Review Detail

What worked: This was one fast-paced tale with a protagonist who jumps through different worlds in the multiverse.

At fifteen, Alicia finds she's either losing her sanity or having a breakdown. What she is though is a 'spandrel', someone who can go to different worlds throughout the multiverse. This is kind of like different dimensions, with different possibilities.

How often she 'slips' into a different world is almost too fast to keep track off. I had to go back a few times to figure out which one she was in. Some of these worlds are horrific--there are ones where a deadly plague has been released; another one where an Atom bomb has been dropped; and yet another one with an almost dystopian feel. There are also different versions of her in each of these worlds. **See, why it can be confusing?

I did like the play on poet Sylvia Plath. Alicia loves her poetry and finds that Plath might in fact have understood a Spandrel's world. Alicia refers to a number of her poems throughout the novel. I loved this twist in this storyline!

Alicia's life takes a turn when her long lost father shows up and asks for her help. She doesn't know what to believe. There's so many twists and turns throughout this story, that readers will be kept guessing what is really Alicia's fate.

The world idea of branches and trees reminds me a lot of family genealogy. The roots are the family name with each branch signifying a different family member. In this case though it's other Spandrel's that have the ability to jump into different worlds. A few though, like Alicia, can also piggybank others too.

There's hints of romance but only with her 'different' selfs in different worlds. I admit, I wanted more of Jax and her together. I would have loved if she had one love throughout all the different possibilities. Someone that might have been an anchor for her. Kind of like what was going on with her parents.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE meets YA world. This addictive tale will keep you guessing and wanting more!