Review: We Should Hang Out Sometime

WARNING: The following blog post contain spoilers for the novel under review, ranging from mild to heart wrenchingly major. If you have yet to read this novel and dislike being spoiled, leave now and return upon completion.

If you HAVE read this novel (or just don't give a crap about spoilers), then continue on.

But don't say I didn't warn you.

~~

HELLO, FRIENDS! I've been considering turning these into weekly reviews, but this is something that has yet to be decided--on the one hand, I have been reading a fair bit lately. (I finished today's reviewed book on April 9th, and I have since read two other books that I will be reviewing on future Wednesdays.) One the other hand, this comes in spurts--I started today's reviewed book on March 23rd. If I did them every week, eventually I'd run out of previously prepared reviews.

Who knows, maybe I'll be able to manage it in the future. We'll see.

In the meantime, enjoy today's review of We Should Hang Out Sometime, a memoir / experiment by Josh Sundquist.

THE PLOT-Y BIT

Josh thought he had a serious girlfriend, until one day: SURPRISE! She's actually dating someone else. What he thought was a serious relatinoship turned out to be...well, whatever you call that awkward period of time between meeting and "officially" dating.

Then Josh realized something: he's never had a serious girlfriend. Plenty of those awkward time periods, sure, but never an exclusive relationship. So where has he been going wrong?

In a series of hilarious flashbacks, somewhat plausible hypotheses and incredibly awkward reunions, Josh sets out to discover why those delightful beginnings of love never really turned into the real thing. From a super awkward, 23-hour relationship in eigth grade to his most sincere attempts for a grand gesture at a Miss America pageant in his 20's, Josh begins looking for a problem to fix--only to discover that, maybe, there isn't really anything wrong with him at all.

THE REVIEW-Y BIT

First off, this story was extremely comforting. As someone who has never been involved in any romantic relationship (I, myself, have never made it past the "we should hang out sometime" stage), I've had those moments, those, "Is there something wrong with me?" questions more times than I can count. The fact that someone else not only feels the same way, but planned a whole investigation around it, is comforting to me. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in my feelings and experiences (or lack thereof).

The writing style was a pleasure. Sundquist took no shame in the utter awkwardness that accompanies teenage relationships, instead choosing to put it in the spotlight. Reading it almost felt like he was standing right in front of me and telling me the story himself. The writing was humourous and the storytelling style was super natural.

I liked the way his stories were laid out and told, as though he were actually performing a science experiment. (Which, depending on the way you look at it, he kind of was.) His graphs and pie charts doodled throughout the book were absolutely charming, and only added to the appeal.

That being said, the "Investigation" section of every relationship he revisited was a little disappointing after reading the hilarity of his initial encounters with these girls. I mean, I get that he can't really change what he found out (or didn't find out with each girl), but I wish there had almost been...a little more of a conclusion for each story. It almost felt like he didn't really finish off each investigation--I was just kind of left to wander on to the next section, without really feeling like the last one was properly finished.

Overall, though, while I may be a stranger to the world of nonfiction, I definitely enjoyed reading his story.

THE STAR-Y BIT (previously known as THE RATING-Y BIT)

Four stars. Completely relateable, charmingly awkward, but I'm not 100% sure if there's much reread value in this.

Until later,

- Justyne

Micro Fiction Monday: The Other Girl

Every Monday, I post a piece of flash fiction--a story clocking in at around 300 words. Each story can also be found on my deviantART page. Enjoy!

~~

I watched the prince dance from afar. He moved so gracefully, and why wouldn’t he? He was born into this life, full of balls and princesses and royalty. This was second nature to him.

I shifted my focus to the grandly decorated walls, the marble columns, the high ceilings and brightly lit chandeliers. I grew up within the shadow of the palace, but this was my first time being inside. I suppose I should have considered myself lucky; lucky to be the same age as the prince, lucky to be given this opportunity to attend the annual ball. But maybe I would have been better off not knowing what the inside looked like.

