Title: A Thousand Pieces Of You (Firebird #1)
Author: Claudia Gray
Published: November, 2014 by Harper Teen
Pages: 368
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

Blogger’s Note: I haven’t been doing nothing this past month, I’ve just been reading a fair bit of manga—Nana and Highschool of The Dead. Both were great, but really could have used proper endings. I NEED MORE!!

Final Thoughts:
The first chapter drew me in immediately—something you always want to find. With its promise of revenge, world-jumping through parallel dimensions and science-y (but not over the top) explanations, I was in. I loved the idea that their physical bodies didn’t actually pass between the worlds, but rather their consciousness did, taking over the host body of their other self in whatever world they landed in (therefore, prohibiting from entering worlds they’ve never been born into, or had died in). It was great world-building in my opinion. Still, that didn’t stop the romantic fails from bringing it down. I loved a lot about the book, but the romance—just, no.

There’s a bit of a triangle going on here, not that I have a major problem with them. My irks came from the way main character, Marguerite’s, personality basically flipped when it came to “the guy”. All rationality seemed to fly out the window, leading her to do things that even I found questionable. We spent basically a third of the book building up this romance, stuck in a world that had little to do with the overall plot of the story. If it had been chopped out, I probably would have enjoyed the book—and Marguerite—a whole lot more.

When it came to developing the different worlds, I felt the book really excelled here. Each one was quite distinct, and the unknown aspect of what was going to come next kept the book interesting. I probably would have preferred if Marguerite had done a bit more world-jumping in the first half of the book, though. It felt like we spent so much time in first two worlds, not really taking advantage of the plot device the book was based upon. There was a whole lot of character/world building back at the beginning though, letting us in on all of the science behind it all.

There probably could have been a bit more of build up towards the reveals near the end. It did feel a bit like the answers were just planted in Marguerite’s head all of a sudden to get us to the finish line. I liked the ways things turned out, but thought it could have used some more tension—something big to keep us on edge, ready for the next book. Still, I’ve already picked it up and plan on going straight into it next. I can’t wait to see how well the overarching threats come into play then.

Recommended to:
Those who don’t mind a bit of over-the-top romance with their SciFi.