Tandem, Anna Jarzab

A fantastical story of science fiction, royalty, parallel universes and hilariously sarcastic remarks from the masses. What more could you ask for?

Everything repeats. You. Your best friend. Every person you know. Many worlds. Many lives--infinite possibilities. Welcome to the multiverse. 

Sixteen-year-old Sasha Lawson has only ever known one small, ordinary life. When she was young, she loved her grandfather's stories of parallel worlds inhabited by girls who looked like her but led totally different lives. Sasha never believed such worlds were real--until now, when she finds herself thrust into one against her will. (Full description found here.)

So this book doesn't come out until October 8th, 2013. Unfortunately, that means I can't tell you to go and get it RIGHT NOW, which I would very much like to do. Although I'm not a huge fan of science classes, science-fiction is definitely my thing when I get my hands on it (seldom I do), especially the stuff in this book. Maybe it's just the multiverse stuff, but I found this book great not only because I generally love books, but also because it was super interesting to think about the parallel worlds-stuff.

 Let's get to it then: the characters and you know, whatever else I go over.

First is the main character: Sasha. Okay, I absolutely know that I say this for every book, but unlike a few main chicas, I like her. I find her relatable. Her sarcastic comments are comforting. She reacts the way anyone would in her situation (which I will not mention any of because it will end up being, in fact, a spoiler) which is great, because sometimes I think authors lose touch of that over the course of the book, if that makes sense. I guess maybe it doesn't, but I'm just trying to say--Sasha doesn't lose track of her roots or who she actually is. Once you read the book, it'll make much more sense I promise!

Let's see, what's next? I can't really do some of the other characters because that might give away what happens--we don't want that.

I really would just like to mention how absolutely original this book is. I've never seen another like it--although that's not to say you wouldn't be able to find something with parallel universe jumping in it in a corner of your grandpa's dusty old attic. Maybe that's because I haven't read a lot of sci-fi. I do enjoy it, like I said, but Tandem is one of the few books I have on my shelf that fit into that category. It's a great addition.

If you like science fiction, you'll definitely love it. There's so much science-y stuff in here that would probably be impossible to understand myself, but Anna Jarzab explains it perfectly. I actually understood all of it! Even the long paragraphs! It was all very helpful. A+ world building too, if that's what you're worried about. I can assure you--it's not just filled with phrases like, "There were trees. And some buildings too." It's as if you're actually there, and the way everything is described I feel like I could have actually been Sasha.

Little reminder, I'm not just saying these great things because I'm about 2% sure some publisher, or Anna Jarzab herself, might actually see this (if you do see this, however, hello!). I honestly do love this book. Usually, I'm into historical fiction books, but this was a trip. In a good way. I don't know if there's a bad way to take that, but I hope no one does anyway.

So, overall, Tandem is an awesome book. It's not too lovey-dovey (though there's definitely some of that), and it isn't filled with over-the-head technical science jargon. Maybe there were a few words I had to look up, but they weren't about science and it's just expanding my vocabulary! Like axiom? My new favorite word.

Axiom noun - [ak-see-um]
A self-evident truth that requires no proof.

I don't know why, but I love it, I'm kind of a word-nut. I have really no reason to use it when I'm talking to people, but I'd love to say sometime and amaze everyone with my large vocabulary. There's no reason small words can't be impressive, too!