Title: A Thousand Pieces of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: November 2014
ISBN: 9780062278968
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite’s father is murdered, and the killer—her parent’s handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul’s guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is far more sinister than she expected.
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I’m always looking for a good YA to break up the steady hum of literary fiction in my life, and Gray’s A Thousand Pieces of You hit the spot. This novel was fascinating, different, intricate, and new. It’s a story of inter-dimensional travel to seek revenge for a beloved father’s untimely death. Although many of you many know of my disdain for the YA love triangle trope, in Gray’s novel, I was actually quite excited by the love triangle, and that was a very new experience for me. Marguerite has two young men in her life who have caught her eye: quite, brooding, sweet Paul who may have suddenly turned out to be homicidal, and the unpredictable but loyal Theo who may not be exactly as he seems. It is a fun and clever romantic web with so many twists and turns, you wont know who to trust anymore.
The vibrant cover is absolutely stunning, I must add. I’ve talked about this cover on my blog before because I just can’t get over how much I love it. It’s eye-catching, colourful, and wholly reflective of the story told in these pages. I’m a sucker for any good watercolour image. The travel between dimensions was the second thing, after the cover, that caught my attention. I’ve been looking for a YA series that’s something just a little bit different, and this was it. It’s new and interesting, I only wish Gray had explored a few more dimensions! We see four prominent dimensions in this novel, but when there are an infinite number of dimensions where anything and everything is possible, Gray leaves so much more open for her to explore in the coming books.
I can only say that I hope my hold on book 2 comes in at the library soon! I’m impatient and excited to read more!
Worn Pages and Ink 