My eyes drifted back down to the prince, my heart filled with the same longing I had felt the first day I saw him. He came to my family’s bakery, once; he made eye contact with me, thanked me sincerely for my pastries. My heart had fluttered, my stomach filled with butterflies, mind filled with dreams of what could be. In another life, maybe, but not this one. I could tell from the way he looked at the girl he danced with.

Days later, guards came from the palace with a proclamation. The girl who could fit the slipper would marry the prince, and my heart fluttered once again, my mind daring to dream a second time. It was a masquerade ball, after all—as long as my feet were small enough, who could possibly tell the difference? This could be the other life I was dreaming of.

But the shoe didn’t fit. Of course it didn’t fit.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

When I Grow Up

When I was little--like six or seven--I wanted to be an artist. While that sounds very broad, I had a specific idea in my head. To seven-year-old me, being an artist meant drawing and making crafts. Do you remember the show Art Attack? Think of the guy who hosted that--he was my inspiration.

That idea was short-lived, though, because one day I came to the realization that I actually wasn't very good at art, period. Which, when you stop to think about it, is a very bleak thing for a seven-year-old to realize. Nevertheless, I gave up my childhood dream of being an artist, and decided that I would have to pick something else--which I did. A couple years later, I discovered my love of writing and storytelling, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Except it really isn't. At least, not the whole history.

Around the time I started high school, I started to re-develop my interest in visual arts. I took inspiration from Japanese comics and from video games and Disney movies. I filled up one sketchbook, then two, then three. I started developping comic concepts and ideas and, suddenly, all of my stories started to take on a visual form. Soon enough, my writing fell to the backburner as I dedicated my time to this new craft.

I didn't doubt my writing. Surprisingly, that's the one thing about my self that I've always been confident about. I just saw a new world that I had never properly explored, a new skill that needed practice and development. I saw a whole new world of stories that I could create and express better through pictures than I could through words alone.

I was still confident about my skills as a writer, sure, but what of my future? Could I do both? Could I write my novels, while creating comics at the same time? Could I make equal content on both sides, or would I have to choose? Already it was looking like I would--I was already struggling to juggle both of them.

And still, my eyes drifted. I noticed the up-and-coming YouTubers, with their vlogs and mini series and comedy sketches. My initial university searches had me looking at film programs, because God, wouldn't that be cool? I started seeing animation in a whole new light; I developed an appreciation for it, and admired people who taught themselves and learned the craft completely on their own.

All at once, I didn't just have one dream, one fantasy of being a novelist; I had dozens. I pictured myself at Disney's studios, slaving away at their next feature film. I pictured myself making YouTube videos, filming and editing them, all by myself. I want to write short stories, collections of micro fiction, children's books. I want to make web comics nad graphic novels and try my hand at writing a movie script. I want to do all of it, and more.

When people ask me what I want to do with my life--or "what I want to be when I grow up"--my answer is, automatically, to write. That's not a lie--I do want to write. But I want to do more than that, too.

I don't just want to write--I want to tell stories, in any media I can. I want to create stuff, all day long, for the rest of my life. I don't want to be defined by just oen thing, one skillset. I want to be able to make all sorts of things, and let my stories reach all sorts of people.

Seven-year-old me had it right all along--I want to be an artist.

For so long, I struggled to find My Thing. I tried to narrow my life down, to find that one skill or passion that I could follow for the rest of my life. But you can't narrow your life down to just one thing. There will always be other shiney hobbies and skills and worlds calling out to you, begging to be explored. That's what I'm doing now; I'm making the things I want to make, right now, in any way I can.

Because that is what I want to be when I grow up.


Until later,

- Justyne

Micro Fiction Monday: To Fly

Every Monday, I post a piece of flash fiction--a story clocking in at around 300 words. Each story can also be found on my deviantART page. Enjoy!

~~

There is a story told among my people, a tale of a girl who fell in love with the land dwellers. Legend says that she sold her voice to the sea gods in exchange for legs, so that she may join them in their cities and villages—but that’s where the story ends. From there, people argue of the outcome; some say she fell in love, and married human royalty. Others insist that her plan backfired, and in her heartbreak her body was turned to sea foam. This debate is one that has been going on for centuries—and one that I have no interest in.

