Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. Viv was the last good thing in his life: helping him rebuild his identity after a career-ending football injury, picking up the pieces when his home life shattered, and healing his pain long after the meds wore off. And now, he'd give anything for one more glimpse of her. But when Cam makes a visit to the site of Viv's deadly car accident, he sees some kind of apparition. And it isn't Viv.
The apparition's name is Nina, and she's not a ghost. She's a girl from a parallel world, and in this world, Viv is still alive. Cam can't believe his wildest dreams have come true. All he can focus on is getting his girlfriend back, no matter the cost. But things are different in this other world: Viv and Cam have both made very different choices, things between them have changed in unexpected ways, and Viv isn't the same girl he remembers. Nina is keeping some dangerous secrets, too, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with who this Viv has become and the part Nina played in his parallel story, he's forced to choose—stay with Viv or let her go—before the window closes between them once and for all.
Emily Hainsworth was raised in upstate New York and currently resides in Denver with her husband, cat, and standard poodle. THROUGH TO YOU is her first novel.
You can visit her online at:
~ MY REVIEW ~
I eyed this book a couple times since it was published in October 2012. Admittedly, I didn't snag a copy until it became available at my library. Through To You is a straight forward read full of emotion, just about everything I thought it was going to be. I was able to read through it in one sitting. It is definitely a book fit for a rainy weekend.
Camden--our main character--is falling apart since the accidental death of his girlfriend, Vivian. His friends are practically non-existent, as are his parents throughout the majority of this story. He blames himself for Viv's death and just can't cope with the untimely string of bad events.
At the beginning I assumed this was more of a contemporary read despite the synopsis' promise of a slightly paranormal occurrence. In the end I think it remained that way. It was also out of the ordinary for me to read a book from a male POV. Most YA seems to be centered around a female protagonist. I enjoyed the change of pace and think that, had Emily written it the other way, the effect of this story would not be the same.
Her characters are well written and easily relateable. They wear their emotions on their sleeve and I was definitely eager to follow them.
Soon you find out that there is a doorway connecting two timelines, coincidentally in the same spot where Viv's accident occurred.
Camden meets Nina. I don't want to include spoilers but, everything happens quickly after this point in the story.
Eventually, Cam learns the big lesson: things in alternate realities are supposed to stay as they are. Of course.
I found the majority of the plot to be pretty predictable. Like, I guessed it from the first couple chapters... that is why this book couldn't receive as high of a rating as it should have from me. That is not to say that the story line wasn't sweet and enjoyable. It was a good way to spend 3 hours or so.
I did enjoy the merging of contemporary themes with the paranormal so, I do recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and entertaining read.
I read this one and gave it 3 stars too :-)
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