Ten Thousand Skies Above You

September 1, 2015
The parallel-universe sci-fi/romance story begun with A Thousand Pieces of You (2014) continues. Marguerite travels with her friend Theo through the multiverse to new worlds (here persistently called "dimensions") with her parents' marvelous Firebird device, trying to save Paul, the love of her life. Villain Wyatt Conley, tech whiz and corporate mogul, has splintered Paul's soul into four parts. If Marguerite sabotages the Firebird technology in other universes, thus allowing Conley to control it all, he will give her the coordinates necessary to find all the parts of Paul's soul. On her travels she learns some disturbing things about Paul even as she tries to outwit Conley. On one world, however, she learns that a new technology threatens all worlds, including her own. The author creates some intriguing worlds: there's one in which a world war dominates everything and another which, if readers spot a small hint, they might recognize as our own, adding a nice twist to the story. The suspense ratchets up as Marguerite begins to question Paul's character when she meets different versions of him on different worlds, knowing that all are essentially the same person and positioning Marguerite for some unexpected moral choices. Although overlong, the book holds readers' interest with drastic changes of scene as Marguerite jumps from world to world. Characters remain fairly shallow but accessible. The inventiveness of the many worlds Marguerite traverses should keep fans happy. (Science fiction. 12-18)

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October 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-This follow-up to A Thousand Pieces of You (HarperCollins, 2014) blends elements of science fiction, time travel, and romance. Eighteen-year-old Marguerite and her 20-something friend Theo travel to alternate realities including Renaissance Rome, an alternative San Francisco at war, and the futuristic "home office" of the evil Triad corporation to rescue fragments of the splintered soul of Marguerite's boyfriend, Paul. As she meets different versions of Paul, Theo, and her family, the heroine begins to question her earlier notions of destiny and of people's essential natures. The protagonist's journeys form a travelogue of sorts, and her descriptions of alternate Earth cities and the ways these settings have changed her loved ones' characters are the strongest parts of the book. The parallel worlds allow readers to wonder how different they would be if they lived in different circumstances. Explanations of the mechanics and limits of dimensional travel are skimpy and a bit forced, but that won't bother fans of the previous volume. Attractive characters, plenty of suspense and danger, and a cliff-hanger ending add to the story's appeal. The characters' age and some sexual situations make the book best suited for older teens. VERDICT Purchase where the first title is popular.-Beth Wright Redford, Richmond Elementary School Library, VT

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