She was foolish, that mermaid girl. The human world is disgusting and horrible, full of greedy mortals who destroy their own land, and the land of others, to advance their own selfish plans. I wouldn’t give up my voice, my fin, or anything to live with the likes of them.

But the sky, on the other hand....the sky is magical. The deep, endless blue that stretches on during the day, and the white lights that twinkle when the sun goes down. I want to brush my fingers against the fluffy white clouds that litter the sky, and replace the coolness of the water with the warmth of the sun against my skin. I want to pluck the moon out of the night and wear it around my neck like a locket, to stretch a new pair of muscles from my back and leave my dull world under the sea behind.

I don’t want to swim anymore.

I want to fly.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

Substitution

So my dear buttface of a friend stole a tag post from Tumblr, and then tagged me to answer the questions.

Like I said, she's a buttface.

So today, instead of my usual blog post, I'll be answering the following questions:

1. Of all of the original characters you have written, do you have a favorite?

OH GOD. Honestly, I don't think I do. I love all of my characters for different reasons.

I will give a special shoutout to Dani, though, from The Decagon Project. She's super sassy and fun to write!

2. Is there a ship/show for whom/which you are interested in writing yet are intimidated to try?

To be honest, I've had an idea for a Legend of Korra fanfiction floating around my head for a couple years now. I'm not sure if I'll ever write it, though--not because I'm intimidated, but because I have about a ZILLION other projects going on, already!

3.  Have you ever written a chapter/scene that made you cry? Which one(s)?

There may have been a certain scene about 2/3 of the way through a certain NaNoWriMo project that, while I didn't cry, definitely caused me a lot of pain. I had to take a step back and stop writing for a few minutes because it hurt SO MUCH.

4. Which of your stories would you most like to see made into a movie?

Honestly I think the one I'd like to see MOST turn into a movie is Reincarnation--which will never happen because it's a fan comic, based off of the Legend of Zelda franchise.

Aside from that, The Decagon Project would be pretty cool!

5. Is there a character you find particularly difficult to write? Which one? On the flip-side, which character flows most easily for you when writing?

I've been having a bit of difficulty nailing the protagonist from my current WIP, although I think I may have figured it out now. It's just a matter of finding her motivation. As for the easiest, I'm going back to Dani on that. (Also all of my Reincarnation characters, because I've been working with them and thinking about them for upwards of five years now.)

6. Are there writers from other fandoms whom you admire? If so, whom?

TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST I actually don't read a lot of fanfiction anymore, so the answer to that would be no.

7. Do you have a favorite story among your body of work?

Reincarnation is probably my favourite, which is ironic because it's the one I physically work on the least. Aside from that, The Decagon Project is a close second, but it's also the hardest!

8. Do you have a story that consistently challenges you? (or has challenged you in the past?)

Like I just mentioned literally five seconds ago, The Decagon Project has been SUPER hard to write, just because it's so long and there are so many characters and plot points to keep track of. Others are How to Be Izzy, the manuscript I'm currently dedicating all of my time and effort into, and The Neutral, a past NaNoWriMo project. These two stories are the first ones I've worked on in which I didn't have the story completely nailed down from the get-go, so now it's a matter of figuring out how to get from Point A to Point Z.

9. Have any of your multi-chaptered fics grown out of prompts submitted on tumblr? Do you enjoy receiving prompts, anonymous or otherwise?

I think the closest would be the time that my aforementioned buttface dared me to write a love decagon. At first, I was just going to do a joke story, but decided to actually try and write a serious story out of it. Now my brain hurts.

10. Do you have an idea for a story that intrigues you but haven’t been able to piece together? What would it take to inspire you to actually write it?

A story that involves time travel. TIME TRAVEL IS SO COMPLICATED. I think the only thing that would inspire me to write it is NaNoWriMo, so I'd be forced to get it all down. (And honestly, that's exactly what I'm planning to do come November this year.)

11. Have you ever created alternate versions of your own stories? Are there any you are tempted to write?

I actually have. I have an idea for a sequel of a certain story that incorporates an alternate universe into the mix...and, to be honest, I think I'm more excited to write that one than I am to finish the current one WHOOPS.

