Author: Jessica Shirvington
Series: n/a
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Publication Date: July 22nd, 2014
Source: From Publisher via NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Name of overseas edition of Between The Lives.
Above all else, though I try not to think about it, I know which life I prefer. And every night when I Cinderella myself from one life to the next a very small, but definite, piece of me dies. The hardest part is that nothing about my situation has ever changed. There is no loophole.
Until now, that is...
For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she Shifts to her ′other′ life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she′s a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she′s considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.
With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments which bring her dangerously close to the life she′s always wanted... But just what - and who - is she really risking?
When I first saw this, I was immediately drawn to the cover. Isn't it pretty. Maybe not so much the girl with crazy hair part, but the colors are so gorgeous. Aside from all the outer pretties, One Past Midnight is a very interesting book. I mean, living two lives!! How cool is that?
Sabine lives two lives. She has different families and friends in each. She shifts from one life to the other at midnight. I initially was confused, like how the heck does that even work? Is one life still happening while the other goes on? Things that made me go huh?, but have no fear, it’s all explained fairly early on.
Sabine is torn, she’s lived this way her whole life/lives. She just wants to live one life. Really live it without the stress and worry of doing something in one life that will affect her in the other. Something happens that makes her question and experiment with the cross over.
I was really wrapped up in this. It’s fast paced, jumping from one life to another, and constantly kept me on my toes. Beware though, there are some graphic gory scenes in this book. One of them in particular, I had to put my kindle down for a few minutes. I did not like it at all, but at the same time I understood why she was doing it... if that makes sense. I almost jumped ship right there because I was unsure where the author would be going with this, but I kept on and I’m glad I did. Also, she pukes a lot. I hate puke. This chick must have puked well over 20 times. I get that the shift made her sick, but no need to mention it every single time. Ewww. That's really my only complaint.
Ahh, and then enter Ethan. Now I can’t tell you how she meets him, but it’s in one of her lives, and I adored him. I liked how he was there for her. He has his own back story and I didn’t really expect it to be what it was.
Overall I really liked One Past Midnight. I think it was a great story and I kind of loved how it all wrapped up.
About the author:
Jessica Shirvington is the author of THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS also known as THE EMBRACE SERIES, stand alone novel, BETWEEN THE LIVES and has an exciting new duology called DISRUPTION on the way in 2014.
An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 & 2012 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual Fun, Fearless Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the love of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for Foxtel and Fox Sports. Married for twleve years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels. -Tracy Barrett
Find Jessica:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
I've just read another great praising review for this book, so I'm really happy to see you loved this one as well, April. I definitely need to grab myself a copy of this. I can tell that I'm going to really like it. I'm very intrigued by the concept of two lives, but I can see how that could be tiresome and stressful for the MC!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, April! I'm glad the puking MC didn't prevent you from enjoying the book. :)
So glad to hear you enjoyed this one! I'm on the same page with not liking a lot of puke/gore. Sometimes it is necessary though, which I get, I just try to skim those parts a little haha.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I dislike the name Sabine immensely because it reminds me of a character I disliked in another series. BUT, this book actually sound pretty good. I know I've heard of this premise before -- probably from you! -- but I didn't know that was this book and that you were reading it. I love the dual life narratives of late.
ReplyDeleteOh hahahah. I don't like reading a vomitting scene either. Ew. Who wants to read that? I get nauseous as well. Whatever happened in that scene that made you stepped back has me curious!
ReplyDeleteOoh, this kind of sounds like my kind of book. (Can I say cover love too?!) Oh gosh, I kept seeing Jessica Shirvington around the blogosphere and I haven't EVER tried her. *adds another to TBR*
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good! I agree the colors are gorgeous and the getting sick part would get old after a while.
ReplyDeleteI struggle so much with these parallel world books. BUT this takes place in Massachusetts, and I'm interested b/c of that. I also like the idea that she shifts back and forth at certain times of the day. Plus I'm always up for a great romance. Maybe I'll try this out now...
ReplyDeleteLoved Loved Loved this book. Glad to see you like it. Yes the puking got a bit over done but I guess it was there to remind us how hard the shift was. Ethan was such a sweetheart, I fell for him a bit hard. Great review.
ReplyDelete