Synopsis: Leanna and her sister, Violet, stumble upon an unusual family legacy. They are Giants, or a rare type of person who can travel between worlds an endless string. Leanna must overcome a painful past and train to become a guardian of these of worlds, learning to trust and love along the way.
This was a quick, enjoyable, YA read about people who can travel between unique parallel universes.
Pros:
This is a short read with a fast pace that keeps you engaged until the end. It could be read in a day.
There is a likeable cast of protagonists that do feel like young adults rather than children or older adults. Often when reading YA books, it feels like the characters are either very immature caricatures of teenagers or I wonder if any teenager would react the way the main character does to life-altering events. The main protagonist’s family history adds nice background and a reason for her personality. Since it is leaned on so heavily in this book, it would be nice to see the idea of family dynamics (and the assumptions around them) explored in future books. The main character, Leanna, mentions how assumptions are made that she comes from a two parent household and that her life looks a certain way, however, she seems to have some assumptions that those family dynamics are perfect. Seeing her interact with other characters from diverse background and challenging her assumptions about them would make for nice character development in the future.
The string theory/multiple universe foundation to the story is explained just enough that it isn’t glossed over, but not so much to discourage readers that aren’t into hard science fiction. The comparison of the string of worlds and how they interact to the grandmother’s pearls provides a concrete visual for readers who are new to the theory or have trouble visualizing how the concept works. The intermingling of mythologies (and potential for further/expanded use of this in future books) makes things a little more interesting and unpredictable. The ability to have creatures “bleed over” into another world offers an opportunity to mix up conflicts and show interactions between literary entities that do not typically interact. I hope to see the author explore this more in the future.
Cons:
Even though I listed this as a Pro, the pacing is probably too fast in areas. There could have been more details about some of the worlds that are visited. This would have added more body to the story and offered more opportunity to explore the potential of different worlds and also build the characters into truly deep and multi-faceted individuals. One world is emphasized as a necessary part of a journey and then skipped over entirely making for an abrupt transition. Slowing down and expanding on the different worlds and the development of the characters would also make certain elements seem less random. There are details that are almost dropped in the reader’s lap toward the end that could have been foreshadowed a little more to make it seem less like an afterthought.
One of the places where character development is a little lacking is in the build up of relationships. There is a little too much emphasis on who likes who and who is mad about it, but not enough development of the relationships themselves to make them seem natural or nuanced. All of the characters seem to fall in love at first sight without the gradual build that makes a literary romance so satisfying when they ultimately come together.
The book ends on a definite cliffhanger, which is not necessarily a bad thing; however, it feels like the author could have made the book longer (it’s currently 154 pages) and kept going.
For what appears to be a first book from this author, this a good start to a series. I can absolutely see how it will appeal to the target audience. 4 out of 5 burs.
Want to give it a try? Find it here on Amazon!
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