12. Do you sneak personal references into any of your stories? Would you care to share some examples?

I haven't done it already, but I definitely would like to!


Until later,

- Justyne

Review: The Truth About Forever

HELLO, FRIENDS! I fought with myself a little over whether to review this book, as I was afraid of a sliiiiiiiiight presence of prejudice, what with this being my favourite book and all. (This was my fourteenth time reading this book. FOURTEENTH!)

But in the end, I decided that skipping such an important book would be a tragedy. So with that, I give you my review of The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen.

THE PLOT-Y BIT

Jason has gone off to Brian Camp for the summer. For most people, his absence is of little consequence; but Macy Queen is not most people. Her perfect boyfriend has been her anchor, her distraction and salvation from the grief of her father's passing two years prior. Without him, the months ahead seem endless, with little to occupy her time except her dull library job, and her worries over her mother's stress levels.

Soon, though, her thoughts and time are occupied by other things--namely, her new job at Wish Catering, where everything goes wrong and, somehow, all makes sense in the end. And her older sister's spontaneous new project of renovating the beach house, which puts pressure on their mother that she may not be willing to handle. With the help of her new friends, their truths and their insights on forever, Macy begins to move on. She starts to pick through the pieces of her life, and restart her grief where she paused it two years ago.

But change, it seems isn't always easy...or even welcome. So how can she convince her mother that it's for the best?

THE REVIEW-Y BIT

Like I mentioned earlier, this was my fourteenth--FOURTEENTH--time reading this book. This review isn't coming from the point of view of an outsider--I know this book backwards, forewards, inside out and diagonally. So let me start out by saying this: this story, at its core, is extremely relateable to myself as a human being from at least three very different points of my life. I'm no Macy Queen, but I feel for her and have felt for her on levels that I have yet to reach with any other characters. After eight years, I know Macy very very well.

The characters have always been one of my favourite aspects of this book. Sarah Dessen has a thing for making her side cast very diverse [need a new FUkKING WORD] and quirky and fun, and this story is home to my favourites--namely Kristy and Bert. Kristy's mature and idealistic outlook on life is refreshing, and Bert is just...well, he's Bert. He's unique, to say the least, and it's imposisble not to love him and all of his quirks.

The only problem with her lovable minor characters is that, sometimes, the main character doesn't shine as well in comparison. In this case, especially, I always felt like Macy kind of faded to the background around her new Wish friends--but then again, who wouldn't, when faced with such a rambunctious crowd?

Sarah Dessen is my favourite author, and has been for a long time. But what really made me love this book, in particular, so much more than her others are the themes. The first one, the main one, is one that has been done probably a million times before. Kristy's whole speech that night of the party, about how your forever can end tomorrow or a million years from now, is basically a revamped version of "seize the day" or "you only live once". But even still, I just loved the way it was said. If your forever was ending tomorrow, would this be how you'd want to have spent it?"

That, paired with the themes of second chances and grief and moving on are tied together so eloquently and, more importantly, effortlessly. Dessen has so many plots going on, all at once, but they all wrap together and move the story along so nicely. So much is happening in Macy's life all at once, but it still doesn't seem overwhelming.

Macy's actions--or lack thereof--throughout the book have me...well, torn. Her decisions take a bit of a two-steps-forward-one-step-back approach, which gets extremely frustrating after a certain point. When she's at odds with her mother towards the end of the book and just doesn't have the courage to sya something, it gets me both steaming mad and incredibly heartbroken. But at the same time, I can't help but admit that it's actually quite realistic. Nobody changes all at once--we change slowly over time, bit by bit, until we become the person we want to be. Sometimes we fall back into old habits, because that's what they are--habits. I'm guilty of it, myself. In this way, it's almost reassuring to see a fictional character behave in a fashion similar to myself. It might be the very reason I find the story so relateable.

And fnially: the climax. That scene where Macy takes off after Wes, running for the first time in years...it makes me smile. It makes me smile so much, even after reading it fourteen times. Their entire relationship as a whole, actually, is one of my personal favourites to read about. They bond over grief and chaos, over the truths that come out in a game stretched on for the majority of the book. Their interactions have always been a pleasure for me to read, no matter how much time passes.

