A Thousand Pieces of You

September 29, 2014
Marguerite Cain is the daughter of two famous scientists behind a device called the Firebird, which allows people to travel to other dimensions where they occupy the bodies of their alternate selves. When a graduate student named Paul murders Marguerite’s father and escapes into another dimension, Marguerite and another graduate student, the handsome Theo, risk their lives by trying to catch him. As they move among multiple dimensions, Marguerite contends with a roller coaster of dangers, stress, and unexpected romance, while questioning the ethics of taking over the other Marguerites’ lives. Her feelings about Theo and Paul are also thrown into flux as she meets alternate versions of these young men. Gray (the Evernight series) gets her Firebird series off to an action-packed start; while certain plot points resolve too easily and predictably, the fascinating worlds and eras Marguerite visits make these drawbacks easily forgiven. Marguerite’s foray into czarist Russia as a member of the House of Romanov is a particular highlight as Gray effortlessly moves between the SF, historical, and contemporary aspects of her story. Ages 14–up. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary.

July 1, 2014
Grades 8-11 Marguerite will get revenge on the man who murdered her father. With fate on her side, and with the help of her parents' graduate assistant, Theo, Marguerite uses the device her mother invented to jump through alternate dimensionssome similar to our own, others very differentsearching for clues to his whereabouts. Her goal: to kill Paul Markov. This unique sf adventure is full of twists, turns, and surprises. Readers will appreciate Marguerite's determination to help her parents, even though she is a misfit, the lone artist in a family of scientific geniuses. The secondary players are equally well rounded, and their various incarnations in each dimension make for intriguing character explorations. In resourceful Marguerite's first-person narration, the story moves quickly, and the science is explained enough to make the plot clear, but not so much as to bog things down. Gray concludes the story in a satisfying manner, while leaving plenty of room for more in the projected sequel. Fans of romances with action should like this one. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Gray made quite a name for herself with her best-selling paranormal fantasy series, Evernight. Expecther fans to make the move to sf with this title.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-An engaging first book in a new trilogy by the author of the popular "Evernight" series (HarperCollins) that focuses on the possibility of multidimensional travel and its implications. The novel grabs readers from the first page: Marguerite Caine is hot on the trail of her father's suspected murderer. She and two graduate assistants are able to travel between dimensions using "Firebird" lockets that her scientist parents developed-the theory being that one can only jump into a dimension where a version of oneself already exists. Travel is risky, as there is always the possibility of becoming stuck away from one's "home" dimension (or worse). The various dimensions are interesting once readers suspend disbelief as to how quickly the characters are able to adapt to a new environment simply by applying a small amount of research. It's easy to be swept up in Marguerite's confusion over her romantic feelings for two of the characters and in the mystery as to who is truly behind the crimes against her family (for nothing is as it seems on the surface). As Marguerite unravels the truth and discovers more about herself with each leap, further questions arise: Is it ethical to hijack another body-even if it's an alternate version of yourself? Are there cycles of betrayal? Does fate really exist? Background information is weaved seamlessly in this well-blended mix of adventure, sci-fi, and romance that will appeal to a wide audience.-Sherry J. Mills, Hazelwood East High School, St. Louis, MO

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
A girl and her two possible heartthrobs travel across parallel universes to avenge her father's murder. Marguerite's parents are both brilliant scientists, inventors of a device called the Firebird that allows the bearer to travel across the multiverse. When her dad dies in a car crash after his brake lines have been cut, everyone blames Paul, one of two research assistants working for the couple. But Paul has escaped by using the Firebird to travel to another universe. Theo, the other assistant, teams up with Marguerite in a prototype to chase Paul. They discover that although some things are different from universe to universe-technology in particular-the people are the same. Inhabiting the bodies of their parallel selves, they find Paul, but things go awry and they wind up traveling to yet another world: a nicely drawn parallel czarist Russia where Marguerite is the czarina and secretly in love with that world's Paul. But she's also attracted to Theo. And, in the parallel worlds, who is really who? Gray doesn't worry much about actual science in her science fiction, muddling the concept of multiple universes with that of multiple dimensions, but she keeps the plot moving and has some good fun keeping all of the parallel people sorted. This trilogy opener offers solid entertainment for readers willing to go with the fictional flow. (Science fiction. 12-18)

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