A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird, 1)
Cloud Atlas meets Orphan Black in this epic dimension-bending trilogy by New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray about a girl who must chase her father's killer through multiple dimensions.
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.
A Thousand Pieces of You explores an amazingly intricate multi-universe where fate is unavoidable, the truth elusive, and love the greatest mystery of all.
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Community Reviews
I hate to admit that I had some serious reservations going into this book. I mean, dimension travel? FREAKIN AWESOME... my brain hurts already. I attempted to read another book similar to this one and after reading the same 50 pages like, 10 times, I gave up. However, I love Claudia Gray's Evernight series, so I had to give this one a chance.
I want to start off by saying that if anything TIME TRAVEL gives you the hives - don't run away yet. This book does not have time travel - it's travelling to different parallel universes. Yes, some of those dimensions may live in what feels to us as another time period (because of advancement of technology and the like) it's still present day.
Confused yet?
I will try my best to explain. Each choice and/or decision we make has the potential to break off and create a new universe. What would the world be like if you didn't marry your spouse? If Obama wasn't president? You wore a green shirt and not red? The concept in A Thousand Pieces of You is that as long as the YOU in these other dimensions exists, you can travel between them, with the Firebird.
*wipes brow*
The complex and fascinating concept was executed flawlessly. My not so loving science brain was able to UNDERSTAND what is going on. *Applause* Do I have questions? Uh, yes. Were they all answered? NOPE. That's the beauty of it. Not only was Gray able to create such a complex, fascinating and beautiful world, there is so much more to learn about it. Yet I finished the book completely satisfied. I am hooked!
I have to talk about the romance first. *swoon* It's very, very complicated and really makes you think about the different pieces that you love about someone else, and what characteristics you love most. Marguerite interacts with different versions of all the characters, including both love interests (more on that in a minute). In each case, they are all somehow tied to one another. It's obvious there was something going on between them before all this started - but the one she fell "in love" with is not the same version in her universe. But are they the same person? It's a different version of him, sure - but is he the same? Make sense?
I knew right off that there was more between Marguerite and Paul from the start. Yes - she was close to Theo too, but it came across to me that the betrayal cut her deep. Watching her interact with all the different versions of Paul (and Theo, to be honest) had me question everything. Should you hold someone accountable for a mistake that one version of that person made? Do you love a different version more because of what the other did?
IT'S SO COMPLICATED DAMN IT!
Does this hint at a love triangle? EH, kind of. I do however, think things aren't completely wrapped up and the is the potential for it to get even more complicated. BUT don't walk away because of that. There is so much more that A Thousand Pieces of You has to offer for you NOT to read it!
Besides the romance, I loved the picturesque setting of ALL the different universes. There had to have been so much thought and work to make them so PERFECT. I also loved how Marguerite dealt with all the confusion of her other lives. In one, she has a different family. They grow close and once she leaves, she has ache of loss that she can't ignore. They aren't HER family, per se, but they are. She feels guilty about some of the thing she did. Which makes me question - Should the other Marguerite feel violated? Will she even remember? Would she make the same decisions? Again, I DON'T KNOW. She is so loving, loyal and so much more than what she gives herself credit for.
This book was also filled with so many twists, it was mind-boggling. In a good way. Nothing, seriously NOTHING, is what it seems. You just have to read and experience this book for yourself.
If you can't tell, I ABSOLUTELY loved this book. A Thousand Pieces of You is by far the best book I have read in this genre. It's exciting, unique and SWOON WORTHY (YES I SAID IT). I recommend EVERYONE reads this book. Book two couldn't come fast enough.
*I received this book for free from The Publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*
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