THE RATING-Y BIT

Do I even have to say?


Until later,

- Justyne

Micro Fiction Monday: The Truth

Every Monday, I post a piece of flash fiction--a story clocking in at around 300 words. Each story can also be found on my deviantART page. Enjoy!

~~

The mirror was her enemy. It taunted her and mocked her, highlighting every imperfection and insecurity that plagued her mind at night. She tried to bargain with it, tried to compromise, but there was no solution. There could be no way to please both parties. So instead of peace, she settled for tolerance, and her eyes learned to drift away from the reflective surface. She began to accept that what she saw and what she believed in her heart was the truth.

But one day, something strange happened. A person on the street—an acquaintance, a mere stranger—stopped her, and paid her a compliment before continuing on their way. It was this statement, this idea that she had so long believed to be false that stuck in her head, echoing through her mind the following morning. And in that moment, with that one glimmering hint of truth, she smiled, and that mirror was all at once less daunting.

She learned that she was beautiful, and the world became a brighter place because of it.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

My Bucket List

So by now, I would assume--or at the very least hope--that you are all now familiar with my new project, my second blog, Where the Magic Happens. It's been 26 days since I started this project (I know because I've been keeping track), and while I haven't crossed many tasks off of my list, I am happy with the slow and steady progress I've been making. (Fun fact: I may be able to cross off Task #6 by the end of the month!)

In my first ever post on that blog, I made reference to my bucket list. After uploading, however, I realized that I didn't currently have a physical bucket list. While it's true that I've written at least half a dozen different bucket lists over the years, I realized that I hadn't made one in a while. That paired with a few bucket list-themed YouTube videos I happened to watch recently inspired me to sit down and make my own.

So here, in no particular order, right off the top of my head (or, okay, created over the course of my commute to work), my bucket list:

1. GO ON THE GREAT CANADIAN ROAD TRIP

So here's the dealio: I love long car rides. Part of the reason I'm able to tolerate my often hour+ commute to work (and back) every day is because I genuinely love being able to zone out at the back of the bus and just watch the world go by, allowing my mind to wander.

Despite this, I have never been on a proper road trip. Ever. Longest car ride I've taken (that I remember) was the six hour drive to Regina, Saskatchewan--and when you're driving straight through, it doesn't really count.

I want to go on what I imagine to be the Great Canadian Road Trip. I want to drive from one end of the country to the other, coast to coast, stopping along the way at any site I see fit. I want to jam out to my favourite country playlists, to camp out in tents and sleeping bags, to take a million pictures along the way and stop at every McDonald's I can to update the internet on my adventures. I won't be able to zone out if I'm the one driving, of course, but it'd still be fun.

2. BACKPACK ACROSS EUROPE

It may seem overdone, or cliched, or completely unoriginal, because let's face it: half the world must have this same item on their bucket list. But there are so many places I want to go in Europe, so wouldn't this be the best--and probably cheapest--way to do it? I want to go to London, to Dublin, to Rome. I want to visit France for a second time, and go to Greece and Spain and every other country I possibly can.

Besides: backpacking sounds kinda fun.

3. QUIT MY DAY JOB

It's no secret that I want to make a living off of my writing. (Look at what blog you're reading. For real.) And Lord knows there are a million OTHER things I want to do, as well. Someday, I just want to be able to make a living for myself doing what I love, without having to have some pesky little part time job taking up time that I could be using towards what the projects that I love so very much.

4. GO TO JAPAN

I've wanted to do this since ninth grade, easy. There's really not much else to it.

5. GO TO AUSTRALIA

I had a conversation with someone a while back (I can't remember who it was...might've been a coworker), and we were discussing the idea of travelling to Australia. Neither of us knew why we wanted to go--it just seemed like a cool place to go.

Again, really not much else to it.

6. GO SEE LIVE WITH KELLY AND MICHAEL..LIVE

Something you may not know about me is that I am a talk show junkie, my favourite being Live! with Kelly and Michael. (Could it be because it's the only one that I'm able to watch almost every day? Maybe. But I still love it.) It's filmed live in New York, and being able to go watch the show live would be INCREDIBLE.

