Review: Neverwas by by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed

Title: Neverwas

Author: Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publishing Date: January 7th 2014

Pages: 320

Genre: YA Gothic/Alternate Universe

Series: The Amber House Trilogy

Source: Audio

  

"I was sixteen the second time I had my first kiss...."

At the end of AMBER HOUSE, Sarah made a choice that transformed everything--and now she must choose it all again.

Things are very different--better--for Sarah and her family: her Aunt Maggie grew up; her parents are happily married; her grandmother died after a long, productive and respected life. But other things are different too, and not for the better.

After growing up in the free country of the Pacific Northwest, Sarah Parsons has settled in at Amber House, the stately Maryland home that's been in her family for generations. But the world surrounding the House feels deeply wrong to Sarah. It's a place where the colonists lost the 1776 Insurrection, where the American Confederation of States still struggles with segregation, and where Sarah is haunted by echoes of a better world that she knows never existed.

Her friend Jackson shares these visions of a different world--and together, they manage both to remember the way things ought to be, and to plan a daring mission that will reset the universe once again. Sarah must figure out what has changed, and why, and how she can fix it--how she can find her way to another otherwhen.

 I was so excited to finally get this book. I absolutely loved the first one and was hoping I would not be disappointed by the second book. I was not. This was one was even more for me, more intense, more creepy, more haunting, more exciting, more everything.

 

Amber Housed ended on a pretty darn good note. It felt pretty wrapped up and things looked as if they were going to go well for Sarah and her family. She made a big change that effected her family, for the better. What Sarah didn't know is that there was another change made at the same time that pretty much changed history, for the worse. Her family is in a great place, everything is good, and everyone is happy. Sarah starts to have visions again, its the first time all over again. This time she doesn't only see visions of past lives in the house, but visions of her past that she doesn't remember at all. Visions and dreams later, she realizes something is wrong. Things are wrong. She must figure out why and fix it. 

I am even more in love with this trilogy after reading the second book. I will admit that most times I have a harder time with the second book, falling into the second book trap. This one did not get trapped. The story continues but doesn't. I love the fact that its an alternate present and I was able to watch Sarah figure it out all over again. This time with a bit more help from her other self along with all the other echoes in the house. Is the same story but not. Sarah has to figure out the echoes all again, but there is a new turn in the story, something major was changed in the past and Sarah has to figure that out too, and fix it. The mystery of when, what, and how kept me interested from beginning to end. I thought it was fascinating to see all the little things and major things changed because of a few things changed by Sarah. 

Another part of the story I loved was watching all the characters unfold again. Each character was reborn in a way. Each different because the circumstances in their life were changed. Sammy was pretty much the same but Sarah was different, Jackson was a bit different but still strong, loyal, and honest. Richard was much more lovable, I actually loved him in this book. He was much kinder and very sweet.  Sarah's parents were actually parents and Sarah's Aunt Maggie was alive. Every thing was better with the characters, the world however was so wrong. 

I think the world was the best part of this book. Everything was so wrong, I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to know every detail of the new world even though it was scary. Nazi's, segregation, it's like everything was going backwards instead of forward. 

The writing I also loved. The story had a real classic feel, beautiful, dark, haunting. Completely Gothic. I knew it was present time and certain things made it feel modern, but the tone and the setting felt so vintage. 

The pacing was just a tad off for me at the beginning, but I think to get to a place where everything was explained and figured out, it had to start off a little slow. Once it was all set up and ready to rock, it rocked. 

I loved everything about this book. I loved the first book, but I thought this one was much better. It had so much more detail, feeling, and depth. Can't wait to see where the next book takes me. 

Looking like it will be one of my favorite reads of the year...I know its early but I loved it that much.

Kelly Moore is a New York Times best-selling author, former litigator, and single mother of three. Her latest project, the young adult Amber House Trilogy, is co-written with her two daughters and based loosely upon her own family history. The first book in the series was nominated for the 2014 Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award for its realistic portrayal of characters with autism.
For more information about the Amber House Trilogy, please check out the authors' official blog athttp://www.amberhouseblog.com/.

Tucker Reed is co-author of the Amber House Trilogy. The first critically-acclaimed novel in the series,Amber House, was published in October 2012 by Arthur A. Levine Books. Reed has been recognized on the national level for her essays and short stories. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, studying theatre and film, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Larkin Reed is co-author of the Amber House Trilogy. The first critically-acclaimed novel in the series,Amber House, was published in October 2012 by Arthur A. Levine Books. Reed is also a student filmmaker, photographer, and screenwriter.

Review: Through To You by Emily Hainsworth

Title:  Through To You 

Author: Emily Hainsworth
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray
Publishing Date: October 2nd 2012

Pages: 272
Genre:  YA Sci-Fi Alternate Universe

Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audio

  

Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he'd give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv's deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn't Viv.

The apparition's name is Nina, and she's not a ghost. She's a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can't believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn't the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he's forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all..

This was one of those books that I was interested in from the beginning, but was in no rush to get to it. I was excited when I found it on audio and I gave it a listen. This one is hard for me to review. There were so many good moment in the book and there were also a bunch of slow moments in the book. I liked the story, it was very intriguing, and I found myself wanting to read more but I felt like this was more of a contemporary read then a science fiction. The synopsis leaves nothing to the imagination and so the only surprise was the end. Which I am OK with since I didn't really know what to expect from the book. I do feel like the things that were not mentioned in the synopsis weren't really answered, that was a little disappointing, All in all I enjoyed most of the book, a just a tad could of been a bit better for me. I think it would have been better if the synopsis left something to question.

Camden just lost his girlfriend and is going through some pretty tough grief. He visits the site one night and finds a mysterious girl. After learning she is from a different dimension he follows her through and ends up in a parallel universe, everyone he knows is there but his life is very different, the main difference is his girlfriend, Viv is still alive and a girl named Nina is very close to him. Camden must decide which dimension he wants to live in.

I enjoyed the book. It was a good read. I was a little disappointed in some of the execution and the books slowed in a few parts, especially at that beginning, but it was still an enjoyable read.  The writing was good, very easy to follow and understand. Sometimes with sci-fi can tend to confuse me, I had not problems with this book. The book had more of a contemporary feel than a sc-fi feel, which I enjoyed. It was a great story about dealing with grief, loss, and moving on. The story also had some mystery and of course a bit of romance. It did have a bit of everything. 

The characters were well written and I felt connected to each of them in different ways. Camden was hard to  deal with at times because of the dark mood he was in. The mood was understandable and to me it was realistic. He lost his girlfriend. I wanted him to find some closure and if this alternate reality would help I was rooting for him throughout the story. I also really liked Nina. The only thing that really bothered me about Nina was the all the secrets  she kept. I could see throughout the story she knew more than she was telling Cam. Even thought I knew it was probably for his own sanity, I wanted to know what she knew! She was a strong character though. Very determined and sweet. She gave all to those she loved. She was a decent person with a big heart. I enjoyed her story in the alternate reality and I would have liked to know more of her life. 

The story was slow at times, slower than I usually like my books, but there were parts that were very exciting and kept me going even through the slow. I am glad I had this on audio instead of reading. If I had been reading the physical book, I may have given up or taken forever to finish. The narrator was good and I liked the voice he gave Camden. 

It was a very interstesting story that had some flaws but in the end I was satisfied. I was expecting more sci-fi but instead I found it to be more of a contemporary read with a sci-fi edge, which I was OK with.