It’s a YA parallel universe, y’all! Nothing gets me more pumped than that – except maybe NA parallel universe  with elements of haute couture and Instagram tie-ins.  Wait –that’s what I do. 😉

Not sure how I heard about Parallel but since it sits firmly in my wheelhouse, I picked it up, at the library, if you can believe it. My theory is that parallel universe YA is much more widely read than parallel universe NA (or parallel universe Contemporary Romance – does that even exist?) Thus, books like this one and Pivot Point hit the shelves at the local library. Perhaps in my parallel universe, Dōjini is a household name and the libraries display it alongside J.R. Ward and Sophie Kinsella. Hey – a girl who writes parallel universe romance, by definition, can dream.

HarperTEEN may or may not have hit it out of the park with this one, but no matter, I LOVED IT. Slow going at first, with a heavy dose of metaphysics (or is it quantum mechanics?) –the science does not detract from the story, and in fact, for those who are on the scifi side of the reading spectrum, you may enjoy it.

As we get to know Abby Barnes, our just-turning 18 heroine, we also get to know her parallel. Abby sees them as different people, which is an interesting twist on fictional characters. As one of my critique friends pointed out when I write, “your characters have to be the same person in both stories, because they are the same person.” Hmm…I’ll have her read Parallel and get back to me.

Regardless, while Abby is thrown into these two universes via a cosmic collision, as opposed to a choice, we then get to see how she, and her doppelganger, make their choices, and then how our parallel universes converge and diverge, on a daily basis. Pretty riveting, suspenseful and outstanding stuff.

Looking for something entertaining, not too dark, with elements of romance? Check out Parallel.