Plus, I want to go see New York anyway, so I'm just killing two birds with one stone.

7. GO TO DISNEYLAND

I almost added Disney World onto this list, but I decided to go a different route and add Disneyland, instead. While I most definitely want to (and will) go back to Disney World in the future, I also want to visit the opposite side of the US and check out Disneyland. It may be smaller than its Florida counterpart, but it's still something I'd like to see.

8. MEET TERRI HAWKES

In the past, I've already touched on my deep love for Sailor Moon and what the show means to me as a human being. In fact, I've already gotten the chance to meet many of the original dubbed voice actors last year. But the one person I didn't get to meet was Terri Hawkes.

Terri Hawkes was the second voice actress hired to play the role of Sailor Moon / Serena in the English dubbed version of the show, back in the 90's. She was hired part way through the first season, and stayed on for the role for the remainder of the first season, the entirety of the second season, and all three movies. (She was replaced by Linda Ballantyne, whom I got to meet last March, for the third and fourth seasons.)

While she wasn't the first, nor the last, or even the person who held the role the longest...to me, she is Sailor Moon. Her voice is the voice I hear in my mind whenever I think of the character, the show, and what it means to me. And all I want is the chance to meet her, if only for a moment. It would literally--literally--make my life.

9. MEET SARAH DESSEN

Sarah Dessen has been my favourite author since middle school. I've read all of her books, own most of them, and her 2004 novel The Truth About Forever is my all-time favourite book--I've read it a whopping 14 times. (At least. I only the counted the times that I remember specifically--in all likihood, I've probably read it more.) Her books have inspired and influenced my writing more than any others--she is my idol and everything I aspire for.

Meeting her would probably involve a trip to the United States, as she very very rarely travels to Canada for her book tours. (She did once, but only went to Toronto, as I have grown to expect of my American idols.) But I honestly believe it'd be worth it.

10. TRAVEL TO BIGGER CONVENTIONS

I'm no stranger to conventions--I've gone to Ai-kon twice in past years and the Winnipeg Comic Con once, as well as a couple different smaller ones held over the last few years. However, all of these have been in Winnipeg--which makes sense, because it was the closest city that actually held any conventions at all. But someday, I'd want to be able to make the trek to places like California so I can attend Vid Con and the San Diego Comic Con. I've spent years seeing updates from people on Tumblr and Twitter and YouTube who have been lucky enough to attend these events, and gosh darnit, I WANT TO GO, TOO. I want to have my chance to make the people of the internet jealous!


Odds are, the things on this list will change. Things will get added and altered as time goes on, until eventually, I cave and make a whole new list entirely. But for now, this is it.

What's on your bucket list?


Until later,

- Justyne

Micro Fiction Monday: Looking Up

Every Monday, I post a piece of flash fiction--a story clocking in at around 300 words. Each story can also be found on my deviantART page. Enjoy!

~~

When I was younger, I always stared at the ground. I watched every step I took, every spot of pavement that disappeared beneath the shadow of my foot. I took each step with precision, over and around every crack and imperfection in the cement. One two three, one two three…that’s how many strides I could take, in rhythm, within each individual square on the sidewalk. I counted them carefully. They were always exact.

As I grew older, I began looking up. I found shapes in the clouds during the day—a mermaid here, an angel there, a strange creature that resembled something of a cross between a turtle and a dragon. Come night, my gaze met the brightness of the stars, glimmering and twinkling against the blackness of the sky. My mind looked for no shapes, instead taking the stars for what they were, and dreaming of others, like me, who were looking up at the same ones.

~~

Until later,

- Justyne

Book Review: A Thousand Pieces of You

WARNING: The following blog posts contain spoilers for the novel under review, ranging from mild to heart wrenchingly major. If you have yet to read this novel and dislike being spoiled, leave now and return upon completion.

If you HAVE read this novel (or just don't give a crap about spoilers), then continue on.

But don't say I didn't warn you.

~~

HELLO, FRIENDS! Today we're going to be talking about A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray!

