Mundie Moms

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Now That You're Here by Amy K. Nichols, Book Review


By: Amy K. Nichols
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Released on: 2/16/15
Series: Duplexity #1
Source: netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | books-a-million | IndieBound
Now That You're Here (Duplexity #1)

Rating: 4 stars -- I really enjoyed it.

In a parallel universe, the classic bad boy falls for the class science geek.

One minute Danny was running from the cops, and the next, he jolted awake in an unfamiliar body - his own, but different. Somehow, he's crossed into a parallel universe. Now his friends are his enemies, his parents are long dead, and studious Eevee is not the mysterious femme fatale he once kissed back home. Then again, this Eevee - a girl who'd rather land an internship at NASA than a date to the prom--may be his only hope of getting home.

Eevee tells herself she's only helping him in the name of quantum physics, but there's something undeniably fascinating about this boy from another dimension... a boy who makes her question who she is, and who she might be in another place and time.

I think most of you know that I love a time travel story when it's well written and the time travel science is logical (but not overly detailed because let's remember that I cried through most of my AP Physics class). My other requirement is for characters who are truly believable because let's face it, if you end up in a time travel situation, there are some logical reactions you should experience.

Now That You're Here swaps characters in two parallel universes and presents it with dual points-of-view. That's what I liked the best, the two povs. I immediately understood geeky Eevee, but it was Danny who proved trickier to understand. I think I truly saw him through Eevee's eyes and therefore had trouble reconciling the slacker in one world with the rebellious tagger from the other world. But none of that mattered, because what I ultimately fell in love with was their chemistry, and I found myself hoping that somehow their relationship will find a way to work out.

A story like this depends on solid world-building and Amy delivers that and more. The oppressive world that Danny comes from forms a nice contrast to Eevee's world. The expected complication of Danny figuring out the world he's landed in and Eevee trying to use all the scientific answers she knows to explain why Danny is so different made the pace quick. Once all the pieces were in place, I had that can't-stop-reading-now feeling and plowed through the story in one sitting.

Without giving away any spoilers, I will say that lucky for all of us readers, there will be a Duplexity #2 (While You Were Gone) which will be released this August. Time travel buffs will zoom through this story and want to travel to parallel universes for that sequel.

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