a good note. No cliffhanger.... YAY

It was the perfect sci-fi thriller for me. 

Claudia Gray is not my real name. I didn't choose a pseudonym because my real name is unpleasant (it isn't), because I'd always dreamed of calling myself this (I haven't) or even because I'm hiding from the remnants of that international diamond-smuggling cartel I smashed in 2003 (Interpol has taken care of them). In short, I took a pseudonym for no real reason whatsoever. Sometimes this is actually the best reason to do things.

I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.