THE PLOT-Y BIT

Marguerite's parenst have changed the world; they've not only proved the theory of the multiverse, but created the Firebird, a device that allows the wearer to jump between the different universes. They are overjoyed, triumphant, and a shoo in for the next nobel prize.

But then Marguerite's father is murdered, the Firebird stolen, and all of the data they've accumulated over the last several years wiped. Gone. Destroyed. And with their trusted grad student assistant Paul missing, it's looking extremely likely that he's the one responsible.

Devastated and betrayed, Marguerite teams up with Theo, her parents' second assistant, and together they leap through the invisible barrier to follow Paul as he jumps through the different universes. From a futuristic London to a Tsarist Russia, Marguerite lives through different versions of her life as she fights to find her father's killer. As the details of her father's murder begin to come to light, however, she starts to doubt whether Paul is truly responsible.

THE REVIEW-Y BIT

THIS BOOK. THIS BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL BOOK. I really liked this book, in case you couldn't already tell.

I was both excited for this book, but also a little wary. The synopsis was intriguing and the cover is absolutely beautiful (seriously though check it out it's gorgeous), but I thought that story itself was going to be handled differently than it actually was, and I was pleasantly surprised.

First of all, I thought that Marguerite lived in the future, or a more futuristic version of our world, which I learned right off the bat wasn't true. She's from our world, in our time, which made it a whole lot easier to relate to her as she jumped to all of these unfamiliar universes. Not only that, but she wasn't some scientific genius--she was an artist, and in fact the only member of her family to not be super involved in the scientific world. The fact that she was just as clueless about how the Firebird worked as we, the readers, are, is not only a relief but also a pleasure as she struggles to understand the workings and thoughts of her peers.

Secondly, I thought that Marguerite and Theo would be jumping from realm to realm a lot faster than they actually did. Have any of you ever read Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn? That is the kind of pacing I was expecting. Although the stories are remarkably different, they follow a similar theme of jumping from lifetime to lifetime. Reincarnation moves at a slightly faster pace, tackling at least a dozen different worlds before the final page. A Thousand Pieces of You, on the other hand, takes the pacing a bit slower, with our main characters only travelling to a grand total of four alternate realities. This gave me a chance to get to know each of these different  worlds and lives of our main character, without feeling too confused or out of the loop every time she jumped to a new one.

That Russian arc. Oh my sweet goodness. In the middle of the book, there was an arc spanning several chapters in which Marguerite breaks her Firebird and finds herself trapped in Tsarist Russia as a Grand Duchess. That entire arc was my favourite, with all of the romance between her and Russian-bodyguard-Paul, and her growing love for all of the new siblings that she had in this Royal life, and the excitement and suspense as someone tries to overthrow her "father" as the Tsar. I never wanted that arc to end, it was too great.

Not gonna lie: Theo's betrayal was kind of expected on my part. He seemed suspicious to me right from the get go, so when he revealed to be behind the conspiracy surrounding everything, I wasn't at all surprised. The reveal with Marguerite's father, on the other hand...that was extremely well done. Fantastically subtle foreshadowing throughout the book leading to that big reveal, so it didn't seem out of the blue while also not being expected or obvious. (Or unrealistic, either.) More than makes up for the slight Theo disappointment, if you ask me.

Finally, the flashbacks littered throughout the book to tell us of Marguerite's own life, and her relationships with both Paul and Theo were very well placed, so by the end I really felt that I knew Marguerite, the real Marguerite, even though she spent the majority of the book pretending to be different versions of herself. The way she was able to relate to each of her different alter egos, as well, was a pleasure--even in the most drastically different of worlds, Marguerite was still Marguerite, and that was just a really cool thing to see.

THE RATING-Y BIT

Five stars. Five stars, five stars, FIVE MILLION STARS to you, Claudia Gray! You did good. You did very very good.

Also would like to note that this book both wrapped up nicely and neatly enough to be a stand alone, but also leaves enough open for a sequel...which is coming. Ten Thousand Skies Above You is coming THIS NOVEMBER, which is much too far away for my liking.


Until later,

- Justyne